tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88636229657002557572024-02-07T13:24:29.459-06:00Behind the Bid | Chicago 2016A collection of information and discussion on the Chicago 2016 bid for the Olympic GamesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-64528737469364078812007-04-15T14:00:00.000-05:002007-04-15T14:02:35.845-05:00USOC Selects Chicago over Los Angeles for 2016 U.S. Candidate<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-puj76IR16SaalZJ9VOu0FV07c_i5N5grSJ0_dU8Faq9JUzJvTwPtlCnbzgEkYIJWVxkP1oHCuXQw-QyzyyYO-lPj-xs3UWs7uAjX6wfxoU3HNPI8aKJuzecxXUafjDkF4Mpwy2QEBa4/s1600-h/chi7305j.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-puj76IR16SaalZJ9VOu0FV07c_i5N5grSJ0_dU8Faq9JUzJvTwPtlCnbzgEkYIJWVxkP1oHCuXQw-QyzyyYO-lPj-xs3UWs7uAjX6wfxoU3HNPI8aKJuzecxXUafjDkF4Mpwy2QEBa4/s400/chi7305j.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Ah yes, be careful what you wish for, you might get it...the USOC's 11-member Board of Directors selected Chicago over Los Angeles to be the U.S. candidate for the 2016 Olympic Games.<br /><br />We believe Los Angeles had a much more reliable plan, there are some serious issues with Chicago's temporary stadium concept and we think there are many aspects of the bid that must change in order to win internationally.<br /><br />However, we want to also give credit to those responsible for Chicago's Olympic dream, starting with the founder and visionary of this process, Akif Malik and the Chicago Metro Organizing Committee. If it weren't for his initiatives, we wouldn't have an Olympic Games debate going on in Chicago.<br /><br />We aren't sure whether Mayor Daley understands what he has got himself into. Now, how the city works is going to be under the scrutiny of the world. For all these years, he can do what he wants, but now outsiders will have a laser eye into everything that is good and bad in Chicago, including the corruption that is embedded everywhere in the Daley regime.<br /><br />The USOC must take a very aggressive approach toward controlling this process if it is going to be a success. That means being in charge of the bid. As we stated elsewhere, anything less would be a disaster based upon the track record of the City of Chicago under Daley.<br /><br />It is rare for first-time IOC candidates to win an Olympic Games, but it can be done (Atlanta 1996). We always have believed Chicago has great potential, but now the question is whether Daley can step back enough to allow that to happen.<br /><br />As for Los Angeles, we think the main lesson they should learn is that the next time (perhaps in 2009) they seek the bid, they need to figure out how to combine the spirit of the Olympic Games along with the technical and financial components.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-63355449277165578862007-04-13T22:51:00.000-05:002007-03-22T16:12:29.881-05:00Did King Daley and Aides Knowingly Mislead and Lie About Taxpayer Funds?<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30WN5x-6LnAC8t8oXEZJgsI16GzlAXAk5HU-rWhVG5VxROBA2PD8ubGkH2TfmILG3h_RrvDbRNnnRTxLXqG1HmCWwbbgvFPWWqz5f_FX2Tjv_QYT9IIU4MR23vsWWw2WEiH1LvN7DQycl/s1600-h/daley20070313.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30WN5x-6LnAC8t8oXEZJgsI16GzlAXAk5HU-rWhVG5VxROBA2PD8ubGkH2TfmILG3h_RrvDbRNnnRTxLXqG1HmCWwbbgvFPWWqz5f_FX2Tjv_QYT9IIU4MR23vsWWw2WEiH1LvN7DQycl/s400/daley20070313.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Did Chicago Mayor (King) Richard Daley LIE to everyone the last several months or was it just incompetence? Did he know there was a financial guarantee for the host city or did he not?<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" >(Photo from Sun-Times)</span><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-75496779112916086332007-04-13T15:35:00.000-05:002007-04-13T15:43:00.799-05:00Oops...Is Chicago Already Violating IOC Rules with Logo?<div style="text-align: justify;">It appears the Chicago 2016 logo, whether you like it or not, may violate the International Olympic Committee (IOC) rules on potential bid cities for 2016.<br /><br />Specifically, the rules state that cities cannot use any Olympic-related symbols, including the "flame" concept, which clearly was the intent of the Chicago 2016 logo. Chicago 2016 has used the logo to solicit sales of merchandise.<br /><br />The logo from Los Angeles 2016 does not seem to be in violation.<br /><br />Click for a <a href="http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_1124.pdf">PDF</a> of the rules and guidelines to see for yourself.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-440829765543687872007-04-13T08:14:00.000-05:002007-04-13T15:58:51.427-05:00Chicago vs. Los Angeles | Our View<div style="text-align: justify;">After extensive consultation with experts and review of virtually ever possible document, plan, design and discussion, we have come to some basic conclusions on the wisdom of choosing Los Angeles or Chicago as a U.S. candidate for the 2016 Olympic Games.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">LOS ANGELES</span><br /><br />We strongly disagree with those who believe Los Angeles is at a disadvantage because they've "been there, done that." The 2016 Olympic Games will be 32 years after the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, which was a clear success on every level.<br /><br />Those who believe the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would not approve a candidate that hosted the Olympic Games previously twice only need to look at their most recent selection. 2012 will be the third time London has hosted the Olympic Games.<br /><br />More relevant is how IOC members will view ANY candidate from the United States. The same people who believe Los Angeles is at a disadvantage for hosting the Olympic Games as recently as 1984 seem to bypass the issue of the United States being host to the Summer Olympic Games in 1996 (Atlanta) and the Winter Olympic Games in 2002 (Salt Lake).<br /><br />There is validity to the concern the IOC wants fresh hosts, but that includes fresh countries and fresh continents such as South America, Africa and other parts of Asia.<br /><br />The existing venues of Los Angeles and lack of need to build everything translate to low-risk. A review of Athens and what is happening in London is a reminder of what that means financially.<br /><br />If Los Angeles is selected as the U.S. candidate for 2016, all IOC members from the United States and Peter Ueberroth, the Chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and former head of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, reside in southern California, all who will be critical to lobbying for a successful U.S. candidate. Which city do they know best?<br /><br />Los Angeles clearly has "star power" and international appeal inside and outside the Olympic world.<br /><br />If the USOC chose Los Angeles as a candidate, it would be the lowest-risk choice. And, we have no doubt if Los Angeles were selected for 2016, there are solid reasons why to expect it be a success.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CHICAGO</span><br /><br />Chicago has its own Olympic history. It was originally supposed to host the 1904 Olympic Games, but thanks to city politicians, it ended up going to St. Louis. We see some problems repeating itself when it comes to City of Chicago politics, but more on that later.<br /><br />Daniel Burnham famously stated "make no little plans..." and is considered the visionary for modern Chicago. Pierre de Courbertin is considered the founder of the modern Olympic Movement and apparently was impressed by Chicago.<br /><br />If you combine Daniel Burnham and Pierre de Coubertin, you get Akif Malik. He is the visionary behind the Chicago Olympic bid idea. In the early 1990's, he and the Chicago Metropolitan Organizing Committee (CMOC) launched the effort to once again connect Chicago with the Olympic world.