One key snip:

"Eventually, the 6-foot-4-inch Rostenkowski cut through a gas station, broke into a sprint and escaped into his car, which minutes earlier had one of the elderly protesters, Leona Kozien, draped over the hood."

Pure journalistic gold.

Anyway-- you should really read this article all the way through. It shows how civic engagement, anger about healthcare costs, and hotdog & baked beans lunches endure forever.
www.chicagotribune.com/1989/08/18/i...

I was there at the time documenting a raucous pre-pandemic public meeting full of people opposed to senior housing at the hulking emptiness of Six Corners

I was looking in my photo history for any evidence of Rostenkowski's name anywhere in Chicago and all I found was this small plaque at the Copernicus Center indicating he was the inaugural winner of the Copernican Award in 1981

In researching the post about this forgotten Chicagoan, I came across an absolutely bonkers 1989 news article from the @chicagotribune.com recounting the time Rostenkowski was set upon by 100 senior citizens disinterested in higher health care costs: www.chicagotribune.com/1989/08/18/i...

I was there, in City Council chambers, the night of "No Deals!" when they made Sawyer the mayor. Watching Swayer's quick exit, the rise of Daley II, and the power base Evans built in the courts, I still wonder if the slogan we all chanted wasn't the plan they executed.