Depends on what you mean by "honest". Where I come from, an "honest politician" is one who stays bought; he doesn't sell you out of someone later on bribes him, even if the new bribe is higher. He's got principles. Of course, where I come from, we also believe in ghosts - since dead people can vote here.

Chicago or one of its suburbs?

Voting could be very convenient, too. A friend's future mother-in-law went to vote (in one of the suburbs) and found out she already had!

These small towns have such good services....

When I was in college in Chicago (at IIT), the concensus was that every city job (except, possibly, the police) was a patronage job. This is why Chicago had 5 men (this may not have included the driver) on a garbage truck (I think NYC had 3). It had nothing to do with union work rules; it had to do with maximizing opportunities for patronage positions.

emc

e^(π√−1) = −1

As Boss Tweed said "I don't care who votes, as long as I get to do the nominating.".