<br /><br />That process initially targeted the 2008, then 2012 Olympic Games. A task force commenced and sometime around 1997, Mayor Daley pulled his support from the independent process because of the financial guarantee issue--the same one that he now supports with a half-billion dollars.<br /><br />Malik's original vision was grand, ambitious, bold, innovative and created a dyamic legacy for the Olympic Movement and the entire region directly and indirectly. It included various options for the current Olympic Stadium debate. One of those was for a retractable-roof multi-purpose lakefront stadium connected to McCormick Place that would not only justify the investment for an Olympic Games, but create incredible opportunities for conventions and other major events such as the Super Bowl and Final Four.<br /><br />In 2005, after New York City was eliminated for 2012 when London narrowly defeated Paris, Malik again pursued the potential. This time, Mayor Daley reversed his stance and embraced the idea.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR...</span><br /><br />We agree with the cynics who say the primary motive for Daley's reversal was political and under the cloud of corruption and torture scandals and a faltering legacy that could still end up with an indictment by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in the near future. But, who cares why, right? As long as Daley cooperates, that's good enough.<br /><br />However, then we noticed something and partly blame the USOC for allowing it. While making sure the Mayor of the potential host city is totally cooperative, it opened the door for the City of Chicago to control the bid process and reshape it into what is in Daley's best interest, not necessarily the best interest of the region or the Olympic Movement.<br /><br />And, that is when all the red flags started to be raised. Those who believe the City of Chicago and Mayor Daley know how to "get things done" haven't looked carefully into the incompetence and costs ranging from O'Hare to Millenium Park to Soldier Field. If an objective review were done of how Daley's regime has managed anything, one would conclude there are serious side effects of how Daley "gets things done." That's aside from the corruption and questions of telling the truth and straight facts the Chicago media consistently has to battle Daley with.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BILLION DOLLAR MISTAKE</span><br /><br />Thus far, Daley has not taken responsibility for the billion dollar mistake of Soldier Field's renovation. That mistake shrunk Soldier Field's dimensions and seating for the interests of the Chicago Bears, partly owned by Patrick Ryan. No more track-n-field potential and it created the need for a new stadium.<br /><br />Even if you took the proposed version of the temporary stadium proposed by Daley for Washington Park, something we find completely unappealing and believe the IOC will find even less appealing, that will make the Soldier Field mistake worth more than a billion dollars. Who's accountable for that?<br /><br />The experts we have talked to all say the same thing. The temporary stadium idea is a stripped-down plan that lacks even basics of restrooms and a press box, then gets dismantled later. This is not going to be competitive on a world stage.<br /><br />More importantly, the experts tell us the best solution hasn't been explored by Daley. That may include a permanent stadium and making Soldier Field the "temporary" stadium or a variety of other solutions that may be in the best interests of the Olympic Games and the region, but not necessarily the best interests of the City of Chicago.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">"COMPACT GAMES" = CONTROL</span><br /><br />That brings us to the other problem. This Chicago-centric plan, under the guise of making it a "compact Olympic Games" appears to disregard practical issues and strengths of the region. For Daley, all things are about control. And, it seems to us that is what is happening here. The original vision had no artificial boundaries for what would be best. The city's current plan seems to intentionally block non-city ideas while putting city interests ahead of the Olympic Games and region.<br /><br />The reality is the vast majority of the Chicago area's population live outside Chicago's city limits, but the current process has failed to include anyone else, which is typical of the Chicago vs. suburb history, but not constructive to create the best possible Olympic bid.<br /><br />If Chicago is selected by the USOC, it is critical full control over the rest of the bid process be managed by the USOC and not the City of Chicago. Anything less is a recipe for disaster.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WHY 2016?</span><br /><br />Even if Daley magically let go of control and cooperated, is it likely that any U.S. candidate can prevail no matter how great the bid was when the U.S. is involved with two ongoing wars? Due to the invasion of Iraq, the credibility of the U.S. is at a low-point. One of Daley's talking points about how Chicago would be a great "American city" may actually work against us. Chicago is culturally diverse and that is much bigger selling point to international voters than being American. Those IOC voters are mostly accountable to their national populations that aren't very happy with America right now. President Bush will leave office in 2009, only a few months before the IOC chooses for 2016.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CHICAGO vs. LOS ANGELES</span><br /><br />On paper, Los Angeles has a better current plan, lower risk and proven experience. However, under the original Burnham-Malik type of vision, Chicago has much greater potential if it could be a regional approach with strong legacy. At the moment, we have the Chicago-centric plan and that has some open-ended questions involving the stadium and village, among other things.<br /><br />We believe Chicago and its surrounding region would be an incredible host someday, but under the current plans submitted, Los Angeles would be the safer choice, if we MUST proceed with either city as a candidate. In the Olympic bid process, losing has consequences. We think it would have been better to wait.<br /><br />On April 14th, as much as we would like to see the Olympic Games come to Chicago eventually, we have objectively determined that Los Angeles is the better choice for now and would encourage the USOC to look for ways to build on the existing strengths of Los Angeles and create a dynamic international bid.<br /><br />For those in Chicago, we urge everyone to look at this objectively and look forward to a post-Daley opportunity to do this the right way at a better time. Chicago and the surrounding region can and should be an Olympic host someday.<br /><br />But, for now, we believe Los Angeles would be in the best interest of the Olympic Movement and even the best interest of Chicago, which could pursue a much better plan later if Los Angeles is not selected in 2009.<br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-56868799871161500212007-04-12T16:59:00.000-05:002007-04-12T17:10:27.765-05:00Blago Dangles $150 Million Letter of Good Wishes While Schwarzenegger Signs Actual Legislation<div style="text-align: justify;">This is what happens when you allow the King Daley to control the bid. Important things are left out that affect the region and, in this case, the State of Illinois.<br /><br />In a last-second "oops, we need to do that?" effort, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagjoevich has written a letter pledging he will TRY to get $150 million of taxpayer support from the State of Illinois General Assembly, just after city officials noticed the State of California's financial guarantee was officially signed by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.