Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Hired Truck figure lands $39 million city contract
March 3, 2010
BY FRAN SPIELMAN AND TIM NOVAK Staff Reporters
Former Hired Truck kingpin Michael Tadin has snared a three-year, $39.4 million contract to operate and maintain one of three waste transfer stations that Mayor Daley once attempted to lease.
Tadin-owned M.A.T. Leasing was chosen to operate the largest of the three facilities at 750 N. Kilbourn -- where city crews once sorted through garbage for recyclables in blue bags -- after assembling a sub-contracting team that includes two firms that cashed in on the scandal-plagued Hired Truck program.
South Chicago Trucking Corp., a women's business enterprise, and B.B.D. Trucking, a minority-owned company, will each receive a $2 million share of the Tadin contract.
With 43 trucks paid by three city departments, B.B.D. was the largest black-owned company to ride the Hired Truck gravy train. One of its drivers pleaded guilty in 2005 to stealing city asphalt and delivering it to a private job site while driving a B.B.D.-owned Hired Truck.
"I wasn't aware of that. I don't know what that driver did. But, the owner of the company I've known for 25 years," Tadin said Tuesday, noting that he under-bid his closest competitor by $2 million.
The new contract appears to fly in the face of Tadin's 2004 pledge to wash his hands of city business.
But, he said, "We never precluded ourselves from public work. We were talking about Hired Truck."
The contract to operate the transfer station at 3757 W. 34th Street was awarded to Heartland Recycling on the strength of owner Thomas Volini's $15.6 million bid, records show.
The third center, at 1633 W. Medill, will apparently remain in the hands of Allied Waste Transportation.
Tadin is the perennial city trucking magnate whose $1.25 million loan to a security company co-owned by Ald. Patrick Huels (11th) forced the 1997 resignation of Daley's former City Council floor leader. Tadin's trucking company had received a $1.1 million city subsidy with Huels' help.
Tadin was the undisputed king of Hired Trucks, emerging from the pack, even after City Hall accused the company of over-billing and agreed to spread the wealth to other firms. No over-billing was ever documented.
The program was disbanded in 2005 after the Chicago Sun-Times disclosed how politically-connected companies were paid to do little or no work.
MAT Leasing was awarded the three-year contract because it was the low bidder for the work covering that part of the city, said Shannon Andrews of the Department of Procurement Services.
BY FRAN SPIELMAN AND TIM NOVAK Staff Reporters
Former Hired Truck kingpin Michael Tadin has snared a three-year, $39.4 million contract to operate and maintain one of three waste transfer stations that Mayor Daley once attempted to lease.
Tadin-owned M.A.T. Leasing was chosen to operate the largest of the three facilities at 750 N. Kilbourn -- where city crews once sorted through garbage for recyclables in blue bags -- after assembling a sub-contracting team that includes two firms that cashed in on the scandal-plagued Hired Truck program.
South Chicago Trucking Corp., a women's business enterprise, and B.B.D. Trucking, a minority-owned company, will each receive a $2 million share of the Tadin contract.
With 43 trucks paid by three city departments, B.B.D. was the largest black-owned company to ride the Hired Truck gravy train. One of its drivers pleaded guilty in 2005 to stealing city asphalt and delivering it to a private job site while driving a B.B.D.-owned Hired Truck.
"I wasn't aware of that. I don't know what that driver did. But, the owner of the company I've known for 25 years," Tadin said Tuesday, noting that he under-bid his closest competitor by $2 million.
The new contract appears to fly in the face of Tadin's 2004 pledge to wash his hands of city business.
But, he said, "We never precluded ourselves from public work. We were talking about Hired Truck."
The contract to operate the transfer station at 3757 W. 34th Street was awarded to Heartland Recycling on the strength of owner Thomas Volini's $15.6 million bid, records show.
The third center, at 1633 W. Medill, will apparently remain in the hands of Allied Waste Transportation.
Tadin is the perennial city trucking magnate whose $1.25 million loan to a security company co-owned by Ald. Patrick Huels (11th) forced the 1997 resignation of Daley's former City Council floor leader. Tadin's trucking company had received a $1.1 million city subsidy with Huels' help.
Tadin was the undisputed king of Hired Trucks, emerging from the pack, even after City Hall accused the company of over-billing and agreed to spread the wealth to other firms. No over-billing was ever documented.
The program was disbanded in 2005 after the Chicago Sun-Times disclosed how politically-connected companies were paid to do little or no work.
