The Sun-Times continues its investigation into ex-cons being hired by City Hall today with a piece that counts 139 former offenders who have obtained jobs from the city in the past two years. Mayor Daley has long championed the practice of hiring people who have been convicted of crimes, believing that they've paid their debt to society and deserve a new lease on life. But this is Chicago and the list puts into question who some of these ex-cons know and if that influences their obtaining employment with the city. more ›

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Robert Sorich's appeal of his 2006 conviction on fraud charges. Sorich, Mayor Daley's former patronage chief, was found guilty of rigging city hiring to give jobs to politically connected workers. Along with former Department of Streets and Sanitation official Patrick Slattery, and former Sorich aide Timothy McCarthy, Sorich's attorneys argued that since the men never took bribes or kickbacks, they couldn't be convicted of violating the "Honest Services" statute, which prohibits public employees from breaking the law for gain, even if it isn't personal gain. more ›

Mayor Daley's former patronage chief, Robert Sorich, was denied an en banc appeal hearing Monday. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals turned down a request that the entire court reconsider the convictions of Sorich and two others. Sorich, who was convicted in 2006 of fraud for his role in covering up political hiring in the city, had asked for a hearing to examine his fraud conviction for depriving the city of "honest services," a hot topic in recent years. While such a hearing is unusual, it isn't unheard of: The court held such a hearing after former governor George Ryan was convicted of racketeering. Two judges, Michael S. Kanne and Richard A. Posner, dissented, saying that the subject was worthy of examination, and that it was unclear if violating a series of 30-year-old court decrees could be the basis for a crime. more ›

The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the convictions of four former Daley aides yesterday, including City Hall's former patronage chief Robert Sorich. "We concluded that the defendants actions do constitute mail fraud, and that the statute is not unconstitutionally vague as applied to the facts of the case," the three-judge panel said in its 29-page opinion. You can read the whole opinion here. (PDF) more ›

Convicted criminal and ex-City Clerk Jim Laski, fresh off his incarceration, has published a book about taking the fall in the Hired Truck scandal--and he says Mayor Daley knows more than he's letting on. Wait, wait, wait, hold the presses: Mayor Daley is intimately involved with scandal and patronage, but he'll deny it? Noooo. more ›

Corruption in Chicago has evolved, according to federal hiring monitor Noelle Brennan. According to the annual report Brennan released yesterday, blatant abuses and manipulation of the hiring system in the city is no longer a problem. But patronage has moved to "more subtle types of manipulations of the hiring process." Brennan has been the hiring monitor since August of 2005, when federal prosecutors uncovered a fraudulent hiring scheme that led to Daley's former patronage chief Robert Sorich in prison being sentenced to 46 months in prison. more ›

One thing we've learned in our time as a font of synopsis, synthesis and snark of local news and events, is that when Da Mare gets in the press, it's all at once. And yesterday was no exception. After being gone for two weeks, Daley had a little bit to say about the Cline resignation, the recent settlement of patronage hiring, and the indictment of Al "Dirty" Sanchez. Daley indicated that after "the mistakes of... more ›

If you live in a ward that is contested, you've probably noticed that you are getting mailings from the aldermanic candidates where you live. Maybe you've even gotten the so-called "robocall" — a recorded message from a candidate (usually the incumbent) encouraging you to come out to vote (for them), and listing some of the reasons why you should. Our friends in the 32nd Ward tell us that the two headline candidates, Ted Matlak and... more ›

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The big news yesterday was that Daley would run for relelection. Lined up at city hall with all the aldermanic candidates was none other than Terry Peterson, former Chicago Housing Authority CEO and Daley's campaign manager, carrying less than 25,000 signatures to put Hizzoner on the ballot. This is a far cry from past campaigns when Daley surrogates would arrive with nearly a quarter million signatures. While some have speculated that filing light like this... more ›

Hey there, little buckaroos! We sure do have us a whole herd a political tidbits to round up, so let's saddle up and git a rollin'! Mayor Daley has nothing but good things to say about convicted patronage chief Robert Sorich. In a press conference this week, he said they were all "fine young men," citing his personal knowledge of their families. He went to great pains, however, to avoid passing judgment over Sorich's 48-month... more ›

Yee Haw, Pardner! We got us a whole mess 'a turkeys to rustle up here, so let's get these doggies rollin'! Chicago taxpayers are footing the bill for legal representation of witnesses in the Hired Truck Scandal to the tune of $595,080, for witnesses alone! This number only covers the cost of witnesses that weren't implicated in the scandal. The largest portion of this bill, $210,717, went to a single law firm that used to... more ›

As you may have already heard, Mayor Daley has been going crazy with the globe-trotting the last few days. In the manner of Carmen Sandiego and her gumshoes, Daley has been popping up all over, chiefly in Chicago’s sister city Amman, Jordan. more ›

In the most recent scandal at City Hall, Mayor Daley has fired 2 Chicago officials who are accused of running a rigged system that rewards people with political ties with jobs. Yesterday both Robert Sorich and Patrick Slattery were let go. But not just let go, that was just a result of their being INDICTED by the feds. The 2 men are accused of giving well-connected job applicants easy, fake interviews and of bumping up their interview scores to make sure they got positions. more ›