* 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…