Of 18 car washes across the city chosen by the Sun-Times at random, they found only one, Latino's Hand Car Wash at 3117 S. Archer in the McKinley Park neighborhood, did not have a water meter to measure water usage. As a result, the business is billed a flat fee for water and sewage usage, based on the antiquated system for billing in which a property owner is billed a flat fee determined by the width of the lot and building, regardless of use. more ›

A City Water Department official who is currently the subject of a probe has some ties to the mayor. Deputy Commissioner Tommie Talley is being investigated for allegedly using Chicago Water Management equipment and employees "to fix or improve sewer and water pipes" for private citizens, not public improvements. One of the locations under investigation is the Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church in Bridgeport, though Rev. Daniel Brandt, the church's pastor, denies any illegal activity:

I’d open up my books to them and open up my doors to them to let them know the work on the property was fully paid for. I’m sure there was a day and a time when the city would do things, but that’s just suicide now, especially in the high-profile parish that this is.

Mr. Talley is active in the 11th Ward Regular Democratic Organization, which is run by Cook County Commissioner John Daley, the mayor’s brother. Mr. Talley also once was part of an affiliated political group headed by former First Deputy Water Commissioner Donald Tomczak, who was convicted in the Hired Truck scandal.

The Hired Truck scandal isn't going away anytime soon. Today the Sun-Times reports that federal prosecutors have announced that they have secret audio recordings of City Clerk James Laski that incriminate him in the scheme: more ›

Chicagoist has previously discussed how working for the Department of Water Management seems to be a non-stop party. From fat overtime checks to gambling during work and drug rings, the Water Department is the place to be! more ›

• Daley says he favors a less restrictive smoking ban, the city council still can't agree on anything.
• This month anthropologists will begin photographing about 20,000 Columbian Exposition items with the goal of making them available on the InterWeb by Sept. 2007.
• Actual good CTA news: Daley puts the kabash on the CTA fare hike for disabled. The Chicago Card is free from now til March. We can now load up our CTA cards & check balances at 65 local retail outlets.

Two more members of the Mayor Richard M. Daley's cabinet got the ax today, as City Personnel chief and last original Daley cabinet member Glenn Carr announced his resignation yesterday and Transporation Department Commissioner Miguel d'Escoto also submitted his walking papers today. Carr and d'Escoto's resignation's brings Huberman's "Commissioner Count" to three, since Water Department Comissioner Richard Rice was ousted last week. more ›

The twelfth Hired Trucker was convicted this week, as Joseph Ignoffo of Ignoffo Trucking plead guilty to mail fraud and detailed how bagmen from the Water Department took bribes and directed political contributions to campaign funds for Cook County Commissioner and Mayoral Brother, John Daley. Ignoffo would make cash payments to Water Department Deputy Commissioner Donald Tomczak and later his underling, Gerald Wesolowski, in return for millions of dollars of city trucking business. Meanwhile, the... more ›

When Mayoral Chief of Staff Ron Huberman announced last Friday the firing of nine Water Department employees, including Comissioner Rick Rice, City Hall watchers began to wonder which department was next -- and how much closer to the mayor the oustings might get. That's what reporters were asking the Mayor yesterday. The firing of a city departmental commissioner is a big deal, even in a mayoral administration that's seen as many changes as Richard M.... more ›

It's the biggest political story of the day, but Chicagoist has waited until the late afternoon because we needed to mull this over a bit. It is just too damn big, and some very important reputations are at stake. So, take a deep breath and take this story in a couple of bites. Gerald Wesolowski Jr., a top Chicago Water Department official became the sixth person to plead guilty in the U.S. Attorney's Hired... more ›

Because Chicagoist takes its job of repeating what is already printed in the newspapers very seriously, we thought it was important to mention last Friday's big news of six new people indicted in the Hired Truck Scandal. The charges are more of the same, shaking down trucking company owners for bribes. Probably the most interesting news is that one, there are so many people people charged -- twenty-three -- and two, that Don Tomczak, the... more ›

Mayor Daley is saying that the city needs to cut 1,200 jobs as part of an effort to reduce the city's $220 million budget deficit. The good news: about 800 of those jobs are already vacant and they just won't fill them. So no one gets fired. Of course, we know from our own corporate layoff woes that companies think they're doing you a favor by not firing, but just not hiring, when really you get crapped on by getting a double workload and stuff like that. yay! good times! more ›