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Put Down Your Nanowrimo And Leave The House
Sox Shuffle Continues
Obama has done it. Durbin has done it. Now Daley’s gonna do it. The “it” in question? Lobbying for alleged murderer Hans Peterson’s extradition to the United States. The story’s old hat by this point: Peterson supposedly confessed to killing dermatologist Dr. David Cornbleet last October in his office on Michigan Avenue. Unfortunately his confession fell on French ears, as Peterson had fled to the isle of St. Martin, where he invoked his Gallic heritage through his French-born mother. Despite pleas from both Illinois U.S. senators and a public relations black eye, France refuses to give Peterson back to the States so he can stand trial, declaring they won’t extradite a national.
Cue Da Mare. Richard M. is heading over the Atlantic to visit Paris, one of Chicago’s sister cities. Along with checking out how Paris deals with rental bikes, he plans to appeal to mayor Bertrand Delanoë tête-à-tête in order to get Peterson back. This decision comes on the heels of a resolution, passed yesterday by the City Council, to put pressure on French government to return the suspect. Jon Cornbleet, the late doctor’s son, is grateful for the political involvement in the case. He’s adamant about not having the trial in St. Martin, where the U.S. would have no involvement except donation of evidence, and where Peterson’s potential sentence would be much more lenient.
As elated as we are about politicians raising the profile of this case, we’re very wary of siccing Daley on French government. We barely know what he’s saying half the time, both in elucidation and enunciation. His gruff ways, while at home in Chicago, seem like they’d be out of place in France. How will he fare with the cultural barrier? Factor in the delicate situation between the two countries, and … we’re not sure we really want him as our diplomat. That said, with France not budging an inch on the issue, we will still take all the support we can get. We hope we're underestimating the impact Daley can have, mayor to mayor.
Image of Hans Peterson courtesy of the Cornbleets' MySpace page.
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What the hell does the mayor of Paris have to do with extradition. It's the national government that does that. Daley just wants a chocolate crepe under that funny metal tower on OUR dime.
N.... please!
He needs to "extradite" Jon Burge from Florida and climb into a jail cell with him
I agree with Ferdy. Goes to show how smart Daley is. He still has my vote come next election. :)
You do reaize that the "um, aah, err, " thing is an act?
In private he is 100% on. Hate him if you like, but he is no dummy.
ferdy, i think this is one of the few trips where we don't pick up the tab. since paris is a sister city, i believe there's a fund to take care of such inter-sister-city trips. course, as to who supplies that fund, i am in the dark.
Who do you think supplies the fund? Taxpayers, of course.
Yeah, Daley's no dummy. He only flunked the bar exam twice.
Ferdy how many times have you taken bar exam and passed?
Cut the guy a break on this one. He is right to want the guy brought to justice.
I didn't go to law school. He did.
So do I. Will you all pony up some money so I can go to Paris and see the king?
actually he would have flunked again, but his father picked up the phone and said "pass my son"
Actually, the rumor in the legal community, widely believed but not substantiated, is that, after Richie flunked the bar exam the second time (I've taken and passed the bar exam - it's very, very easy), someone at the Board of Law Examiners made clear to Daley senior that, if Richie's previous performance on the test was any guide, he was never going to pass. The Board of Law Examiners is an arm of the Illinois Supreme Court; Daley senior was at that point essentially appointing three Illinois Supreme Court justices.
In any case, so the story goes, Cecil Partee ultimately took the test for Richie, in which no one can fail to see the humor. Again, this is both unsubstantiated and pretty well accepted, for whatever that's worth.
There's a fine history of Daleys doing this sort of thing. Both Michael and John Daley are reputed to have cheated on the real estate exam during the same period (the person who said so being the examiner who changed their scores to passing). That's particularly sorry in light of the astonishing simplicity of the real estate exam.
The US-bashing country in question continously demands our respect. That we should rise above their level of petty envy and rudeness. But this issue is so outrageous that I can only say Frog, Frog, Frog.
At least Daley and his mayoral counterpart over there will have something in common. Neither is fluent in English.
Civilized countries may well refuse to extradite accused criminals to the US because of the death penalty. If this is an issue here, perhaps Dick Devine could publicly decline to seek it in this case.
Moreover, I'm ashamed, as a citizen of Chicago, to say that Richie can't give any believable assurance to a foreign government that someone extradited to Chicago won't have a confession beaten out of him by our outstanding police force.
France will not return the subject not only because he is a national, but because they disagree with the American way of death penalty. As a member of Amnesty International, I applaud that stand.
ferdy: that's all well and good, and their right, but the cornbleet family have agreed not to seek the death penalty. that just makes the whole situation all the more frustrating.
Slow news day, apparently. We get it, we get it, Chicagoist and everyone associated with it hates Daley, but this kind of post just takes away from whatever small amount of credibility this sight might have. You may as well have written a diatribe about how you hate his ties.
Illinois has a moratorium on executions, so that's not really an issue.
Daley found a company outside the U.S. to pick up the tab for his many travels. Mayor Daley needs to worry about issues in Chicago. Make the bikes in the west side of Chicago, blacks need jobs. polly vue monsewer daley?
Who is running the city when Da Mare is out of it for extended periods of time?
Give me a break, Ferdy. Your argument really has no weight because of the reason Shannon pointed out.
I find it funny that Daley can do all this traveling but never bring back a good idea about mass transit. Instead, we get rented bikes and meaningless pleas for extradition, business of the State Dept and our federal officials.
Ward Up-
How did you form your opinion on France? Was it due to extensive travel or contact with actual French people? I'm just wondering, thanks.
First, we have a moratorium, not a ban. Blago wants to bring back the death penalty.
Second, what do you think the average Frenchman knows about state law? Tell me what the position on anything in the Languedoc province is? Do you think that the average Frenchman won't be all up in arms about extradition, even if the government tells them that the death penalty is off the table?
Finally, I was curious about funding for the Sister City program. It is a nonprofit that gets donations. But it is not my understanding that Daley is going under the auspices of the Sister City program. I'd like to know just who IS funding his trips and what the quid pro quo is.
I guess you think the Mayor of the third biggest city in the country should drive around in a Civic wearing suits from Men's Wearhouse and flying Southwest. "We can't afford this!"