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Daley’s tired excuses

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* After the feds announced a big corruption bust involving real estate developers and contractors allegedly bribing Zoning and Buildings departments workers, Mayor Daley tried out several defense. First up, anger…

The mayor called the alleged behavior “appalling and regrettable”

* Prosecutors said the corruption was “systemic.” So Daley gave us the predictable “bad apples” defense…

As Daley often does after corruption charges are leveled, he insisted that the accused are not representative of most employees in his administration.

“You cannot condemn everybody for a few,” Daley said. “I don’t know if it’s systemic, but you can’t indict everybody on that.”

* Then there was the familiar “I’m the one responsible for rooting out the corruption in the first place,” line that Gov. Rod Blagojevich so often employs…

Daley noted that the investigation originated with the former federal prosecutor he hired to root out City Hall corruption from within. Never mind that Daley and Inspector General David Hoffman have been at loggerheads for months and the mayor’s office has been undermining Hoffman behind the scenes.

* Don’t forget the “This is Chicago, people are corrupt,” argument…

“I wish I could get it right once and for all. You wish you could. But, people who take money from the private sector or public sector are gonna get caught. It’s a great job. They lose their job. They lose their health benefits. They lose their pension. These are good paying jobs,” he said.

“You do everything. You try to put GPS on people. You try to go after the developers or contractors — whoever wants to bribe the system. It takes two to tango. It takes two people — both a public employee and the private sector. They’re both gonna be caught.”

Perhaps you can think of more excuses that Daley missed.

* More on what was going on…

Authorities said the inspectors would often tell developers that their work would pass even though they had never seen the properties in question.

Corners were cut at developments around the city and at a South Loop hotel. Inspections of everything from plumbing to fire systems were undermined, said David Colen, assistant inspector-in-charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago.

Discuss.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, May 23, 08 @ 9:09 am

Comments

Daley’s hypocrisy and hubris appear to be reaching surprising levels, even for him. I still think that he remains too insulated to make any substantive reforms, and the corresponding lawsuits, payouts, etc. will continue in the form of increased property taxes and fees, which of course are helping to (insert typical Daley cliche and rhetoric here).

As for more excuses, “protecting the children” seems to be the flavor of the month, and I’m confident Daley will be able to incorporate this mantra into the conversation in his typical bizarre manner.

Comment by The Doc Friday, May 23, 08 @ 9:26 am
What, no mention of how Zoning and Buildings is just one of many departments under the authority of the mayor, and thus he can’t be expected to know what’s going on there?

Comment by grand old partisan Friday, May 23, 08 @ 9:33 am
What was the name of the hotel built without proper inspections? Hate to stay there in case of a fire!

Will a major disaster have to happen to get peoples’ attention to this?

My great-uncle and his family lived in Chicago from the late 1920’s until the 1970’s. From the stories he told, this sadly sounds like business as usual in Chicago politics.

Comment by Nearly Normal Friday, May 23, 08 @ 9:35 am
You forgot his most recent excuse (I’m not sure how this would tie in with corruption, but Daley will find a way): “Those criticizing me are racist child-haters.”

Comment by Skeeter Friday, May 23, 08 @ 9:36 am
Daley: “It wasn’t my fault. Honest… I ran out of gas. I, I had a flat tire. I didn’t have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn’t come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts. IT WASN’T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD.”

Comment by phocion Friday, May 23, 08 @ 9:39 am
Daley has to know what’s going on and he is valuing it because it’s helping him in his continued political existence. I don’t know how long he might be able to keep this up however.

Comment by Levois Friday, May 23, 08 @ 9:41 am
The Tribune… ahh, they got corruption. Sun-Times….., ah they got corruption. The media… it’s the medias fault.

