Chicago is NOT the Only City...

There are a number of seemingly intelligent people "out there" who have a bizarre misconception about aldermen and city councils.

Chicago is NOT the "only city that has aldermen." Huh? Why do they think that? EVERY city has a city council. EVERY city, town and village has a local legislative body. They might call it "city council," the "village board," or something else. It's all essentially the same. Local representative government.

I mean, people, do you really think that other cities are run by - by a what? By a local king? A queen? By Washington? Good God, are Americans that ignorant?

A random search of Google for "city coucil, village board" found this, among other, entries from Nebraska's state web site:

"The city council of any city, the board of trustees of any incorporated village, the county board of any county, and the electors of any township at their annual town meeting shall have the power to establish a ..." (whatever).

See? U.S. Congress, state legislatures, county boards, and the micro/local level, city councils, village boards, township electors, etc. This is so because the U.S. Constitution requires it.

Section 4, Article IV of the U.S. Constitution says, "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence."

"Republican" in this context simply means "representative." (Stop hyperventilating.)