Here at Prairie State Policy we like to read. In fact, some of our published work came from ideas or citations from Illinois-centric books. With many staying indoors this holiday season due to COVID-19, we decided to compile a list of Illinois-centric books for the savvy reader and Illinois politico. We hope this list contains less recognizable titles and provides your winter quarantine with value.
Books on Illinois Politics
- Illinois Politics: A Citizen’s Guide 1st Edition, by James Dunlap Nowlan and Samuel K. Grove (2010).
- Corrupt Illinois: Patronage, Cronyism, and Criminality, by Thomas J. Gradel and Dick Simpson (2015).
- Golden: How Rod Blagojevich Talked Himself Out of the Governor’s Office and Into Prison, by Jeff Coen and John Chase (2012).
- Land of Lincoln: The Wondrous Story Through the Eyes of the Illinois State Society, by Mark Q. Rhoads (2013).
- Nobody Calls Just to Say Hello: Reflections on Twenty-Two Years in the Illinois Senate, by Philip J. Rock (2017).
- Illinois: A History of the Land and Its People, by Roger Biles (2005).
Books on Chicago Politics
- American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley – His Battle for Chicago and the Nation, by Adam Cohen and Elizabeth Taylor (2000).
- Don’t Make No Waves, Don’t Back No Losers: An Insider’s Analysis of the Daley Machine, by Milton Rakove (1975).
- Campaign! The 1983 Election That Rocked Chicago, by Peter Nolan (2011).
- First Son, The Biography of Richard M. Daley, by Keith Koeneman (2013).
- Lords of the Last Machine: The Story of Politics in Chicago, by Bill and Lori Granger (1987).
Books on Public Policy
- Fixing Illinois: Politics and Policy in the Prairie State, by J. Thomas Johnson and James D. Nowlan (2014).
- Chicago Is Not Broke: Funding the City We Deserve, by Tom Tresser (2015).
Prairie State Policy 