Comment by The 'Broken Heart' of Rogers Park Friday, May 23, 08 @ 9:43 am
I Did not have sexual relations with that plumber!!… oh wait…

Comment by Ghost Friday, May 23, 08 @ 9:49 am
Daley “I’m a Chicago Democrat. We have always been corrupt. It’s the way we make the city work.
The people don’t seem to care. They just keep voting for us.”

Comment by Lee Friday, May 23, 08 @ 9:52 am
Another one: “Take a look at Michigan Ave. See all the flowers? The media never talks about the flowers on Michigan Ave. You just fixate on the little problems and ignore all the great work the City has done.”

Comment by Skeeter Friday, May 23, 08 @ 9:53 am
“It takes two to tango. It takes two to rumba. It takes two to cha-cha. Everybody knows that.

“You see dancing in the federal government, the private sector, the newspapers. They do the hokey-pokey and they turn themselves around. That’s what it’s all about. It’s unfortunate.

“If there’s dancination, you deal with it, but you can’t stop working for the children of the City of Chicago. Because they need jobs, not guns. If I were worried about the dancinators, I’d have never done Meigs Field. You can’t. Everybody knows that… “

Comment by wordslinger Friday, May 23, 08 @ 10:00 am
The mayor’s office got the threatening “cougar” letter on April 22. The Michigan fires were on April 24. The Sun-Times got “exclusive” details on the letter yesterday and today it dominates the front page.

The bribery story is on Page 6.

If you’re a willing participant, you’re not really being played, I guess.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, May 23, 08 @ 10:09 am
Brendan Reilly for Mayor!

Comment by Fire Ron Guenther Friday, May 23, 08 @ 10:12 am
Can you imagine what Daley’s “hypocrisy and hubris” levels will reach if Obama is elected? I am for Obama, but I may have to move away from the City.

Comment by Garp Friday, May 23, 08 @ 10:26 am
I know that it’s de rigueur hold the Mayor ultimately responsible for every misdeed of every employee of the City of Chicago. And there wouldn’t be any “corruption” but for “the culture of leadership” and “a fish rots from the head” and all the claptrap from this blog and others — and surburbanite (or downstate) posters who’ve never even managed a shift of 4 people at a McDonald’s. But there’s never really been a discussion about how inequitable it is to blame the Mayor (or any political leader or CEO) for the random petty thieves who inevitably populate positions among the City’s 35,978 employees (excluding employees of CPS, the Park District, CTA, CHA, and City Colleges).

To give that some context: 7-11 has fewer (31,500) employees. No one would think to point a finger at the CEO of 7-11 every time some counterhelp gives away a slurpee or dips into the register. No one is blogging about it being the CEO’s “ultimate responsiblility.” And it doesn’t happen because the CEO of Southland Corporation (or whatever owns 7-11 now) is “corrupt” and “a fish rots from the head.” It happens because some people are dishonest and some people steal. It’s always been the case, and it will always be the case, no matter how many grandstanding press conferences the U.S. Attorneys’ Office holds.

A system of checks and doublechecks overbuilt to the point where it could potentially stop the petty thieves would become a bureaucratic nightmare and grind the system to even more of a halt than it is right now. At some point you simply have to concede the truth of the axiom that you can’t write enough laws (or regulations or procedures) to stop someone intent on being dishonest — and an honest person doesn’t need any laws.

Comment by Mayoral Apologist Friday, May 23, 08 @ 10:27 am
Daley of course cannot control every scheming employee but he is responsible for setting the overall tone. The lower level types saw how Daley stood steadfastly by Sorich and his crew after convicted. They then wondered why little folks like themselves couldn’t get in on action.

The bottom line is that Daley needs to take a hard line against corruption. This must be reinforced behind closed doors and not just used as a dog and pony show for the cameras. He cannot say he’s against corruption and then work behind the scenes to undermine Hoffman. That sends the wrong message to city employees. The power to curtail corruption is in Daley’s hands. Does he care to use it?

