Results tagged “hiredtrucks”

When Mayor Daley first appointed a former federal prosecutor to the Inspector General office five years ago in the wake of scandals such as Hired Trucks, he probably thought of it more as a gesture than anything that might bring about real problems for him. Boy, was he wrong. Since then, there's been a lot of tension between the City and the IGO as the IGO has done their job and kept after the city. In the latest development of this ongoing battle, the Inspector General's Office is taking the City of Chicago to court in an effort to get access to documents and records pertaining to a 2006 no-bid contract award. Our media crush Carol Marin has the details at the Sun-Times:

We don't enjoy starting our mornings by having a downright hissy fit, but reading the Sun-Times story on Mayor Daley's planned speech in which he'll allegedly admit he made a mistake with the infamous parking meter deal is throwing us into a hulk-out rage. Know why? Well, for starters:

At one time or another, we've all gotten fed up with the shenanigans down at City Hall. Sure, some are content to post their anti-clout rants on a storefront window, but a few fine men have channeled all that rage and put it into song.

Now that former Streets and Sanitation Commissioner and Hispanic Democratic Organization chief Al Sanchez has been convicted of corruption, we needn't worry about the city steering contracts or hiring their friends.

Remember John Harris? He was Governor Blagojevich's Chief of Staff who was arrested alongside the Governor on that cold December morning. Following the arrest, Harris resigned his position and now it looks like he's joining the Feds' fight against Blago by cooperating with prosecutors. While an official deal has not been hammered out nor has Harris even begun officially giving feds info, sources tell the Trib talks are well underway. One of Harris's phones was tapped by the feds in their investigation of Gov. Blagojevich. Harris is no stranger to scandals, having previously resigned as City Hall's budget director following the Hired Trucks affair.

 

Sure, everyone knows who Gov. Rod Blagojevich is, but who’s this John Harris guy? Well, Harris was apart of Mayor Daley’s administration from 1996 to 2005.

With all the investigating and convicting going on these days, the case against the Hispanic Democratic Organization and its leadership hasn't been in the news much lately. With George Ryan out the way, the feds can get back to taking down the Chicago Machine. The first casualty of what will likely be many in that case came yesterday, with John Resa, an HDO coordinator who controlled some 70 city jobs, getting 15 months in prison...

While we've been busy enjoying the nice weather over the weekend, and trying to get back in the groove this week, lots of other newsworthy stuff has happened here in the City by the Lake. Let's take a look back at everything that's happened so far this week: Daley Picks a New Chief of Staff; Local Press Makes Bad Sports Jokes. As Daley promoted Ron Huberman to try and save the CTA's ass, he's tapped...

Now that the feds have led 20th Ward Alderman Arenda Troutman away in handcuffs, can we really say that as many as 15 seats in the city council are in play this election year? After she was arraigned in court and released on a $10,000 bond, her attorney, Sam Adam Jr., suggested that she was being punished for helping a constituent out with a "favor." It seems that in the 20th Ward, favors can cost...