<br /><br />The problem with this is that why all of a sudden when we've all known for the past year this was necessary? It goes back to the problem of Daley's micromanagement. This has become Daley's process, not an independent process that looks at the full picture. That means that everyone sits on the sidelines unless Daley chooses to invite them. That's not how successful bids have worked in the past or will work in the future.<br /><br />The State of Illinois has a very huge deficit and massive financial problems, not to mention the proposed biggest tax increase in history being pushed by Gov. Blagojevich. Maybe the State of Illinois should kick in funds, but not if this is a Daley-Chicago process that excludes the 7 million people in the Chicago metropolitan area that surround the City of Chicago. Thus far, the region has been excluded, which is poor planning and actually goes against the original vision back in the early 90's, which smartly was inclusive of the region.<br /><br />We hope the USOC is thinking through these things carefully. The question isn't whether Los Angeles or Chicago is a viable host. The question is also about trust in the process. Thus far, Daley has miserably failed when it comes to trust.<br /><br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-71393894934633642762007-04-12T16:21:00.000-05:002007-04-12T16:40:51.488-05:00ABC7 I-Team Exposes Daley Administration Incompetence, Negligence and Lies<div style="text-align: justify;">The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Chicago was one of the worst prepared when it came to emergency communications and being prepared for disasters.<br /><br />Like many issues, this goes to the heart of the ongoing problem with the City of Chicago and King Daley's regime. The CITY of Chicago's obsession with control and doing things that are exclusively in their best interest as opposed to the best interest of the region.<br /><br />The latest debacle involves the high-tech emergency communications vehicle the City of Chicago used for various media hype, except that is hasn't been operational. What does the Daley administration do when confronted with facts and questions?<br /><br />They lie.<br /><br />This time, they did it to ABC7's I-Team investgative reporter Chuck Goudie. We commend Mr. Goudie for not falling for the tricks of King Daley.<br /><br />From the Daley administration's terrible management of Chicago O'Hare, making it the nation's WORST on-time performance to the crisis of the Daley-run CTA to having one of the WORST emergency communication systems, we think issues like transportation and communication for staging an Olympic Games are not to be taken lightly. This is what happens when you put Daley in charge or control of anything. That's the track record and that isn't even touching the whole corruption regime or torture scandals.<br /><br />The question for us is whether the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) is going to fall for the Daley's smoke-n-mirrors on Saturday. That doesn't mean Chicago isn't a great choice to host the Olympic Games. It's just that a process controlled by King Daley has very serious issues and we've learned that the one thing we can count on of the Daley regime is a lack of integrity and honesty.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">See inside for Mr. Goudie's transcript or see the <a href="http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=investigative&id=5201715">video</a> story...<br /><br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-31980914057265638492007-04-02T21:02:00.000-05:002007-04-02T21:14:18.661-05:00Daley Throws Police Chief Under the Bus; What Did the Mayor Know and When Did He Know It?<div style="text-align: justify;">In a classic situation of damage control and finding the fall guy for scandals that were meticulously supposed to be kept quiet until after the election and Olympic bid, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley threw the Police Superintendent Phil Cline under the bus in an attempt to save the Mayor from further worldwide embrassment from the revelation of videotaped beatings by Chicago Police officers.<br /><br />What puzzles us about this situation is the presence of mayoral aide Monique Bond in the middle of all this. If you believe Mayor Daley at his strange press conference expressing shock and dismay at the misconduct, one would think this is the first he's heard of all this and he had no phone during the last two weeks of vacation to call up Cline. In a city where Daley micromanages and controls everything, apparently Ms. Bond either completely failed to inform her boss OR the entire cover-up of the scandal was orchestrated with knowledge of the mayor's office.<br /><br />What does this have to do with the Olympic bid? Everything. We continue to be extremely concerned with any bid process that is controlled by the City of Chicago under Mayor Daley. There are very serious issues of integrity and credibility. It appears the best interests of Mayor Daley are put ahead of everyone and everything else, no matter what expense.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-86715691531029923382007-03-30T13:01:00.000-05:002007-03-30T13:11:29.193-05:00Los Angeles Gets Financial Guarantee | Daley Created Financial Risk<div style="text-align: justify;">Los Angeles 2016 got their own financial guarantee from the State of California for $250 million.<br /><br />At first glance, people in Chicago must be wondering "hey, how come we had to come up with $500 million?" and the answer is because Chicago's plans are much more financially risk and have more construction costs. Los Angeles has very little financial risk and that is widely agreed by everyone.<br /><br />The main problem of Chicago's risk involves the temporary stadium being proposed for a south side park, made necessary by Daley's mistake with Soldier Field. It should be noted this temporary stadium may evolve (and almost definitely will if it is going to have any chance of being slightly appealing to sponsors and the IOC). And, most importantly, this is the solution the City of Chicago (Daley) wants and does not mean it's the best solution possible. Daley can't afford to allow another stadium to co-exist with Soldier Field. The reality is a new Olympic stadium that was state-of-the-art and permanent would risk the viability of Soldier Field.<br /><br />Allowing Daley to control the Chicago bid process means solutions will be offered that are in his best interest, not the region or USOC or IOC's best interest.<br /><br />Will the USOC figure that out before April 14th?<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-63943934380884133682007-03-30T12:22:00.000-05:002007-03-30T12:24:29.206-05:00Los Angeles 2016 Predicts $7 Billion Economic Impact<div style="text-align: justify;">The potential economic impact of a 2016 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles would top $7 billion according to a study commissioned by the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games (SCCOG) released today. The results, which would mark a record impact for a U.S. Games, were calculated in 2007 dollars and based on projected attendance, sponsorship programs, transportation and tourism, among other things.<br /><br />The internationally renowned firm Economics Research Associates (ERA), which conducted the study, stated that the predictions are conservative and accounted only for the Los Angeles region. A Los Angeles 2016 Games would have additional impacts throughout the state and in Nevada.<br /><br />See the full story inside...<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-14787813216654711912007-03-30T12:06:00.000-05:002007-03-30T12:49:34.380-05:00London Costs Continue to Soar | More than Double<div style="text-align: justify;">London 2012 costs continue to soar and the government has revised its budget to reflect the increase. It went from 4 billion (pounds) to more than 9 billion (pounds).