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* Some interesting layers to this Tribune story. First…
Ald. Edward Burke’s son was under internal investigation for allegedly making inappropriate sexual comments at the sheriff’s office when Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s administration hired him to a nearly $100,000 per year job, newly released records show. […]
One investigation began after a female sheriff’s employee alleged that Burke was “consistently disrespectful of women,” talked about sex acts and would leave the office by saying, “I’m leaving, going to watch the girls on Rush Street,” records show.
Preckwinkle’s office denies knowing anything about that investigation.
* Preckwinkle and Sheriff Tom Dart have feuded for years, so this is also a fascinating angle…
[The female sheriff’s employee] also said Burke called himself “the law,” claimed to have “tapes” that would “humiliate” Dart, vowed to run for sheriff and said he would fire a bunch of employees when he won, records show. […]
A male lieutenant filed a separate complaint from a female employee against Burke, claiming he made false allegations against the supervisor and had said publicly he had $11 million for a sheriff’s run.
The lieutenant quoted Burke saying that if anything happened to him as a result of his own complaint against the supervisor, “his father (Ald. Burke) would take care of it,” according to the records.
Rumors about the younger Burke challenging Dart circulated for quite a while. So, Preckwinkle got a twofer. She did a solid for a powerful alderman and hired someone who thoroughly despised Dart, which probably irked the sheriff.
Also, I don’t hate patronage because people who campaigned for their bosses get jobs. That’s never really bothered me. I hate patronage when connected, self-entitled swellheads think they can’t ever be touched (and rarely are) no matter what they do. The world would be a much better place if politicians would stop protecting their mopes. But that won’t happen, obviously.
* In other news…
At the first City Council Finance Committee meeting in decades without embattled Ald. Edward Burke in charge of the body, aldermen on Tuesday took a step toward giving up the $100 million-per-year workers’ compensation program he has long tightly controlled with little oversight.
Ald. Patrick O’Connor ran his first meeting as chairman of the committee weeks after federal authorities charged Burke with attempted extortion and he stepped down from the powerful post. Burke did not attend Tuesday’s meeting as O’Connor fielded questions from aldermen pushing for more transparency about how the opaque workers’ compensation program is run.
The committee voted to move workers’ compensation to the city Finance Department, a change Mayor Rahm Emanuel backed as one of several City Council reforms after the charges against Burke.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 1:09 pm
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Thanks Rich. That’s the word I was looking for in the last thread. It’s a little different when the mope is your kid, I suppose.
Comment by Ron Burgundy Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 1:14 pm
The SUV. What? Keller. Who? Burke money. What? Burke Jr. Who?
Where does this stop with Toni?
Comment by Sonny Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 1:16 pm
“I hate patronage when connected, self-entitled swellheads think they can’t ever be touched (and rarely are) no matter what they do. The world would be a much better place if politicians would stop protecting their mopes.”
Wholeheartedly agree.
Comment by NIU Grad Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 1:19 pm
How do you sign off on a hire (Kim Foxx did that) from another office without getting information on the hire? Can’t share investigation, but couldn’t there be a warning? all involved ridiculous.
Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 1:21 pm
This all would be so much more entertaining if it were in a different state, region and city. It’s really hard to view any of these people (either the electeds or the mopes) as public servants.
Comment by Responsa Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 1:24 pm
I hope they throw the book at old man Burke.
As for Burke the young, I hope he is sleeping like a baby now. Waking up crying after he wets himself thinking about losing the old man’s protection.
Couldn’t happen to better people. And to think, Mendoza owes her career to the old man. Doesn’t matter how many times you shower, that kind of stink just doesn’t come off.
Comment by SSL Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 1:25 pm
The Statutes against the crime of “Mopery” must be revisited. It’s and underappreciated crime.
Comment by A guy Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 1:29 pm
Since little Eddie resigned from both the Sheriff and County Board positions I assume he will be eligible for a pension. Perhaps if he moves fast he can get a job with Chicago Police or very least the Park District
Comment by DuPage Saint Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 1:30 pm
Toni’s mayoral bid is now toast.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 1:33 pm
Preckwinkle is a huge disappointment. She’d probably deliver a lot of progressive reforms. But she seems like a quarrelsome, ham handed machine hack who sacrifices any progressive values too easily to gain some temporary political power. You’d think she’d know better.
Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 1:40 pm
This isnt the end of the bad news for Toni the reformer. Shes only at first base.
Comment by Regular democrat Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 1:47 pm
Can anyone remember a mayoral campaign that has been more disastrous than Toni’s so far?
Comment by Shelby Thomas Weems Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 1:47 pm
As the beneficiary of a summer patronage job or two when I was in high school, I was always told, “I may have opened the door for you but you sure better show up on time and do the job.”
