This biography of Otto Kerner traces the heritage of a major figure in Illinois politics and explains his precipitous descent from public hero to public enemy.
In my friends basement, in the carefully organized storage room, my friend's dad, while searching for some forgotten tool, moved aside a white construction hardhat with the words "Kerner Kicks Ass" emblazoned on the side.
"What's that?" (I was perhaps a bit young to distill my curiousity into a more cogent query.)
"Otto Kerner. I worked on his campaign. It ain't right, what they did to him."
After reading this book, I would have to agree. It ain't right what they did to him.