Comment by Independent Friday, May 23, 08 @ 11:02 am
Mayor Daley says it’s only a few.From what Hoffman and Fitzgerald said: it’s was way more than a few.Mayor Daley doesn’t seem to mind this level of corruption nor the Chicago voting public.One has to wonder why the Sun-Times put the story on page 6 when it’s clearly a page 1 story.This must mean bigger names with major ties to Aldermen must be involved.

Comment by Steve Friday, May 23, 08 @ 11:10 am
Although Daley is a competent Mayor, he is corrupt on multiple levels. He’s been Mayor since 1989, so I think it is fair to hold him responsible for the endemic systemic corruption that clearly exists. He opposes the IG he appointed tooth and nail, as well as the Shakman monitor. He blatantly misrepresnted the City’s compliance with Shakman for his entire tenure. The hired truck scandal and the Duff minority contracting fraud were Daley intitated and controlled. But he’s got his buffers!

When the Intergovernmental Affairs staff were indicted and convicted, they were surrogates for the Mayor, since they were merely implementing his political and adminstrative will.

Last, but not least, as Lord Acton said, absolute power corrupts absolutely, and Daley especially qualifies as corrupt on that score. Imposing his will with respect to the Children’s Museum issue is a clasic example of Daley’s abuse of power.

In addition, I think Daley bears major political responsibility for shoving Todd stroger down out throats, probably his greatest political sin of all.

Aside from the corruption, he has one of the toughest political jobs in the country and seems to be good at what he does. But objectively, I have to conclude that he is corrupt - competent byt corrupt! It’s a trade-off I guess. It will definitely be hard to replace Mayor Daley when he leaves office.

Comment by Captain America Friday, May 23, 08 @ 11:32 am
Mayoral Apologist

The hiring corruption was directly controlled by the Mayors office and the Mayor called the shots.

The hired truck was a well known scam that produced millions in dirty money for so many of Daley’s cronies that it was the sign of huge clout if you got trucks in the program.

Fixing building inspectors is such a well known Chicago scam that if the Mayor is not aware of it he is the only person left in this town.

So you are wrong. This is not 7-11 employees. These are Shackmann exempt direct appointments of the Mayor being indicted by the bushel.

Comment by Garp Friday, May 23, 08 @ 11:41 am
I don’t know all the facts, but it’s pretty common knowledge what wheels have to be greased many times to get zoning and building requests approved in Chicago. I understand that the people paying bribes are breaking the law, but it is a sad reflection on Chicago that many times you HAVE to pay up in order to get your request approved. Prosecuting some poor jerk who has already been shaken down to get what he ought to be entitled to just somehow seems unfair to me.

I think the US attorney’s office ought to start getting people on board as “testers,” so to speak, to navigage the system as an average Joe and catch these crooks red-handed.

Comment by Snidely Whiplash Friday, May 23, 08 @ 12:03 pm
In my view, there are two types of people in the world: (1) those people who are honest and try to do the right thing; and (2) those people who are out for themselves and do whatever benefits them personally without regard to whether it’s the right thing to do.

Politics used to attract both types of people. Idealistic notions attract (or used to attract) the former. The power and prestige that come with holding political office largely attract the latter.

When the press is permitted to treat every political donation as a bribe and blow up every misstep, however slight, into “corruption,” even fundamentally honest officeholders can be diminished to the point where they are subject to being painted with the “corrupt politician” label by the simple-minded and the Sun Times readers of the world.

The abuse that’s freely heaped on good people drives away the idealistic candidates from inserting themselves into the process for at least two reasons. First, they don’t want the type of invective that’s commonly directed at politicians being directed at them; and second, they, as idealistic people, come to view the political process as too soiled a universe for them to inhabit.

The effect of fewer idealistic candidates being willing to run for office, means that more of the #2 types will populate elected positions, and the cycle then becomes (or, to be more accurate, has become) even more vicious because, in plenty of instances, the #2 types ARE actually doing self-interested things.

