More Trouble for Daley

By Kevin Robinson in News on Mar 27, 2009 2:20PM

Mayor Daley's public troubles grew yesterday as news emerged that the mayor has taken some 46 trips abroad in the last two years, 19 of them at taxpayer expense. The Sun-Times is reporting that "seven of the trips were fully or partially bankrolled by the Daley campaign fund, seven by the Chicago 2016 Olympic organizing committee, four by the Sister Cities program, three by World Business Chicago and two by the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce." Two trips - to Washington, D.C. and Kona, Hawaii - were aboard a private jet owned by Educap, a nonprofit organization under federal fraud investigation.

The Sun-Times also is reporting that the cost of the mayor's trips is unknown, as the city law department won't disclose more information than where he went and who paid for them, citing both security concerns and the cost of disclosing such information. Mayor Daley also took questions (sort of) about his role in the streets and sanitation hiring fraud that former commissioner Al Sanchez was recently convicted of. Typical of Daley's response to such questions by reporters, the mayor read a statement affirming that he "never [has] or never will support any activity that is illegal" and that Sanchez's conviction was based on "allegations from several years ago." He also noted that, in spite of everything, the city has made progress in reforming its hiring process, and that "we created the office of inspector general, hired a former federal prosecutor who you all know is very aggressive in his pursuit of people who still try to skirt the rules and try to beat the system."

Speaking of the city inspector general, trustees for two city pension funds that are being investigated for their involvement with an investment fund managed by people with ties to the mayor (including his nephew, Robert Vanecko) are considering fighting Inspector General David Hoffman's subpoenas in the matter. Trustees for the police pension fund and another city pension fund connected to the allegedly corrupt fund management scheme are planning to refuse the subpoenas. IN total, five city pension fund have invested $68 million with DV Urban Reality, a real estate investment firm. DV Urban Reality, which is run by Daley ally Allison Davis and Vanecko, has been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in management fees by the city. DV Urban Reality plans to use those funds to redevelop blighted neighborhoods - including those around Washington Park - as part of the city's 2016 Olympic bid.