Chicago's political image a risk for Obama

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Americans also have never sent a Chicagoan to the White House, and one intriguing question posed by his candidacy is whether they are ready to now.

For all his talk about change, Obama remains a product of a Chicago and Illinois political culture renowned for corruption and filled with characters who range from felonious to just outrageous.

Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, Obama's mentor in Springfield, is about as old-school as they come. Just last month, the Chicago Democrat publicly ridiculed an attempt to block a pay raise for legislators by sarcastically declaring: "I've got to get me some food stamps."

For more on Obama and his Illinois colleagues.For more on Chicago Democrats and the Chicago Mob.