Editing Michael Kenna (politician) (section)

==Legacy==
It was thought that after Kenna stepped down the 1st Ward would be moved south and the Loop would be divided across multiple wards.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=358|ps=none}} Upon redistricting in 1948, the 1st Ward was combined with the erstwhile "Bloody 20th" Ward across the [[Chicago River]]'s south branch.<ref name="1st ward redistrict"/> The 1st Ward committeemen of both parties resigned in favor of their counterparts of the old 20th Ward, largely due to the fact that the old 20th could have outvoted the old 1st.<ref name="1st ward redistrict">{{cite news |last1=Gentry |first1=Guy |title=Hot contests expected for jobs in wards |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/195810398/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=June 4, 2019 |work=Chicago Tribune |issue=Part 3 |page=2 |date=January 18, 1948 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Nevertheless, the 1st Ward's reputation would last long after Kenna's death; by the 1980s it was well associated with organized crime.{{sfn|Fremon|p=25|ps=none}} In 1991 allies of Mayor [[Richard M. Daley]] proposed, and the City Council approved, a redistricting that renumbered much of the 1st Ward as the 42nd Ward at the request of businesses in the area, who felt that the 1st Ward had gained too much of a negative connotation.<ref name="Remap">{{cite news |last1=Kass |first1=John |title=Remap imperils City Council vets |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/389641764/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=13 April 2020 |work=Chicago Tribune |volume=145 |issue=302 |page=1 |date=October 29, 1991 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> {{As of|2019}} the 42nd Ward alderman is [[Brendan Reilly (politician)|Brendan Reilly]] and the 1st Ward alderman is [[Daniel La Spata]].<ref name="Ward list">{{cite web |title=Wards |url=https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/about/wards.html |publisher=City of Chicago |access-date=21 November 2019}}</ref>

The last surviving link to Kenna and Coughlin was Anthony C. Laurino, who served as an assistant precinct captain under their tutelage{{sfn|Fremon|p=254|ps=none}} and would later serve as alderman of the 39th Ward from 1965 to 1994, dying in 1999.<ref name="Laurino Obit">{{cite news |last1=Struzzi |first1=Diane |last2=Washburn |first2=Gary |title=Anthony C. Laurino, 88, former 'alley alderman' of 39th Ward |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-03-28-9903280325-story.html |url-access=limited |access-date=11 April 2020 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=March 28, 1999}}</ref> Laurino, who was known for dealing mainly in the matters of the 39th Ward rather than those across the city, expressed pride in his political practices and credited the two for teaching them to him.<ref name="Laurino Obit"/>

David K. Fremon argues in his book ''Chicago Politics Ward by Ward'' that while Coughlin and Kenna "are generally viewed as living cartoon characters[,]... both were astute men in their time. Were they to appear today [in 1988], they would probably have made their fortunes through law, insurance, or real estate[.]"{{sfn|Fremon|p=25|ps=none}} Reflecting on their tenure, reformer [[Paul Douglas (Illinois politician)|Paul Douglas]] noted:
{{Quote|Here were two men of the people who rose to power not merely by brawn and self-assertiveness but also by acting as the very human friends of people in poverty and trouble. They fed the hungry and got jobs for the unemployed. They protected those in trouble with the law. In return, like the ''[[condottieri]]'' of the medieval cities, they demanded and obtained loyalty and obedience. ... Can [reformers] meet the human needs which the blundering Bath and the Shrewd Hink served, and do so without the corruption that they practiced?{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|pp=vii & xiv|ps=none}}}}

A 2012 retrospective by NBC News Chicago ranked Kenna and Coughlin as the 3rd and 4th most corrupt public officials in Illinois history, behind Thompson and Illinois Secretary of State [[Paul Powell (politician)|Paul Powell]].<ref name="NBC Chicago">{{cite web |last1=McClelland |first1=Edward |title=The 12 Most Corrupt Public Officials in Illinois History: The Complete List |url=https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/The-12-Most-Corrupt-Public-Officials-In-Illinois-History-Michael-Hinky-Dink-Kenna-and-Bathhouse-John-Coughlin-137683963.html |website=NBC Chicago |date=January 19, 2012 |access-date=March 17, 2019}}</ref>