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Years ago, I briefly considered buying a teardown house in Bridgeport because of its easy proximity to the Loop. Not a good idea, I was warned by several people. They don’t cotton to outsiders, particularly those with a trouble-making bent. That memory came to mind as I read this piece in today’s Tribune:
A federal judge on Wednesday blasted neighborhood residents who harassed a Bridgeport man and vandalized his home after he cooperated with the government and testified for prosecutors in this year’s City Hall hiring fraud trial. […]
“When his cooperation surfaced, it was not received with the grace and warmth in his neighborhood that one would hope,” attorney Jeff Steinback told Coar Wednesday at the sentencing of Katalinic, a former deputy commissioner in the Streets and Sanitation Department, who spent more than 30 years there.
There were harassing phone calls and slashed car tires, Steinback said. There was also graffiti on Katalinic’s house. And finally, last Easter morning, there was a large bottle tossed through the glass front door of the home he shares with his wife and three young children, Steinback said.
Katalic helped send Robert Sorich to prison. Sorich is a local Bridgeport hero for keeping his yap shut during his ordeal. The locals even held a fundraiser for him.
The Beachwood Reporter has a good question for Mayor Daley:
“Following their sentencing, Daley defended Sorich and the others, saying they were all men of good character,” the Tribune notes.
I wonder what Daley thinks of Sorich’s other friends and defenders - the ones harassing Katalinic.
And this one would be a great question to ask at Daley’s next press conference:
“I know what I did was wrong,” Katalinic told a federal judge yesterday, when he was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for his own role in the massive hiring fraud the city has engaged in under Daley.
Does the mayor think what Katalinic did was wrong?
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Dec 14, 06 @ 2:15 pm
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Better yet, is Daley willing to condemn these acts and appeal to the residents of Bridgeport to refrain; or will he lend silent assent?
Comment by Squideshi Thursday, Dec 14, 06 @ 2:25 pm
It’s the getting caught is wrong, and blowing the whistle is a treasonable offense philosophy.
Comment by Snidely Whiplash Thursday, Dec 14, 06 @ 2:32 pm
I hope the judge posts federal marshalls by Katalinic’s house, and when the next jerk vandalizes it, they get hauled into the Federal Correctional Center and become dependent on the tender mercies of its inmates.
Comment by fedup dem Thursday, Dec 14, 06 @ 3:36 pm
My guess is that after a few Duhhhs, and ah-ah-ah’s Mayor Daley will say, “This is not a black and white issue. Nor should it be as we are trying to promote racial harmony in our city. This is one of those issues that everyone would say is gray. And, speaking of gray, I would like to say that Chicago looks out very well for it’s senior citizens. Yes, very well indeed.
Now, if there aren’t anymore questions for me, then this media conference is concluded and thank you for coming.”
Comment by Beowulf Thursday, Dec 14, 06 @ 3:51 pm
Rich, it wouldn’t accomplish much to ask Daley that question at a press conference. He would simply give another stupid, stammering non-answer. Daley would never say it publicly but he must be pleased Katalinic is being harassed.
Eventually the power base in Chicago will shift away from Bridgeport, and those who coast due to political connections will have to work hard for a living like the rest of us. Might as well give it a try now.
Comment by Tom Thursday, Dec 14, 06 @ 3:59 pm
Darn, Beowulf beat me to it.
Comment by Tom Thursday, Dec 14, 06 @ 4:00 pm
Katalinic lives in Armour Square, not Bridgeport…perhaps the Trib should invest in a street guide rather investing in the words of a crook!
Comment by thomas paine Thursday, Dec 14, 06 @ 4:02 pm
For the first time since visiting this blog I must call you out, Rich, for your cheap shot at Bridgeport on the vague advise of a few friends. After a quick trip through Bridgeport you’ll notice that the area is packed with new residents. This so called “anti-outsider” attitude sure hasn’t stopped a massive condo-boom whose residents are surely not Bridgeporters. There is also a gigantic Bridgeport-Village area that is packed with wealthy individuals with no ties to the area. And finally, you we should not forget the massive influx of Chinese who have found the courage to come from half-way around the world to settle in Bridgeport and debunk your foolish stereotypes.