<br /><br />See inside for more...</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-54256484691155799812007-03-30T11:27:00.000-05:002007-03-30T12:31:00.753-05:00Lawyers Seek to Question Daley on Torture Scandals | Daley is Busy on Vacation<div style="text-align: justify;">We thought this story was particularly interesting considering how "busy" Mayor Richard Daley has been the last two weeks on vacation in places like Ireland while the City of Chicago has had national attention skyrocket for police beatings.<br /><br />---<br /><br /> March 30, 2007<br />Chicago Tribune<br /> <br /> Lawyers for a man Chicago police are alleged to have tortured to get a murder confession filed a motion this week to force the deposition of Mayor Richard Daley in a federal lawsuit.<br /><br /> The motion comes less than three weeks after lawyers for the City of Chicago filed a motion seeking to block Daley's testimony. They argued that requiring the deposition of a "busy public official" was premature and unnecessary.<br /><br />See more inside...<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-30524654689054823032007-03-29T11:11:00.000-05:002007-03-29T11:15:23.747-05:00Los Angeles + Las Vegas = Tourism Clout<div style="text-align: justify;">According to <a href="http://www.gamesbids.com">GamesBids.com</a>:<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:verdana,arial,sans serif;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:verdana,arial,sans serif;font-size:85%;" ><span id="intelliTxt">Organizers of Los Angeles 2016 joined Tuesday with Las Vegas civic leaders to detail the role of the city and Sam Boyd Stadium in its bid to become the U.S. candidate for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.<p>Las Vegas and Sam Boyd Stadium would serve as one of the five venues for soccer, with attendance projections calling for 250,000 to 480,000 fans to view the Las Vegas based games. The program would include eight to 12 preliminary round soccer competitions.</p><p>Los Angeles 2016 head Barry Sanders said, “Las Vegas is an exciting and glamorous city, and Sam Boyd Stadium has hosted significant soccer matches in the past. The city, Convention and Visitors Authority, and Las Vegas events have been supportive throughout this process and we are very confident Las Vegas will be both a desirable destination and tremendous host for Olympic fans”.</p><p>It is anticipated Las Vegas would host both men’s and women’s preliminary matches. Other soccer venues included in the bid are in San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles.</p><p>Sam Boyd Stadium can now accommodate 32,000 fans but has the ability to expand to 40,000. </p></span></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-1035712476126954862007-03-29T11:06:00.000-05:002007-03-29T11:09:07.460-05:00Daley Manipulates City Council Races with Cash<div style="text-align: justify;">For those not familiar with how Chicago politics work, there are various ways to get your way. As mayor, Richard Daley has exerted control over the city council. This time, he's using the method of buying support.<br /><br />See inside for the Chicago Tribune's story.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-46516573370045407672007-03-28T20:58:00.000-05:002007-03-28T21:07:16.702-05:00Ex-top Daley Aide Pleads in Fraud Charges<div style="text-align: justify;">While the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) may or may not understand the depth of the ongoing corruption investigation into Chicago Mayor Daley's administration, most people in Chicago understand the Feds are climbing up the ladder and its knocking out very close people to the mayor.<br /><br />Of the almost 50 people who've been indicted and who knows how many other people will be or are under investigation, it's difficult to keep hearing the excuse from Daley that he had no idea that any of these things were happening under an admnistration that he micromanages with extreme control.<br /><br />So, which is it? Is Daley an incompetent, aloof public official who rambles foolishly or is he slick, corrupt, manipulating public official who rambles foolishly?<br /><br />While a Chicago Olympic Bid may the greatest idea ever, everyone should be prepared for the real possibility an international bid process could involve a mayor embroiled in corruption charges, not exactly the best face to show the world.<br /><br />- - -<br /><br /> By Jeff Coen<br />Chicago Tribune<br /> <br /> March 28, 2007, 7:54 PM CDT<br /> <br />Former Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Al Sanchez pleaded not guilty to corruption charges in federal court Wednesday, with his lawyer calling it a "sad day" for the longtime public servant.<br /><br />Sanchez, a former top aide to Mayor Richard Daley, became the highest-ranking city official to be charged in an ongoing hiring investigation at City Hall when he was indicted last week. He was accused of doling out city jobs in exchange for political work through the Hispanic Democratic Organization (HDO), which backed Daley and other candidates.<br /><br />Sanchez, 59, pleaded not guilty to nine counts of mail fraud. Also pleading not guilty was Sanchez co-defendant Aaron Del Valle, 34, an HDO organizer and Chicago police officer who was charged with lying to a grand jury that heard evidence in the alleged hiring scheme.<br /><br />Neither man would comment Wednesday at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, speaking only to tell U.S. Magistrate Judge Sidney Schenkier that they understood the proceedings.<br /><br />Defense lawyer Tom Breen said the former Daley Cabinet member is looking forward to clearing his name.<br /><br />"He does look forward to a trial where he hopes he will be vindicated," Breen said.<br /><br />"Many, many people I've spoken to in the last few days thought that Al Sanchez deserved a civic award for the hard work he has done for the city of Chicago over 31 years of service," Breen said. "So this is kind of a sad day for a very fine man."<br /><br />Breen said that Sanchez's spirits are fine, and that he is trying to keep a good outlook.<br /><br />"He's disappointed and sorry about all this, but I think he is very hopeful," Breen said.<br /><br />Assistant U.S. Atty. Manish Shah said in theory, Sanchez could face more than 160 years in prison. Del Valle could be sentenced to as long as 5 years, Shah told the judge.<br /><br />Both men are free on signature bonds and expected to return to court next month.<br /><br />The indictments were the first since Daley's former patronage chief, Robert Sorich, was convicted with three other aides last year in a similar job-rigging case.<br /><br />Prosecutors have said Sanchez rewarded political workers with jobs, promotions, overtime, pay raises and transfers, and that he was involved in falsifying hiring records.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-31619005282872651932007-03-28T06:37:00.000-05:002007-03-28T06:39:51.412-05:00Much Ado About Something<div style="text-align: justify;">Anytime you can upgrade or invest venues, that can only help. In this case, the Los Angeles bid benefits from the announcement below.<br /><br />---<br /><br /><br /> March 27, 2007<br />Chicago Tribune<br /> <br /> Los Angeles is embarking on an 11th-hour offensive against Chicago, starting with Monday's announcement that sports and entertainment giant AEG is pumping up its backing of L.A.'s bid to host the 2016 Olympics.<br /><br /> AEG said it would spend up to $60 million to enlarge its Home Depot Center, a key competitive venue, if L.A. lands the host-city role.<br /><br /> L.A. is expected to lob two to three more volleys before April 14, when the U.S. Olympic Committee decides which city will move to the international contest, to be decided in 2009.<br /><br /> "We will roll out those [announcements] based on developments between now and April 14," said David Simon, president of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games.