Dan Rostenkowski, 1928-2010

For almost a decade and a half, Dan Rostenkowski- who preceeded Rod Blagojevich as the congressman from Illinois' Fifth District- was one of the most powerful men in America.

Not only was he a ward committeeman, boss of the 32nd Ward on the Northwest Side of Chicago- in itself no mean position- but from 1980 through his conviction in the House Post Office scandal in 1994, "Rosty" was the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which essentially decides who gets Federal funding, and how much. If you wanted Federal money, one way or another you had to go through Dan Rostenkowski.

A ferocious defender of Chicago's interests, Rostenkowski was well-liked even by his political opponents. Many Republicans and other opponents of the Daley regime genuinely mourned Rosty's disgrace. Even Machine critic Mike Royko- author of Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago, a nationaly best-selling indictment of the Cook County Democratic Organization and its leader, Mayor Daley- wrote, "Nobody should be taking pleasure from Rostenkowski’s misfortune. Not unless you have never, ever, broken even a minor law and gotten away with it, fudged a bit on your taxes or violated any of the Ten Commandments."

The list of significant legislation Rostenkowski played a major role in passing is enormous. He died in Genoa City, Wisconsin yesterday at age 82.

Rest in peace, Rosty.