Secondly, Thomas Paine is correct in asserting that Katalinic lives in Armour Square, not Bridgeport.
Comment by Anthony Thursday, Dec 14, 06 @ 4:38 pm
Rich,
You should have brought that property. You would have made a lot of money. People are paying close to $1 million to live there now and you can bet that they are not old timers or city workers.
Comment by Bill Thursday, Dec 14, 06 @ 4:53 pm
Did anyone see Elizabeth Brackett’s interview with Daley on Chicago Tonight? In extolling the work ethic of his father (claiming that he worked seven days a week), he stated that “most people don’t even work five days a week.” Many not Daley’s cronies, but I’d bet most Chicagoans work a minimum of five days a week. How disrespectful that comment was to hardworking voters.
Comment by Not So Fast Thursday, Dec 14, 06 @ 5:01 pm
“Many” should have read “Maybe.”
Comment by Not So Fast Thursday, Dec 14, 06 @ 5:02 pm
Tom said….> “Eventually the power base in Chicago will shift away from Bridgeport”
Great, then we can expect the next whistle-blower beatdown to come from which neighborhood?
Comment by The 'Broken Heart' of Rogers Park Thursday, Dec 14, 06 @ 5:50 pm
you cannot defend vandalism but you cannot ignore people who commit real crimes, those without any shadings of possibly being legal, i.e. taking bribes, then dumping on those who gave out patronage jobs, so that they serve lighter sentences. I have a hard time feeling sorry for Katalanic, Tomczak, et al.
Comment by paddyrollingstone Thursday, Dec 14, 06 @ 5:59 pm
The natives are restless.
Comment by Ali Bin Haddin Thursday, Dec 14, 06 @ 6:02 pm
Good question, Broken Heart. If Daley does not run in 2011, I think he backs Dan Hynes for mayor, especially if Obama is not elected President. Hynes’ path to the Senate would be blocked, and Lisa Madigan is ahead in line to be governor.
If Chicago is awarded the 2016 Olympics Daley, if alive, wouldn’t let someone else bask in the glory. By 2019 there will be enough legal Hispanics, plus children born in the States to illegals, to unite behind an Hispanic candidate. The 22nd, 12th, or 25th Ward could then produce the first post-Daley mayor, provided Daley does not resign before 2019 to anoint someone close to him.
If Daley is indicted and loses power before 2011 it becomes a free-for-all.
Comment by Tom Thursday, Dec 14, 06 @ 10:03 pm
I am so disgusted with anything that Daley does anymore. It gets me so angry that from now on (most of the time) my only response from me will be “Bill Walls for mayor!” just to let everyone know I am absolutely disgusted… and when I actually write something, you know I really got the red ass…
Comment by Lovie's Leather Thursday, Dec 14, 06 @ 11:24 pm
Oh, and can someone make sure that Katalic gets this… http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_WhistleblowerFacts/whistleblower_protections-general.pdf
Comment by Lovie's Leather Thursday, Dec 14, 06 @ 11:26 pm
I agree with others — yours was a cheap shot on Bridgeport. It can still be a little rough around the edges, no doubt. But the dangerous parochiolism you assign is simply playing into the stereotype. It isn’t filled with Hyde Park liberals, but it is filled with people who work hard, help their families and friends, and drop a five in the collection plate on Sunday.
And that tear down would have made you rich(er).
Comment by JJSpringfield Friday, Dec 15, 06 @ 12:49 am
Rich, the folks who steered you away from Bridgeport cost you a bundle. If any of them were at Two Brothers the other night, you should have made them buy. You need better sources of real estate advice.
Comment by Punley Deiter Finn Friday, Dec 15, 06 @ 11:26 am