<br /><br /> The strategy garnered mixed reviews from observers.<br /><br /> "It's an 11th-hour proposal, without any real way to provide documentation about what it all means," said Ed Hula, editor of Around the Rings, an online Olympic news site. "It's all show, more than anything."<br /><br /> But sports industry consultant Marc Ganis thinks otherwise.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> "L.A. has set up a script for themselves, and, frankly, it sounds very smart to me," said Ganis, president of Chicago-based Sportscorp Ltd. "They are trying to create momentum, and it shows there will continue to be progress to aid their Olympic bid."</span><br /><br /> Chicago would do well to inject a new element or two, he said, "if for no other reason than you don't want to let a number of positive announcements from L.A. to go unanswered."<br /><br /> For now, the Chicago 2016 bid committee has no plans for last-minute announcements, said spokesman Michael Kontos. "I'm not going to preclude that, but our decision, from the beginning, was to be upfront with things as we proceeded, as opposed to holding back and packaging information," he said.<br /><br /> The Home Depot Center, built for $150 million in 2003, is in Carson, 13 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles, and is home to the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer team. It is an official training site for U.S. soccer, tennis, cycling, and track and field and is the proposed site for archery, cycling, soccer and tennis in L.A.'s Olympic plan.<br /><br /> The addition, to be completed by 2013, would include fitness and training space, as well as a 150-room hotel and conference center.<br /><br /> "By accelerating and moving forward with this expansion in conjunction with a Los Angeles Olympic Games, we will open our doors to more organizations from both the United States and abroad as a home for their athletes' training and operations," said Timothy Leiweke, president and chief executive of AEG, which has pledged to promote the bid.<br /><br /> AEG also owns Staples Center, another key venue in L.A.'s plan, and is developing an entertainment and hotel complex next to it.<br /><br /> Meanwhile, London continues to struggle with the issue of cost overruns as it prepares for the 2012 Games.<br /><br /> Two members of that city's legislative assembly, from the main opposition Conservative Party, say the latest government cost estimates -- triple the original bid estimate -- are too low.<br /><br /> Brian Coleman, chairman of the assembly, said "not in a million years" will the Games be run for about $18 billion. He and fellow assembly member Bob Blackman say the cost will be at least $29 billion.<br /><br /> The Department of Culture, Media and Sport said the recently announced budget is "robust" and called the claims that spending will far exceed the budget "pure speculation and scare-mongering."<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-53008552269733823172007-03-28T06:10:00.000-05:002007-03-28T06:25:43.174-05:00Much Ado About Nothing<div style="text-align: justify;">The article below is much ado about nothing. There are certainly several factors that give one city an edge over another, but both Chicago and Los Angeles are great potential Olympic hosts and there are factors beyond the obvious.<br /><br />The bigger question is whether you go with the experienced and less risky choice of Los Angeles or the Daley-controlled-corruption version of a Chicago bid.<br /><br />It is our understanding the purpose of the newspaper ads discussed below are to skew polling being done by the U.S. Olympic Committee. Hopefully for Daley's sake, they won't ask the question "do you trust the City of Chicago and Richard Daley?"<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">---<br /><br /> By Kathy Bergen<br />Chicago Tribune<br /> <br /> March 27, 2007, 4:49 PM CDT<br /> <br /> The battle between Chicago and Los Angeles to be the U.S. bid city for the 2016 Olympics erupted on several fronts Tuesday.<br /><br />Chicago was given a slight edge over Los Angeles by Ed Hula, editor of Around the Rings, an online Olympics news site. Chicago scored higher on leaving a lasting legacy, public support, transportation and venue plans, though lower on games costs.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Los Angeles continued its final-hours offensive, announcing a partnership with the City of Las Vegas and Sam Boyd Stadium, which would serve as one of five venues for soccer.<br /><br />And the Chicago 2016 bid committee announced a new print ad, with a message of "Welcome to Chicago" in 12 languages, to run Wednesday and Friday in the city's two main daily papers. The message to Chicagoans: "We thought we'd help you prepare to welcome the world . . ."<br /><br />The ads, created on a pro-bono basis by Downtown Partners, aim to keep the campaign in the public eye and drive traffic to the bid team's Web site.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> A decision by the U.S. Olympic Committee is expected April 14, with the winner moving to the international contest, to be decided in 2009.<br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-11472504413979036082007-03-28T06:06:00.000-05:002007-03-28T06:10:06.109-05:00Opinion | Games Plan Tough to Follow<div style="text-align: justify;">Chicago Tribune - Opinions<br />By Dennis Byrne, a Chicago-area writer and consultant<br /> <br /> March 26, 2007<br /> <br /> Hey, wait a minute. I thought that Mayor Richard M. Daley said holding the 2016 Olympics in Chicago wouldn't cost taxpayers anything.<br /><br /> Now we discover it could cost hundreds of millions. Of course, some cynics might say, Daley made the promise before the election (BE) and now it is after the election (AE) when everything said earlier is off the table. But I don't think the election had anything to do with it. He could have unveiled the complex financing plan the day before the election and who would have cared or understood?<br /><br /> A broken promise isn't the problem with the plan; it's the financing itself, which might be compared to a house of cards, if I understand it correctly. Which I'm not sure I do, but I guess that's the point. Columnists have more fun writing about outgoing Ald. Arenda Troutman's (20th) outrageous comparison of the 2016 Olympics with Adolf Hitler's 1936 version than trying to fathom the details of the Games' financing. You can skip a couple of paragraphs if you're not interested in details and take it for granted that if it involves local politicians, there's something odorous about it. So here goes:<br /><br /> The Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority (McPier), a city-state agency controlled by the city, sells the air rights it owns over land south of McCormick Place to a developer who builds walls of apartment buildings for the Olympians that are converted later to commercial housing, and McPier gives the money to the city, which gives it to Chicago 2016, the local Olympic organizing committee that likes to work out of the public view, which uses the money to help fund a temporary Olympic stadium, which later is converted to public use for concerts and so forth, but McPier retains a part ownership in the property, which it then sells outright or leases to an operations manager.<br /><br /> Now, if this and other aspects of the Olympic financing end up in red ink, Chicago must come up with $500 million in guarantees out of the public purse and who knows where else, but the mayor soothingly assures everyone that he remains committed to his promise not to use public money to support the Olympics. After the City Council was briefed privately about these and presumably the other intricacies--and surely, they understood them all--it later overwhelmingly approved the package like good boys and girls.