The Egyptian river
Wednesday, Mar 11, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Two Chicago Democratic VIPs have now contradicted sworn testimony in the trial of Mayor Daley’s former Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Al Sanchez. From yesterday…
Former city worker Roberto Medina testified that he was involved in founding the scandal-scarred Hispanic Democratic Organization at the urging of William Daley and others. […]
Medina testified Monday that the meeting was in the early 1990s at a restaurant on Fullerton Avenue and that it also was attended by top mayoral strategist Timothy Degnan, [William Daley], U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and mayoral Cabinet member Ben Reyes.
Yesterday, Bill Daley said…
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of the guy,” William Daley said of Medina. “I have no memory of him.”
And then today…
U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) today angrily denied sworn federal court testimony placing him at meeting that led to the creation of the scandal-scarred Hispanic Democratic Organization. […]
In a statement [late yesterday], Gutierrez said: “I’d sue for slander, given that I was never at the meeting, but the settlement would be about as worthless as the witness’ memory.”
In recent years, Gutierrez has heavily criticized HDO and considered challenging Daley for mayor in 2007. But he did not run for mayor and eventually gave Daley a glowing endorsement.
“Given its history, it should never have existed,” Gutierrez said of HDO. “I think they wanted to be god-like and omnipotent.”
Gutierrez has been an HDO target for years, so he may have a point here
* Chicago denials are not always trustworthy, of course. For instance…
Mayor Richard Daley says he accepted flights “once or twice” from a nonprofit company under investigation by the IRS and Congress.
Daley’s spokeswoman Jacquelyn Heard said last week that the mayor took one flight in September 2006 to Singapore courtesy of Educap. She denied a CBS News report the Daleys took 58 flights over a five-year period.
At an unrelated news conference with South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Tuesday, Daley was asked how often he’d flown on the jet. He said “once or twice,” and added that reporters have “got all the facts on that.”
Not quite…
When asked if he was on more than one flight aboard the private jet, specifically if he took it to celebrate his birthday in Cabo, Mexico, the mayor said, “Yes, a private visit.”
When asked about another 2005 trip where the mayor supposedly took six flights in 28 hours, Mayor Daley said, “I was not on all of those legs. I was just on one. I can’t speak. I don’t have all the facts.”
After the mayor’s press secretary cut off questioning, CBS 2 showed her newly obtained flight log details from the private jet. She acknowledged that Mayor Daley likely took eight trips, involving up to 18 separate flights on the charity jet.
Stops included Monterey, California; Washington, D.C.; Cabo, Mexico; Monterey, again; Van Nuys; Reno, Nevada; Kona, Hawaii, and Singapore; and Nassau, the Bahamas. [emphasis added]
* Related…
* Witness blasts feds’ hiring case
* Mayoral aide’s letter surfaces at Chicago hiring-fraud trail
* Sanchez Trial a Parade of City Employees
* Update: Sanchez Trial Sheds Light on City Hiring
* Don’t be fooled: City Hall hiring games aren’t over
* Aldermen: Let Inspector General Investigate Us
* Daley Admits To Taking Trips On EduCap’s $31M Jet
* Daley shrugs off questions about free travel
* Forgive us our negativity — bless the press
* Archbishop Tutu Absolves Chicago Press
- Phineas J. Whoopee - Wednesday, Mar 11, 09 @ 9:06 am:
So much for that Sentatorial bid.
- J boogy - Wednesday, Mar 11, 09 @ 9:24 am:
well he definitely gets around.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 11, 09 @ 9:37 am:
So we’re to believe HDO sprang up spontaneously, members got and placed city jobs and they supplied political muscle for the Daleys — and Bill Daley can’t remember how it came about?
His brother has a similar memory problem when it comes to HDO, i.e. he still can’t remember how it came to be that former gangbanger and now convicted felon Angelo Torres went from booting cars to running the $40 million Hired Truck program in just two years.
- Legaleagle - Wednesday, Mar 11, 09 @ 10:07 am:
I still think that a big story from the Sanchez trial is the testimony identifying “Madigan Electric” - the illegal “Streets and San” patronage haven used by the Speaker to fuel his political organization. The USA is taking a hard look at this.
