Federal authorities must look at Mayor Daley's administration and think he's coated with more teflon than John Gotti with all the aides and "close associates" running afoul of the law. The Feds are investigating eight years of allegations that members of Daley's administration strong-armed Bridgeport property owners into selling their land to politically connected real estate developers. The Tribune article we linked to quoted Jim Mazzochi, who owns a metal plating business in the neighborhood,... more ›

Mike Quigley would have you believe that he supports good government for Cook County. He came into office in 1998, the lone reformer on the bloated and corrupt board. By his second term, he found brotherhood: joining forces with Forrest Claypool, Larry Suffriden, and Tony Peraica, they managed to form an alliance and win some victories against John Stroger's Machine. In 2005 he threw his hat in the ring to challenge the former County Board... more ›

Besides appointing Tammy Duckworth to the state Department of Veteran's Affairs, Rod Blagojevich has made the news again recently for some other, not-so-sexy reasons lately, too. Blago gave the boot to two East Coast law firms that had made large donations to the Governor. A third firm had been removed from the state's list of preferred law firms in May. The Sun-Times is reporting that the preferred list kept by the state (which is a... more ›

The Feds have subpoenaed workers comp files from the city. More than 1,100 transportation nerds gathered downtown to discuss transit solutions. The CTA is adding low-emissions buses. Handicapped transit riders are upset about a 50% increase in Pace paratransit fares and a $3.25 increase in taxicab vouchers. "Discarded" via Michael DaKidd... more ›

Today's featured photo by Scott M. more ›

Yesterday Chicagoist wondered how organizations like the Hispanic Democratic Organization might play into Mayor Richard M. Daley's new campaign contribution restrictions. The Chicago Tribune learned the answer: HDO and other political committees will face no limitations. The upshot is that while city contractors will now be limited from making direct contributions to the mayor's campaign committee, contractors now have a green light to make contributions to Daley sponsored political committees like HDO, the Coalition for... more ›