<br /><br /> The public was kept in the dark until the Tribune sniffed it out. When asked later about his pledge that it wouldn't cost taxpayers anything, Daley responded, "we're not putting any actual money in," meaning, I guess, that selling public assets--the air rights--isn't actually putting any actual money into it. Maybe that's technically right, even though city, suburban and state taxpayers no longer own the assets--whose value may have spiked up to $100 million thanks to the Olympics-generated demand, even if Chicago is not awarded the Olympics. It's sort of like not actually putting actual money into the purchase of a new car when you trade in the old. I guess.<br /><br /> All of Daley's great assurances are not comforting when the cost of the 2012 London Olympics has tripled to $18 billion. In the face of this, we are expected to believe that Chicago can pull off the Games for $5 billion. Daley assures us, again, that 2012 and 2016 are not comparable, because Chicago would not be building a lot of new stuff, like London. We've already got the United Center, U.S. Cellular and Wrigley Fields, O'Hare International Airport and so forth, he said. "They had to build all the parks, all the transit," he said, as if the CTA will really impress the Olympic selection committee.<br /><br /> When Daley first suggested getting the Games here, I said the idea should be given a chance to prove itself. So far, the proof we've been allowed to peek at hasn't been all that convincing. But that apparently doesn't matter to the Olympic planners here; they said some secrecy is necessary because we don't want to give anything away to our competitors in Los Angeles.<br /><br /> But there's also some of the public-be-damned way the public's business is conducted here, based on the belief that the public, even if it could understand what's going on, would screw things up. That's too bad; the skepticism that they've already created with this approach hasn't served their cause well, because the project won't get anywhere without public support. At least that's the theory.<br /><br /> ----------<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"> Dennis Byrne is a Chicago-area writer and consultant. <a href="http://dennisbyrne.blogspot.com">http://dennisbyrne.blogspot.com</a></span><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-21361212600398667542007-03-28T05:47:00.000-05:002007-03-28T06:50:57.273-05:00Chicago Police Scandals Get Worse<div style="text-align: justify;">See inside for more on this Chicago Tribune story, but aside from the obvious misconduct and mishandling by the Daley regime, we found it interesting to see the tactics being used to intimidate media.<br /><br />Police spokesman and Daley aide Monique Bond should explain how she's going to magically make parking tickets go away.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-45558884435360181042007-03-26T14:10:00.000-05:002007-03-30T12:07:55.670-05:002016 Video Games | Los Angeles vs. Chicago<div style="text-align: justify;">Most experts have given LA the edge for creativity when it comes to the bid videos. The City of Chicago's marketing mayoral aide in charge of hiding the financial guarantee guy and gay activist, Michael Segobiano, said the Chicago video is an example of great we would be at staging the games. We hope he's wrong. The video could be much better and the city needs to find a much better marketing guy regardless of the Olympic bid.<br /></div><br /><br />Los Angeles 2016 Video (40 sec)<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vwkwqlfKqbs"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vwkwqlfKqbs" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Chicago 2016 Video (3 min, 41 sec)<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JRV8yYq5L3A"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JRV8yYq5L3A" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Los Angeles 2016 Video (Dave Stewart, 7 min, 35 sec)<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4kp_1TpKQr4"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4kp_1TpKQr4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-31665866452921453182007-03-26T13:24:00.000-05:002007-03-26T13:37:21.401-05:00City Council Video Excerpt | Don't Show This to the USOC!<div style="text-align: justify;">At the Chicago City Council meeting to discuss the "sudden" $500 million financial guarantee the Daley administration pretended to be surprised about, there were voices of protest, but the public wasn't allowed to speak. Whether or not you agree with the financial guarantee issue, the protesters may have a point that the public has never had an opportunity to speak on the issue.<br /><br />Please don't tell anyone about this video (and this is just a small version and not the major fireworks). City of Chicago officials don't want the USOC or IOC to know there are people unhappy with the way this process has been handled by Daley, even among those who want the Olympic Games to come to Chicago.<br /></div><br />2 minutes, 12 seconds<br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/l3mzvvOmnRI"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/l3mzvvOmnRI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-42595264111664940792007-03-26T12:16:00.000-05:002007-03-26T12:41:59.597-05:00Chicago's Transit System On the Brink Under Daley Management<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqi-wxhPE9PH0H8pAEqziCQAmmPpFFoUHXcbLPEypZheHKkUFc6qIc2L1cN8yXdGF1IDvad1L4aKmu3SNhH3_Azkgx2rVxv4CFQElOMSsiMDdZ1beCaqmcL6pC3USyLi1fwFpDQ1a95rM/s1600-h/chicagocta3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqi-wxhPE9PH0H8pAEqziCQAmmPpFFoUHXcbLPEypZheHKkUFc6qIc2L1cN8yXdGF1IDvad1L4aKmu3SNhH3_Azkgx2rVxv4CFQElOMSsiMDdZ1beCaqmcL6pC3USyLi1fwFpDQ1a95rM/s400/chicagocta3.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The enclosed New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/us/26transit.html?ex=1332648000&en=d497bb6faad38bfd&amp;ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink">article</a> should be a very important wake-up call to the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) before they proceed with a bid that has Mayor Richard Daley and the City of Chicago in control.<br /><br />Transportation is CRITICAL to stage the Olympic Games anywhere. Chicago's system is crumbling and on the brink of serious crisis, but because of Daley leveraging the idea of having "compact venues" and "close proximity" to avoid as much as possible to share control or the Olympic Games with the metropolitan area, it makes the City of Chicago's transportation system that much more important to how an Olympic Games would function.<br /><br />If the track record of the Daley regime is any indication, the CTA is a failure of economic, transport and practical proportions. Using the Olympic Games to lure federal funding to bailout the mismanagement of the Daley regime is a nice idea...IF we could be assured the control over the transit system would be removed from the City and instead given to a regional entity like the RTA.<br /><br />There is legislation being propsed to do exactly that...unify the transporation agencies for the region, but that would mean less control by Daley's cronies. It would be foolish, if not irresponsible, to continue to allow the CTA to exist as a City of Chicago controlled entity. Not just for the Olympic Games, but unifying transportation agencies in a regional and metropolitan manner is a much smarter way to go considering approximately 8 million people will live in the Chicago area in 2016, not including the 2.5 million who live INSIDE the city limits or the potential visitors that would be spread all over.