Acting in a self-interested manner used just to be disapproved of by the “good government” types. Now it’s been elevated to a crime. So instead of self-interested politicians being driven from office by the electorate, they’re being investigated and indicted.

The real problem is that in politics, political give and take can be easily construed as self-interested (and thus “criminal”) behavior. And as run-of-the-mill political acts are prosecuted as the equivalent of murder (or worse), in front of juries that have been poisoned by years of reading about “corrupt politicians” it creates a genuine risk that fundamentally honest people can be imprisoned for having done nothing wrong in any real sense of the word.

I think George Ryan falls into the first category of politicians. I think he genuinely did what he felt was the right thing to do most of the time. I think he made some terrible decisions — chief among them his death row pardons — but I think he really thought he was doing the right thing and his motivations were honorable. I am still unsure of what crimes he was alleged to have committed (I know what the charges were, I just don’t know how the things he was accused of doing can be considered criminal acts). I’m guessing he’s a lot more confused than I am.

I think the Mayor falls in the first category of people, as well. In my opinion, he tries to do the right things for the right reasons. I think he genuinely cares about the disadvantaged in the City. I don’t think he gets nearly enough credit for what the job that he’s done.

Chicago is fortunate to have him, and has been fortunate to have his leadership and the stability it brings. No big American city will ever have as good a leader as the Mayor has been for Chicago. The political process, in its current form, will simply not permit it.

Professor Paul Green used to defend the Mayor — and City governance in general — on Chicago Tonight occasionally against the Cindy Canary’s of the world. He — accurately, in my opinion — said the City had never been cleaner — both in a literal and figurative sense. He challenged whomever was saying the contrary (probably Dick Simpson or one of the usuals) to give an example of a major city that should be held up as the standard bearer, instead of Chicago. It was clear that no one had even given it the first thought — because of course “Chicago is corrupt.”

I’ve noticed Paul Green doesn’t seem to get invited much anymore. I guess his contrarian view doesn’t play well with the WTTW audience.

Put simply, the bad guys are winning and they’re so far ahead that it will take a miracle to stop them. We are living in a time where there exists the very real possibility that the sitting governer at almost any time could be Pat Quinn. And the Mayoral contest could be between Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Luis Guittierez.

Talk about a bunch of #2s.

Comment by Mayoral Apologist Friday, May 23, 08 @ 12:49 pm
I agree that the adjective “corrupt” gets thrown around too much. But I think the label fits on George Ryan, snugly. He oversaw a fundraising organization that led to unqualified truck drivers getting licenses which posed, always, an imminent threat to human life. Then when the worst happened and the Willis children died from an accident involving one of those unqualified drivers, Ryan’s immediate response was to try and cover everything up about how that license got awarded, to save his own career. He told lie after lie to the press and the Illinois public. A well-meaning man? In his own extremely limited, corrupt way, perhaps. A good governor in many respects? OK, sure. An honest or a good man? Give me a break.

Comment by ZC Friday, May 23, 08 @ 4:09 pm
More to this story, much more to come.

If you go back to Summer, 2007, there were several building inspectors who took a deal with the Feds.

No real surprises here - what the real story is revolves around the “process”, and how it sets up the corruption.

Truthfully, some (not all, but certainly some) of the developers really didn’t have much of a choice, because getting timely inspections for projects wasn’t (and still isn’t) much of an option. Now, if you were running the project & you had to get concrete down and were running a $10k an hour tab waiting for the City folks to appear, well you may not like it, but you put some “spreading around” change out there, you’d be amazed how things changed.

Comment by Judgment Day Is On The Way Friday, May 23, 08 @ 4:35 pm
To the Mayoral Apologist who writes “the City had never been cleaner — both in a literal and figurative sense,” I must ask: Do you get west of Kedzie much?

I think you’ve been staring at the Bean for too long. Makes me happy too, but it is still just a bright, shiny object of mass distraction.

Comment by Anonymous Friday, May 23, 08 @ 4:39 pm