Did Chicago Politics Influence Tanker Decision?

Maybe Boeing's move to Chicago is paying dividends?

Capping a decade of delays and embarrassing missteps, the Air Force on Thursday awarded one of the biggest defense contracts ever—a $35 billion deal to build nearly 200 giant airborne refueling tankers—to Chicago-based Boeing Co. over European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. 

 The contract will mean tens of thousands of jobs for a recession-weary nation, with Washington state and Kansas getting the bulk of the work building a replacement for the Eisenhower-era tanker fleet. The decision was a blow to the Gulf Coast and Alabama, which had been counting on EADS to assemble the aircraft at a long-shuttered military base in Mobile. 

Gulf coast red states. Chicago and Washington, deep blue?  Well, Obama believes in rewarding friends and punishing enemies.