<br /><br />SEE INSIDE FOR NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE ON THE CRUMBLING CHICAGO TRANSIT SYSTEM UNDER RICHARD DALEY<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Other Resources:<br /><br />><a href="http://www.rtachicago.com">RTA</a><br /><br />>State Auditor's <a href="http://www.auditor.illinois.gov/recent-audits-03-15-07.asp">Report</a> on Transit<br /><br />>CTA Tattler (<a href="http://www.ctatattler.com/">blog</a>)</span><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-5689358149889577422007-03-24T01:59:00.000-05:002007-03-27T02:06:36.699-05:00Police Brutality Under Daley | Can't Have This Type of Thing in Chicago<div style="text-align: justify;">The protesters that voiced concern about how the Daley regime has looked the other way about police torture and brutality cases may have a point based upon the recent bar beating incident of a woman by a Chicago cop, but now we learn there's another major incident that was kept quiet back in December.<br /><br />Monique Bond, spokesperson and aide to Daley, says whatever it takes for these stories to be diminished or go away, but when there is a video, it's pretty hard to ignore. If we want to bring the Olympic Games to Chicago, we need to address these type of things seriously and not pretend they don't exist.<br /><br /></div><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/d_9rjy4kwI0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/d_9rjy4kwI0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-38457343786213500542007-03-22T15:56:00.000-05:002007-03-22T15:57:52.358-05:00Chicago Tribune | Another Daley Aide Indicted By Feds<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">EX-DALEY AIDE INDICTED BY FEDS</span></span><br /><br />Chicago Tribune Staff Reports<br /> March 22, 2007, 2:39 PM CDT<br /> <br /> The U.S. attorney's office announced today that a federal grand jury has indicted former Chicago Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Al Sanchez on nine counts of mail fraud.<br /><br /> Sanchez, 59, was not only a former top aide to Mayor Richard Daley but was also a key leader in the mayor's Hispanic Democratic Organization (HDO).<br /><br /> The charges against Sanchez come amid a continuing investigation of hiring and promotion practices at City Hall.<br /><br /> Also indicted was Aaron DelValle, who once worked for Sanchez in Streets and Sanitation. DelValle, 34, was charged with one count of perjury for allegedly lying to a federal grand jury.<br /><br /> In return for his cooperation with investigators, DelValle received immunity from most of the charges under consideration, but was indicted on one count of perjury, prosecutors said.<br /><br /> Both men will be arraigned at a later date, the U.S. attorney's office said.<br /><br /> U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald said Sanchez rigged jobs to reward political workers and DelValle lied to authorities about assisting Sanchez. Sanchez "corrupted the hiring process on behalf of HDO," Fitzgerald said.<br /><br /> According to the U.S. attorney's office, Sanchez engaged in a systematic scheme to provide city jobs, promotions and other employment benefits as rewards for political campaign work for his organization.<br /><br /> Sanchez was HDO's Southeast Side leader. During the hiring trial last summer that resulted in the conviction of Daley's former patronage chief, prosecutors described Sanchez as a co-schemer in an ongoing hiring fraud scheme.<br /><br /> The son of a hot metal conductor at a steel plant, Sanchez sponsored many of his fellow East Siders for well-paying, blue-collar city jobs, according to court records.<br /><br /> Sanchez used to preside over HDO meetings in a banquet hall in the neighhborhood spanned by the Chicago Skyway toll bridge. Federal agents scoured the neighborhood last fall, questioning people about HDO.<br /><br /> Earlier this month, HDO members who work in Streets and Sanitation charged in a federal lawsuit they were demoted or passed over for promotion because another group now has the clout. Pablo Delapaz, Michael Sarkauskas and Joseph Nasella claim they were punished after Sanchez retired as commissioner of the department in 2005.<br /><br /> HDO members were mentioned at the corruption trial of Daley's patronage chief Robert Sorich as the recipients of city jobs for their political work on behalf of pro-Daley candidates.<br /><br /> <i>The Associated Press contributed.</i><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-78520983002309177872007-03-22T15:00:00.000-05:002007-03-22T16:03:33.206-05:00King Daley Forced to Issue Order Banning Patronage<span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >City agrees to ban patronage</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />$12 million fund would pay victims of job bias</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">By Dan Mihalopoulos and Todd Lighty, Tribune staff reporters; Tribune staff reporter Mickey Ciokajlo contributed to this report<br /> <br />Chicago Tribune<br /> March 22, 2007<br /> <br /> Mayor Richard Daley's administration agreed Wednesday to a settlement that would end court oversight of City Hall hiring and pay millions of dollars to people who lost out because they didn't have the right political connections.<br /><br />Daley had long sought to end the decades-old federal consent decrees that ban politics from most city personnel decisions, even after aides in his office were convicted last year of rigging hiring to favor pro-Daley political workers.<br /><br />A court-appointed monitor will continue to help regulate city hiring for two more years. But after June 1, the city's inspector general--appointed by the mayor--will investigate complaints of politically based hiring, firing and promotions, according to the settlement announced in federal court.<br /><br />The settlement, which requires City Council approval, calls for the mayor to issue an executive order against political hiring.<br /><br />Michael Shakman, whose lawsuit led to the anti-patronage decrees, said the settlement could end his long legal fight--if City Hall is acting in good faith.<br /><br />"The mayor has an opportunity here," Shakman said. "He's either going to be remembered by history as the mayor who presided over the last big-city clout machine or the mayor who fixed it. This gives him a chance to fix it."<br /><br />The city will create a $12 million account for people who claim they have been discriminated against because they lacked clout to get a job, promotion, transfer or overtime. Shakman said he expects thousands to apply for damage awards of as much as $100,000 each.<br /><br />While Shakman, city officials and the judge in the case hailed the accord as a landmark moment for local political ethics, this is not the first time that the city has vowed to root out the traditional political-machine practice of rewarding allies with jobs.<br /><br />Some declared patronage dead more than 20 years ago, when Mayor Harold Washington signed the Shakman decree against political hiring. The federal investigation of corruption in the Daley administration shattered that illusion.<br /><br />Though the Daley administration said it hired based on qualifications alone, federal prosecutors say officials in the mayor's office engaged in a "massive fraud" to get around the Shakman restrictions and enhance the mayor's political power.<br /><br />The criminal hiring investigation yielded guilty verdicts last year against four former Daley administration officials, including longtime mayoral patronage chief Robert Sorich.<br /><br />`It's a new day'<br /><br />Mara Georges, the Daley administration's top lawyer, for years swore in court that the city was abiding by the hiring restrictions. After Wednesday's court hearing, Georges said the agreement would allow Daley "to demonstrate that he is truly committed to reform."<br /><br />And Daley's chief of staff, Ron Huberman, said skeptics should know that "it's a new day."<br /><br />The agreement was announced as Daley was traveling in Europe with local business leaders. He has denied any knowledge of wrongdoing in city hiring.