Welcome to the At Illinois Press Podcast, the official podcast of the University of Illinois Press.
Today, Michael Roux, Marketing and Sales Manager at the University of Illinois Press, talked to George Van Dusen, co-author of “Clear it With Sid!: Sidney R. Yates and Fifty Years of Presidents, Pragmatism, and Public Service.”
So who was Sidney Yates?
The son of a Lithuanian blacksmith, Sidney R. Yates rose to the pinnacle of Washington power and influence. As chair of a House Appropriations subcommittee, Yates was a preeminent national figure involved in issues that ranged from the environment and Native American rights to Israel and support for the arts. Speaker Tip O’Neill relied on the savvy Chicagoan in the trenches and advised anyone with controversial legislation to first “clear it with Sid!”
In their biography, Michael C. Dorf and George Van Dusen draw on scores of interviews and unprecedented access to private papers to illuminate the life of an Illinois political icon. Wise, energetic, charismatic, petty, stubborn—Sid Yates presented a complicated character to constituents and colleagues alike. Yet his get-it-done approach to legislation allowed him to bridge partisan divides in the often-polarized House of Representatives. Following Yates from the campaign trail to the negotiating table to the House floor, Dorf and Van Dusen offer a rich portrait of a dealmaker extraordinaire and tireless patriot on a fifty-year journey through postwar American politics.
Take a listen to learn more!
Learn more about the book here: http://go.illinois.edu/s19dorf
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