De jonge en naïeve Mr. Jefferson Smith denkt dat hij de wereld kan verbeteren als hij wordt gekozen voor de Senaat. Maar daar aangekomen wordt hij alleen maar geconfronteerd met corruptie en bedrog. In zijn pogingen om hier een einde aan te maken, zet hij bijna zijn carrière op het spel.

A young lawyer is elected mayor of the city and promises to rid it of the corruption it's famous for. The problem is that most of the corruption he's vowed to eliminate is caused by the crooked political machine that helped elect him.

An investigative documentary that focuses on political activities in the 47th Ward of Chicago and on the relationship between party politics and the park district. Originally aired on local Chicago news station WBBM-TV in 1979, the documentary details machine politics, patronage, clientelism and bribery that ran rife in Chicago's 47th Ward under the helm of Democratic Party Committeeman Ed Kelly. The digitization of this program was made possible by a grant from The Brinson Foundation.