Richard M. Daley's Influence Still Runs Deep

By Chuck Sudo in News on Sep 8, 2014 9:00PM

Of all the connected former politicians we would have expected to vie for a city contract, Richard M. Daley would have been at the bottom of the list for myriad reasons, starting with he’s Richard M. Daley.

Yet it appears he did indeed throw his fedora into the ring for a contract to develop land in the Illinois Medical District. According to the Sun-Times, Tur Partners, the company formed by Daley and son Patrick after he left office, was part of a group bidding to develop 9.5 acres of land controlled by the Illinois Medical District Commission. The group later pulled itself from consideration but, in a sign of how deep the Daley cachet still runs, the other two groups seeking the bid had connections to the former mayor.

The winning bid went to IMD Gateway Partners, a group headed by developer Jack Higgins and Elzie Higginbottom. Higginbottom was one of Daley’s most reliable fundraisers during the mayor’s political career. He has concessions contracts at O’Hare and Midway Airports, and his company manages the Cook County government building. Higgins was originally selected to develop the land by the Medical District Commission before it was revealed he owed $2.9 million in personal income taxes to the IRS. His daughter, the Sun-Times notes, was with Daley’s nephew Richard “R.J.” Vanecko the night Vanecko threw the punch that killed David Koschman in 2004.

In another Daley connection, IMD promptly hired another Daley nephew, Patrick Daley Thompson, as their legal counsel to handle any zoning issues that may arise with the city. In addition to being a real estate attorney, Thompson is a Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner and recently announced his candidacy to replace James Balcer as 11th Ward Alderman. The Medical District Commission said they chose IDM because they were in a better position to develop the property than the losing bidder, Cullinan Properties Ltd. That company, by the way, is headed by former Daley campaign donor Patrick Daly. Daly was a former vice chairman of Navy Pier Inc., the nonprofit that manages Navy Pier and employs a host of former Daley staffers and confidantes.

Daley’s team, Vermilion, pulled out of consideration when bidders were required to provide financial statements about each team member. Vermilion’s president, David Cocagne, told the Sun-Times, “we just decided it was not the right opportunity for us.” But one can’t dismiss the possibility of seeing Daley’s various streams of revenue becoming public record as another factor.