<br /><br />When the hiring scandal broke in 2005, Shakman's lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Wayne Andersen to hold the city and Daley in contempt of the federal hiring decrees. The city had tried to void the decrees, saying they were no longer needed.<br /><br />The proposed settlement ends Shakman's quest to hold the city and Daley in contempt of the court orders.<br /><br />The city and the mayor do not admit violating the Shakman decree but decided to settle "solely for the purpose of avoiding prolonged and expensive litigation and the drain on the city's resources and employees' time and energy," according to the settlement.<br /><br />The city has paid $1.65 million to the monitor, Noelle Brennan, and her lawyers since Andersen appointed her less than two years ago, city officials said.<br /><br />Brennan will remain to assess claims and approve damage payments for people who can demonstrate they were harmed since Jan. 1, 2000. The claim form will be available at www.shakmanmonitor.com.<br /><br />Shakman said he and his lawyers would submit bills to the city for their work on the case over 20 years. He estimated the sum would exceed $2 million.<br /><br />The city also agreed to pay $25,000 each to six current and former city workers who in 2005 joined Shakman's suit as plaintiffs. The workers alleged that their careers in Daley's administration suffered because they lacked the right connections to pro-Daley political organizations. The six workers from the Streets and Sanitation and Water Management Departments could still seek additional money from the $12 million fund.<br /><br />Under the settlement, most of the nearly 40,000 spots on the City Hall payroll would have to be filled without regard to politics, with about 800 exceptions for policymaking positions.<br /><br />Under the mayor's order, city employees would have a duty to report political job discrimination to the city inspector general, and they would get protection against retaliation for pointing out problems.<br /><br />Inspector General David Hoffman would investigate and could recommend potential discipline or file criminal charges.<br /><br />"This is an important milestone in creating a system of integrity," said Hoffman, appointed by Daley to a four-year term in 2005. "Given the proper resources, we will be able to become a strong, independent watchdog."<br /><br />Brennan said City Hall eventually would have "an independent system that's within the city."<br /><br />"We will all see what happens when we go away, but I am optimistic that things really are changing within the city."<br /><br />In December, Brennan reported that the Daley administration was making strong progress in reforming hiring. Yet she also said she had encountered "pockets of resistance in the city, primarily from those individuals who benefited from the patronage system."<br /><br />If the city convinces the court that it is in "substantial compliance" with the agreement, the Shakman decree would expire on Dec. 31, 2008.<br /><br />More than 35-year battle<br /><br />Shakman has fought City Hall over patronage since 1969, when Daley's father was mayor. As a candidate for the state Constitutional Convention, he said he had no chance against armies of patronage workers loyal to the Cook County Democratic Party.<br /><br />The party's power withered over time, only for Daley's political organization to supplant it after he became mayor in 1989. Under Daley, the Democratic ward organizations that traditionally dispensed jobs to political workers became less significant.<br /><br />Witnesses in the Sorich trial detailed how Daley aides instead funneled patronage through new pro-Daley groups such as the Hispanic Democratic Organization.<br /><br />Regardless of the settlement in Shakman's civil case, it appears unlikely that the criminal investigation of hiring fraud is over. After Sorich's conviction, prosecutors warned they would pursue higher-ups in the Daley administration who participated in the scheme.<br /><br />In the courtroom Wednesday, two prosecutors who have probed City Hall corruption observed the proceedings from the back row. Assistant U.S. Attys. Philip Guentert and Manish Shah declined to comment.<br /><br />----------<br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><br />dmihalopoulos@tribune.com | tlighty@tribune.com</span><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863622965700255757.post-47800615271598055482007-03-22T14:07:00.000-05:002007-03-22T16:09:16.611-05:00Chicago Tribune Editorial | Toward an Honest City Hall<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">TOWARD AN HONEST CITY HALL</span><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Chicago Tribune Editorial<br /> March 22, 2007<br /> <br /> Wednesday's agreement on a new protocol for enforcing rules against illicit patronage hiring and promotion at City Hall is an upbeat chapter in a decades-long legal drama. We could fill this page and many others with all of the background.<br /><br /> Or we could cut to the chase scene: No longer should federal prosecutors and FBI agents have to be the de facto enforcers of Shakman-decree rules and a host of laws meant to guarantee fairness in city employment. Instead, as of May 31 (barring the unexpected), that job will fall to the city's inspector general.<br /><br /> That makes sense, as this page argued last summer after the corruption convictions of four former City Hall officials. The current inspector general, former federal prosecutor David Hoffman, may not relish the idea of adding oversight of hiring to his anti-corruption duties. But with a beefed-up staff of 40 investigators, an aggressive focus on more substantial cases and protocols for seeing that wrongdoers get punished, his team is ideally equipped to do what the city administration hasn't: eradicate the widely held assumption that when the city hires or promotes, the fix is in.<br /><br /> Owing to City Hall's serial failures to halt illegal employment practices, a federal monitor is now responsible for city hiring--and also for probing alleged violations. She'll continue to oversee the former for two years, but investigation and enforcement now will shift to the IG.<br /><br /> It's crucial that future oversight not drift back to any of the politicized city departments that report to the mayor. Neither Mayor Richard Daley nor his successors should be monitoring their own compliance with rules intended to guarantee fairness to job applicants and employees seeking promotion.<br /><br /> Mayors, of course, appoint inspectors general, so the potential for mischief remains. But barring a permanent federal takeover of employment at Streets and San, the IG is likeliest to police employment with genuine independence. The inspector general has a four-year term, works from office space outside City Hall--and can only be fired "for cause" by a majority vote of the City Council. After years of relative inaction, the office is building a no-nonsense reputation: Last week, for the first time, federal criminal charges were brought on the basis of a joint IG-federal investigation, as six defendants were charged with accepting bribes to subvert building-safety rules.<br /><br /> Prior to Wednesday, Daley had long fought to void Shakman regulation of patronage hiring. Now he has agreed to issue an executive order intended to keep politics out of personnel decisions. The IG's job is to make that stick.<br /><br /> The settlement creates a $12 million fund for people who allege that they were victimized by the unfairness that has tarred City Hall. And the IG's office likely will need more staff if it's to handle all future employment complaints on top of its current busy workload.<br /><br /> Chicago will be a long time paying for the shabby practices that cheated many good people out of jobs or promotions they deserved. The hope here is that Wednesday's settlement keeps that from occurring again.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0