Ald. Carothers Wore A Wire

By Marcus Gilmer in News on May 29, 2009 2:00PM

Amongst the many revelations in yesterday's unsealing of court documents relating to the indictment of Ald. Ike Carothers (29th) was the fact that Carothers had been helping investigators by wearing a wire for over a year, capturing public officials and real estate developers in recordings. Yet, it still wasn't enough for him to dodge the charges the U.S. Attorney levied against him. A motion from February and unsealed yesterday refers to the investigation against Galewood Yards developer Calvin Boender, also indicted yesterday, and to "Public Official A," who wore the wire. The motion says [via Chicago Breaking News]:

"Public Official A has been cooperating with the investigation since approximately April 2008. Along with admitting his conduct and agreeing to testify, Public Official A has been consensually recording conversations with individuals suspected of engaging in ongoing criminal conduct. These recorded conversations include meetings Public Official A has had with other public officials and real estate developers. The government expects Public Official A to continue this cooperation into late May 2009."

What remains to be seen is how successful Carothers was in catching anyone else in the course of illegal activities. In spite of being an ally of Mayor Daley, Carothers didn't seem to have many friends in the City Council. According to the Sun-Times:

Colleagues have been suspicious he has been wearing a wire, City Hall sources say.

And Carothers was not that popular to begin with because he leapfrogged over more senior colleagues to become Daley's handpicked Police and Fire Committee chairman and lectured those who dared to oppose Daley's tax increases on the City Council floor.

Of course, this isn't the first time an alderman named Carothers has been in hot water. His father William, who was alderman of the 28th ward until he was voted out of office in 1983 after aligning himself with Daley rather than the victorious Harold Washington, spent some time in prison for extorting $32,500 worth of remodeling work for his office from the builders of Bethany Hospital. Boender has also been charged with third party donations to Cook County Circuit Judge Anita Rivkin-Carothers - Ike's aunt - during her unsuccessful 2004 Congressional campaign.