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* Former Streets and San boss Al Sanchez was looking at 12-15 years in prison, but got 30 months instead. And he wasn’t exactly silent today…
His lawyer also pointed to “the white elephant in the room,” which was that the hiring scheme was set up by other people at City Hall, not his client.
When Sanchez was later asked to whom his lawyer was referring, he said: “probably Mayor Daley.”
Just one more knock on Daley in a week of hard knocks.
* Sanchez also claimed the problems on Lake Shore Drive Tuesday night wouldn’t have happened under his watch…
Sanchez’s lawyers had argued a sentence of no time in prison was appropriate.
“I asked Al this morning: ‘Did you ever shut down Outer Drive?’ He said: ‘No,’” attorney Thomas Breen said of Sanchez’s tenure as Streets and Sanitation chief. “He had a plan that kept the Outer Drive open all the time.”
An agitated Sanchez spoke to the judge, saying he had to get things off his chest. He said his goal wasn’t to amass a political army by leveraging city jobs.
“I’m going to have to be able to keep Lake Shore Drive open” and keep the side streets clear of snow. “That was my goal,” not a political organization, he said.
* Meanwhile, Mayor Daley was back to his usual nonsensical self…
Mayor Richard Daley today said he didn’t speak publicly Wednesday during the blizzard because he trusted his aides to inform the public.
“This is not a Daley show,” the mayor said at a news conference. “Each one of these people speak for me.”
Pressed later why he allowed staff to be front-and-center, Daley offered an apology of sorts while laughing.
“One day. I’m sorry, I love you. [But not all of you were here, either.] Let’s be realistic,” Daley said.
…Adding… Daley Q&A with reporters…
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Feb 3, 11 @ 4:03 pm
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–His lawyer also pointed to “the white elephant in the room,” –
Freudian slip?
Does it mean that no one is buying what Al is selling? Or that Daley’s loyalty to his crew is so worthless you couldn’t give it away?
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Feb 3, 11 @ 4:35 pm
Poor Al. He was just trying to keep the streets clean. But it only snows a few months of the year so his employees filled their empty time pursuing civil engagement on behalf of the mayor.
Comment by Jim Thursday, Feb 3, 11 @ 4:39 pm
If it’s somebody else’s fault, like ComEd during a blackout, Daley is front and center angrily demanding the company take fault. Yet, we’re just now seeing the Mayor, and he’s claiming he had nothing to do with the decisions made by the city during this storm? Cop out!
I would have liked to hear him say, yesterday, the storm was so severe, much of what happened might have been unavoidable, but the city should have done a better job warning people to be out of town before the storm struck.
His craven attempts to hide behind his underlings instead of manning up and saying they should learn from this storm how to handle things better next time was disappointing.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Feb 3, 11 @ 4:56 pm
Please let The Daily Show find that Mayoral quote, “This is not a Daley Show.” just sounds amusing.
note to the Sanchez attorney, you made out well, despite your objectionable client.
Comment by amalia Thursday, Feb 3, 11 @ 5:08 pm
“Be out of town”? Seriously? Where would people have gone?
If it wasn’t for ‘79, nobody would have complained a lick about the storm. But the media wanted to spin that narrative - who’s to blame? who’s to blame? Let’s add to Chicago lore and take down another political figure because of snow.
…Even if there was nothing to blame for. Streets got plowed, most of the city got a snow day, neighbors dug out their cars, shoveled their sidewalks. Everything is about what you expect when you have a major storm like that. And now everything is back to normal. It didn’t take us weeks like it did Washington, D.C. and New York. It took a day.
Most stories and commentary I have read are just grabbing at straws trying to make stuff like the Lake Shore Drive incident some larger political commentary. It isn’t. Sometimes a car accident is just a car accident.
Comment by Jo Thursday, Feb 3, 11 @ 5:09 pm
I have no sympathy for Al Sanchez. Just like Sorich, et. al. he chose to play the game and should not whine that he lost.
The rational choice is to do anything to lessen your jail time. While Daley’s loyalty to his crew is indeed worthless something is keeping these guys from flipping. The nature of that something is the great untold story.
Comment by Independent Thursday, Feb 3, 11 @ 5:21 pm
I honestly can’t believe the sensationalism about the snow clearance. There are very few places that didn’t get plowed in the first 24 hours; the only neighborhood close to the lakefront that appears to me to have problems is Hyde Park. The el pretty much carried on right through yesterday although today they’ve had trouble with freezing switches and doors in the colder temperatures. Still, the city never really came to a standstill. And with the phenomenal wind coupled with the large amount of snow, that’s quite impressive.
Comment by Angry Chicagoan Thursday, Feb 3, 11 @ 6:38 pm
I think “out of town” might refer to people who live in the suburbs but work in Chicago.
But honestly, I don’t know how much more severe the warnings could have been. The fact that people didn’t adjust their plans accordingly is a mystery.
And yeah, I would agree that is some pretty skanky behavior by Daley. IMHO he has already checked out as mayor.
Comment by Lakefront Liberal Thursday, Feb 3, 11 @ 6:50 pm
Perhaps by “out of town” they meant you should have come down to So Ill! Lots of hotel space, B&Bs, good art and music, no snow! Just sayin’.
Comment by Ray del Camino Thursday, Feb 3, 11 @ 7:08 pm
Perhaps next time the city should announce all major highways and public transportation will be shut down after the onset of expected blizzards. Maybe then people will make arrangements to get home or to a hotel before the storm begins.
Comment by Wensicia Thursday, Feb 3, 11 @ 7:24 pm
By and large the city did a great job.I’m sure Orozco knew he made a mistake. We all make mistakes.We are a world class city when it comes to removing snow.Today we were up and running.Lets just quit crying about it and move on.
Comment by mokenavince Thursday, Feb 3, 11 @ 7:27 pm
How many of these people are transplants from Iowa? When I hear blowing and drifting snow, I always rush over to LSD because of the plethora of windbreaks.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Feb 3, 11 @ 8:15 pm
If the Drive had been closed those people would have just be stuck in Lincoln Park and the situation would have been much worse. At least on the Drive the cars weren’t paralyzing a neighborhood.
Comment by Redbright Thursday, Feb 3, 11 @ 8:16 pm
Daley doesn’t give a bleep anymore, it is clear.
He’s older and doughier, his wife is ill, he’s messed up the city’s finances, the parking meter deal makes him look like a rube taken in by Wall Street, his Olympic bid blew up in his face and somehow there’s a Chicagoan as President of the United States who he ignored back when it might have mattered.
To paraphrase W - Heck of a job, Richie!
Comment by DuPage Dave Thursday, Feb 3, 11 @ 8:47 pm