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Micromanaging mayor didn’t know about son’s contracts?

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Illinois

* Another coinkydink, I’m sure…

Mayor Daley’s son Patrick had a hidden interest in a sewer-inspection company whose business with the City of Chicago rose sharply while he was an owner, a Chicago Sun-Times investigation has found.

Patrick Daley invested in Municipal Sewer Services in June 2003, along with Robert Vanecko, a nephew of the mayor. The pair cashed out their small investment about a year later, as federal investigators were swarming City Hall in the early days of the Hired Truck scandal

Here’s the hilarious part…

The mayor’s press secretary said Daley never knew that his son and nephew had stakes in Municipal Sewer Services as the company sought City Hall’s permission to take over two contracts from Kenny Industrial Services.

“Yes, it is the mayor’s son, and, yes, it is also his nephew,” Daley press secretary Jacquelyn Heard said. “But, as you know, the mayor is a very busy man, and he does not make a practice of knowing the details of other people’s investments, including those of his son and/or his nephew.

“The answer to your question, did he know about this, the answer is a resounding no.’’

This is the same mayor who harangues his staff about minor instances of graffiti he sees on his way to work. He’s a micromanager almost to the extreme.

Go read the whole thing. The mayor’s explanation just doesn’t hold up, especially considering who else was involved.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 10:05 am

Comments

of course it doesn’t hold up, brother rich, nothing daley says ever does… until those citizens who are a part of the “machine” realize just how decayed and corrosive it has become- there will never be change in chicago.

Comment by b-dogg Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 10:14 am
Daley doesn’t know about a lot of stuff going on in city hall doesn’t he? This isn’t the only thing he had no idea about.

Comment by Levois Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 11:02 am
My favorite part of the S-T article was this:

“In fall 2000, City Hall hired two private companies — Kenny Industrial Services and Brunt Brothers Transfer Inc. — to do videotaped inspections of sewers to spot cracks or other signs of deterioration. The work was split into three contracts. Two of them went to Kenny, which did all of the inspections north of 63rd Street. Brunt Brothers got the other contract, doing all inspections south of 63rd.

Kenny worked closely with Brunt, which was one of the largest black-owned companies in the Hired Truck Program. Brunt didn’t have its own video equipment, so Kenny ended up doing all of the sewer inspections, while Brunt hauled debris from the sewers.”

So to satisfy the minority participation regulations, the City gave one-third of their sewer inspection work to a firm that had neither the means nor the equipment to perform sewer inspection work. Priceless.

Comment by BigDog Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 11:10 am
Man, I’m tired of reading stories about how his friends and relatives are getting rich off either direct city contracts, or in deals with those who have multi-million dollar city contracts. Are there ANY who haven’t done business with City Hall or city contractors at ALL? This Sgt. Schultz routine is really starting to wear thin.

Comment by Snidely Whiplash Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 11:26 am
In any other city, in any other state, the steady parade of scandals would force out an incumbent mayor. Not here. Everyone shrugs because the national economy has been good and hence good in Chicago. We settle for so little.

Comment by Chicago Guy Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 11:30 am
I like your reference Rich to Daley’s penchant for detail:

“This is the same mayor who harangues his staff about minor instances of graffiti he sees on his way to work.”

I wonder - does he ever harangue his staff about those crumbling schools he sees on his way to work? Or fret that maybe he could do more to help those poor souls waiting on the corner for the bus?

Because it doesn’t seem that his diligence leads to him actually wanting to work really hard to fix his CTA, or capital needs.

Or is that just selective haranguing?

Comment by GoBearsss Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 1:21 pm
You are right, Rich, about the Mayor’s micromanaging.

I never see graffiti on the road between Daley’s house and the airport.

Funny - I do see lots of graffiti on the CTA.

Comment by hmmmm Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 1:27 pm
I’m not an attorney, but I do play one on TV, and my suggestion is impaneling a Federal Grand Jury and calling every Daley relative in back 4 generations. You will see dozens of people employed on public payrolls and with government contracts.

Put them under oath and start asking questions.

I know a story which I won’t post regarding one of the Daley’s and a real estate issue. It came to me second hand and my telling it would not be admissible in a court of law or even a Cook County Court. The person who told it is a relative and was a direct participant. The victims were the taxpayers. It occurred well into the reign of Richard the Second.

Comment by irishpirate Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 1:32 pm
Let’s just be glad that the mayor doesn’t have any relatives who have an interest in the CTA.

‘Cause then he would, like, totally not know what was going on there!

Oh, wait…

Comment by JJ Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 3:03 pm
Somebody with an MBA from the U. of C. should be able to make plenty of money without relying on
help from dear old Dad.

Greedy, greedy, greedy.

Comment by Cassandra Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 5:09 pm
I was beginning to respect Patrick Daley, curiously late to be deployed though he is, until I read this. Patrick is certainly taking after his old man.

An aspect of this story that has been underplayed is the involvement of Daley’s nephew, Robert Vanecko. How many of the city’s cookie jars does this guy have his hands in? Will he or his uncle come clean about all other city contracts/investments he’s involved in or will they be revealed in drips through investigative reports?

I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: Daley is easily the most overrated mayor in the country. He is being propped up by PR smoke and mirrors. Jackie Heard must have a bunch of stock responses ready and waiting for each scandal of the week.

Comment by Independent Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 5:25 pm
The people who read this site in my mind are a little brighter than the other swill out there. And, they understand government and finance.

The error in the story is one of omission, and that responsibility is the on the officers of this company. It’s not investors responsibility to submit company documents. Investors are not employees of corporations. The liability and possible impropriety here lies on the officers who served during the time in question, not Daley and Vanecko. They are ultimately the ones who decided to submit proposals without proper disclosure of investors.

Comment by Po'D Saturday, Dec 15, 07 @ 7:08 am
Is there ANYONE in city or state government out there who ISN’T on the take? It’s all too depression to think about.

Comment by Disgusted Sunday, Dec 16, 07 @ 4:07 pm
That would be “depressing”

Comment by Disgusted Sunday, Dec 16, 07 @ 4:08 pm