He seemed to have made a difficult transition from cog in the legendary Chicago Democratic machine to politician of the '90s. Not the blow-dried telegenic kind; burly, raspy-voiced Dan Rostenkowski remained a backroom dealmaker to the bitter end. He won vast respect as the Congressman who could + massage the tough bills -- tax reform, maybe health care -- into literally passable form. But, says Chicago political columnist Steve Neal, "he was caught in a sort of time warp," and he is under investigation for allegedly taking perks that were common in the Chicago wards of the 1950s, and even in...
Dealmaker's Downfall
As one of the Capitol's most powerful legislators decides his fate, colleagues wonder how it happened
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