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Preface and Acknowledgments This book has taken over ten years to write, and I have incurred numerous debts along the way. When I was growing up, my parents sparked my interest in the subject matter. Many years ago, my father and late mother, Donald and Noreen Kraus, initiated a conversation about politics and government that continues to the present day. I would like to thank all of the current and former public officials and other individuals in Minneapolis and Gary who agreed to talk to me during my research. Several colleagues and friends provided indispensable feedback on various parts of the manuscript. John Freie commented on several drafts of the introductory chapter, and I am grateful for his many insights. José Cruz also offered important criticism of an early version of chapter 1, and his thoughts were instrumental in helping me to scale back the argument and make it more manageable. The comments of Richard Flanagan were also helpful in framing the argument. Karen Mossberger provided a wider perspective on the entire manuscript, and her suggestions certainly improved the final product. I also received constructive feedback on conference papers based on this project from several scholars including Paul Schumaker, Donald Rosdil, and Chris Leo. Todd Swanstrom has given me valuable suggestions at several stages of writing and revising the manuscript, and his support for my work continues to be greatly appreciated. Teaching four courses each semester makes writing a book even more difficult than it would otherwise be, and I am grateful to my political science colleagues at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls (UWRF)—Wes Chapin, Davida Alperin, the late Tracey Gladstone-Sovell, Sooh-Rhee Ryu, and Steve Maloney—for creating an environment that is conducive to research and writing. Thanks also go to UWRF for awarding me a Faculty Research Grant in the summer of 2007, which helped me to complete the research for chap- x Preface and acknowledgMents ter 5. The staff at the university’s library assisted me on numerous occasions in locating various documents and other sources. I would also like to thank several friends at River Falls, including John Heppen, Lissa SchneiderRebozzo , Betty Bergland, Njia Lawrence-Porter, Michele McKnelly, and Zhiquo Yang for their encouragement. Over the years, my students at River Falls have given me valuable feedback on many of my ideas. In addition, two former students in particular, Jane Norman and Steph Sianko, provided research assistance that was instrumental in allowing me to finish chapter 5. Beth Hawkins, a writer at MinnPost.com, helped me to obtain materials used in chapter 3. Further, many friends and former colleagues also provided words of support during the many years that the it took to complete the book, including John Mazis, Joe Peschek, Nurith Zmora, Martin Markowitz, Larry Baas, Joe Kling, and Eric Ziegelmayer. I would also like to acknowledge the University of Michigan Press. I am grateful for the detailed comments of three anonymous reviewers, which substantially improved the book’s organization and refined the argument. Melody Herr, acquisitions editor, has been extremely helpful throughout this lengthy process. Even though the project ultimately took much longer to complete than I originally planned, Melody stuck with me every step of the way. Her words of encouragement and professionalism were essential in helping me to keep things moving forward. But most of all, I would like to acknowledge my wife and two sons, Jennifer , Benjamin, and Alexander. Jennifer is the love of my life and my best friend. She has happily allowed me to spend the considerable amount of time away from family responsibilities that is required to write a book. Each day I am extremely grateful for her love and support, without which completing this book would have been impossible. Benjamin was born just as the original draft of the book was starting to come together, and in my mind the process of watching him grow from infancy to preschool will always be intertwined with the completion of this book. The joy of watching Ben grow up has taught me to appreciate all the little things in this world that most of us take for granted, like diggers and concrete-pouring trucks at construction sites, or red-winged blackbirds on the tops of cattails in the spring. And Alexander was born just a few months after the final version of the manuscript was sent to the publisher. Thus I dedicate this book to Jennifer, Ben, and Alex, who make my life worthwhile. ...

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