Comment by Because I said so.... Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 1:56 pm
–Can anyone remember a mayoral campaign that has been more disastrous than Toni’s so far?–
Bilandic comes to mind. His live TV presser where he rattled off arterial streets that had been cleared of snow, when TV news had already shown that they were not, sets the bar.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 1:56 pm
Shelby Thomas Weems @ 1:47: Dorothy Brown springs immediately to mind.
Comment by Northsider Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 1:58 pm
Toni has a lot of inherent advantages going into this campaign that She has pretty much blown. Rolling through staff at a record pace. Treating people awfully. Going back on her promises. Blatantly lying. Unrelenting. Uncompromising.
The bright lights of Mayoral campaign are revealing what those of us who pay attention to the county already knew… Toni has done an awful job as Cook Co Prez and would be awful as Mayor.
Comment by Anonchalant Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 2:07 pm
Toni is buddies with Berrios and Burke. Mad reformer creds.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 2:07 pm
Seems like Cook County is exploding with patronage hacks these days, or maybe the investigations are forcing them to the surface — whatever, all these hires are challenging those who claim Cook County is some haven for progressives … seems more like people who self congratulate as “progressives” but are better at self dealing
Comment by west wing Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 2:08 pm
West wing by george i think u got it. That sums it up pretty well
Comment by Regular democrat Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 2:11 pm
===that She has pretty much blown===
One of her biggest mistakes was convincing every political reporter in town that Mendoza was absolutely, 100 percent, without a shadow of a doubt going to be kicked off the ballot. And then those reporters/columnists ran with it and got badly burned.
When you make reporters look that horrible, consequences befall.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 2:12 pm
-Also, I don’t hate patronage because people who campaigned for their bosses get jobs. That’s never really bothered me. I hate patronage when connected, self-entitled swellheads think they can’t ever be touched (and rarely are) no matter what they do. The world would be a much better place if politicians would stop protecting their mopes. But that won’t happen, obviously.-
If politicians just got rid of HALF their mopes, state government would be a much, much better place.
Comment by MakePoliticsCoolAgain Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 2:13 pm
Amalia, if Preckwinkle and Dart were not on good terms, Dart’s office may have “forgotten” to share the information. That way, in one stroke they rid themselves of a problem and create one for someone else.
Comment by Soccermom Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 2:29 pm
The “Fighting 47th Ward Democratic Organization” endorsed candidate for Mayor is establishment Toni Preckwinkle.
Bad move, her nick name isn’t Toni Taxwinkle for nothing.
She will not win the ward and she will not advocate for reforms needed to slow the growth of government spending.
Smart voters can connect the dots, $100,000 a year job offered to an influential political benefactor’s family member while raising taxes on working families.
Comment by Lucky Pierre Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 2:38 pm
@Soccermom, yes. thought of that and meant all when I posted. don’t like people passing on their problems.
Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 2:39 pm
Glad to see Tom Dart booted the Burke kid out of his office, but
isn’t it strange that Preckwinkle’s spokeswoman says they don’t loo into the personnel record of hires before hires are made? Is there a chance that Burke SR asked Preckwinkle to hire Burke JR as a favor?
Comment by west wing Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 2:41 pm
The same goes for relatives of politicians. This isn’t patronage for people who help you get elected, this is patronage for your family, which is even worse. But, Preckwinkle is from the Madigan/Berrios school, where giving taxpayer funded gigs to your family is perfectly acceptable.
Comment by Just Me 2 Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 2:50 pm
Preckwinkle keeps destroying the credibility she had as a reformer (remember, she did lead Cook County towards financial solvency, acted to save what became Cook County Health & Hospital System) with stunts like the pop tax propaganda, the inability to deal with her former security chief’s mystery vehicle “theft”, and of course her statement against Mendoza. I voted for her despite her anti-gun propaganda and gun and ammunition taxes because overall she had pulled off some serious improvements. Now she talks herself into trouble so much, it’s almost scary.
Comment by revvedup Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 2:57 pm
Burke put his wife on the Court of Claims, the Illinois Appellate Court, and the Illinois Supreme Court. He put his daughter on the Pollution Control Board (via Quinn favor — gone under Rauner)after getting her in at Jenner and Corp Counsel. He put his son-in-law on the circuit court. The son who drove his snowmobile into a tree worked for the Forest Preserve District. This one worked for Dart and Preckwinkle. Do any relatives work in the private sector.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 2:58 pm
“The world would be a better place if politicians would stop protecting their mopes.”
Quote of the year.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 4:06 pm
“Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said she spoke with Ald. Edward Burke before hiring his son to $100K job” headline of Tribune on line this evening. NOT good for Toni.
Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Jan 23, 19 @ 11:46 pm