I think when you look at the elder Daley, you have to look at it in the context of what was happening in the context of other cities like Detroit, Cleveland etc.

Prosperity certainly wasn't uniform in Chicago in that period, but it held together better than most. And if you look at the downtown business districts, Chicago was really was booming through most of that period.

I'm certainly not saying either Daley is a saint. If you haven't read it already, pick up a copy of American Pharoh about The first Daley. It's an excellent biography that touches many of these issues.