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Mar 11, 09 @ 10:07 am:
Like most political organizations, the HDO was founded with good intentions publically trumpeted. It’s success has come with consequences after it has been exposed as being a caldron of political intrigue. So now that it’s name is political mud, the politicans who birthed it, don’t want to be associated with it.
All understandable. What we need to see however, is one of it’s founding fathers admit to being a part of it, recall it’s original intentions, and put the organization into perspective now that it has made notoriety.
Just as a father has to stand next to a son who has run afoul of the law, these men need to do likewise. It would be refreshing to see adult behavior from our HDO-connected politicians.
- Plutocrat03 - Wednesday, Mar 11, 09 @ 10:16 am:
I love the line in the Trib where Jacquelyn Heard said that there is “no tax obligation for his travels.” A bit defensive are we? So everywhere he goes is an official event?
As a side note. An example of why the dead tree editions are dying is the placement of the article. Page 19 out of 20. Stories about the Lottery Lady and Tuition problems at a private high school page 1. Mayor getting free private jet transport hidden. Editor’s decisions priceless…..
- anon50 - Wednesday, Mar 11, 09 @ 10:18 am:
It’s just amazing to me how Mayor Daley continuously has slip ups after slip ups yet the most of local media, newspapers nor the US Attorney goes after him like they do other politicians. I am sick of giving him the benefit of the doubt. Someone, perhaps the Us Attorney or local media need to take a hard look at him and his brother, the banker. As usual here’s another politician where the rules don’t apply to Daley and his family.
The good thing is I think everyday citizens are fed up with this kind of thing and will be expressing themselves at the voting booth for change.
- Phineas J. Whoopee - Wednesday, Mar 11, 09 @ 10:19 am:
The most amusing thing about HDO was all the non-hispanic’s that ended up being members. As they grew in power and word got out they had the jobs, they became an equal opportunity graft organization.
- fed up - Wednesday, Mar 11, 09 @ 11:36 am:
Well it would be nice if the media finally started to look at the corruption that is mayor Daley and his administation, but this too shall pass no one wants to upset the king.
- BannedForLife - Wednesday, Mar 11, 09 @ 1:12 pm:
Unfortunately Richie was standing behind Father Desmond while he was doing his cruciforming. Does that mean that Daley is still with sin?
- BannedForLife - Wednesday, Mar 11, 09 @ 1:15 pm:
Daley topped Blago by using a Nobel prize winning archbishop as a human shield at a presser instead of differently-abled persons.
- anon50 - Wednesday, Mar 11, 09 @ 1:41 pm:
We’ll see how long people will keep your mouth shut as the pressure get worst with the US Attorney breathing down there backs and more things are revealed in the paper. Plus this bad economy! We’ll see. Timing is everything and people are fed up as the economy gets worst.
- chiatty - Wednesday, Mar 11, 09 @ 2:12 pm:
This is another in a series of garbage prosecutions against city workers. To me the theft of honest services is being committed by the u.s. attorneys who got their jobs through political connections and then do their jobs by trying to prosecute people who got their jobs through political connections, without anybody profiting outside of their earned salary. A complete waste of taxpayer dollars. If they had evidence that Sanchez or his co-defendant or any other of those charged in these patronage cases had pocketed bribe money as payment for getting people jobs, it would strike me as being meritorious, but these cases are a whole lot of nothing. But in federal court, they’ll probably get convicted because juries don’t like anybody who has anything to do with politics.
- Jesse Juarez - Wednesday, Mar 11, 09 @ 7:25 pm:
HDO never went after Luis Gutierrez and helped him in manny elections.
Luis Gutierrez was the spokesman that criticized the negative piece put out on HDO in 7 wards by Manny Flores that turned out to be right.
Luis Gutierrez and HDO supported many of the same candidates and worked together on a lot of stuff.
More recently Gutierrez has been oppossing HDO but that is recent. Luis was given awards by HDO, supported by him (Luis has not had major competition since Juan Soliz in 1992 and thought he had but did not from Marty Castro in 2002)
HDO was created by Tim Degnan.
HDO did much more than just give jobs.
HDO was for the benefit of Daley.
HDO is a swear word now in the Latino community and in the general public that knows about it.