AtDDtA1: That Sinister Quarter

[Tim Strzechowski]

> "that sinister quarter"
>
> What quarter?  Tim?  Anyone?  Doesn't "speak for itself" to me, and I
> live ninety miles away.


My guess is, he's making a subtle reference to The Levee, i.e. the First 
Ward, which was notorious for it's brothels, bars, and First Ward Balls that 
were thrown by its local Chicago pols, Bathhouse John Coughlin and "Hinky 
Dink" Kenna.

[...] The Levee

"Hinky Dink" Kenna and "Bathhouse" John Coughlin, as they were called, 
controlled politics and vice in Chicago's downtown area and Near South Side, 
which was commonly referred to as the Levee. Kenna was reportedly nicknamed 
after the waterhole he swam in as a youngster. He began his working career 
as a newsboy and eventually became a successful saloon keeper and 
politician. Kenna's saloon at 120 East Van Buren was called the "Workingman's 
Exchange" (Lindberg, 1985:122). Its second floor was home to unemployed 
vagrants, panhandlers, tramps, card-sharps, and down-on-their-luck gamblers 
who formed a well disciplined army of voters on election day. Kenna 
reportedly spent campaign money feeding his hungry army and satisfying their 
thirst. When asked why by a French writer, Hinky Dink replied that politics 
is business and that is how he made votes. [...]

http://www.ipsn.org/genesis.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Coughlin_(alderman)

http://www.prairieghosts.com/bathhouse2.jpg