MAT Leasing was awarded the three-year contract because it was the low bidder for the work covering that part of the city, said Shannon Andrews of the Department of Procurement Services.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Cook County court clerk gets three years for bribery
Admits to taking payoffs for a false promise to win man's release from jail
February 23, 2010
By RUMMANA HUSSAIN Criminal Courts Reporter
A Cook County Circuit Court clerk was sentenced today to three years in prison after pleading guilty to bribery, admitting he took money from a Texas woman and falsely promised her he would pay off a judge in exchange to win her jailed husband’s release.
Angelo Colon, 48, first met Eduardo Suke’s wife in September 2008, when she was trying to bail out her spouse on drug-trafficking charges, according to prosecutors. Colon, of the 3000 block of North Kolmar, allegedly presented a phony business card and took $3,000 from the woman at that meeting at a fast-food restaurant near the 26th and California courthouse.
Colon met the woman another time with a private investigator and continued to promise he’d help if she kept making payments, prosecutors said. At that meeting, the victim was asked to surrender Suke’s two identification cards as a member of the Kickapoo Nation.
Colon had the woman wire the remaining $10,000 to him in five separate transactions between Nov. 4, 2008, and Jan. 13, 2009, prosecutors said.
Colon’s arrest is part of an investigation into financial corruption, according to state’s attorney office spokeswoman Sally Daly, who said there was no evidence Colon ever contacted a judge to seek the jailed man's release.
Colon had been employed at the clerk’s office since 1999.
February 23, 2010
By RUMMANA HUSSAIN Criminal Courts Reporter
A Cook County Circuit Court clerk was sentenced today to three years in prison after pleading guilty to bribery, admitting he took money from a Texas woman and falsely promised her he would pay off a judge in exchange to win her jailed husband’s release.
Angelo Colon, 48, first met Eduardo Suke’s wife in September 2008, when she was trying to bail out her spouse on drug-trafficking charges, according to prosecutors. Colon, of the 3000 block of North Kolmar, allegedly presented a phony business card and took $3,000 from the woman at that meeting at a fast-food restaurant near the 26th and California courthouse.
Colon met the woman another time with a private investigator and continued to promise he’d help if she kept making payments, prosecutors said. At that meeting, the victim was asked to surrender Suke’s two identification cards as a member of the Kickapoo Nation.
Colon had the woman wire the remaining $10,000 to him in five separate transactions between Nov. 4, 2008, and Jan. 13, 2009, prosecutors said.
Colon’s arrest is part of an investigation into financial corruption, according to state’s attorney office spokeswoman Sally Daly, who said there was no evidence Colon ever contacted a judge to seek the jailed man's release.
Colon had been employed at the clerk’s office since 1999.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Kevin Trudeau held in criminal contempt, facing jail time
Federal judge in Chicago acts after being flooded with emails prompted by the author-infomercial king
February 11, 2010
Kevin Trudeau, the slick, silver-tongued infomercial king and best-selling author amassed a fortune over years of persistent, late-night hawking.
This week, he made the wrong sales pitch.
Trudeau was found in criminal contempt of court Thursday and nearly had handcuffs slapped on him after he asked his supporters to email the federal judge overseeing a pending civil case brought against him by the Federal Trade Commission.
U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman said he was flooded with hundreds of “harassing, threatening and interfering” emails, locking up the judge’s email system and shutting down his Blackberry for part of the day.
“This is direct contempt — that’s how I view it,” Gettleman said. “He interfered with the direct process of the court.”
Gettleman hauled Trudeau into court a day after he posted a message on his Web site with his appeal. Gettleman ordered Trudeau to turn over his passport, pay $50,000 bond and warned he could face future prison time.
Gettleman, on his own authority, can sentence Trudeau to up to six months in prison. In addition, the judge referred the matter and the emails to the U.S. Marshals Service, which investigates threats to judiciary.
“This is the first time we are addressing an email blast or something that’s disrupted the court’s email system,” said Acting U.S. Marshal John O’Malley.
Trudeau, who also hosts his own radio show and has served prison time for credit card fraud, appeared in court tanned and tieless, wearing a black mock turtleneck and navy blue suit coat.
Trudeau, who has a residence in Hinsdale, refused to talk after court, even remaining silent when twice asked his age. He’s 47.
After being called on the carpet by the judge, he sent a follow-up email to his supporters telling them:
“That was a mistake. It was wrong to make that request,” Trudeau said. “Please do not under any circumstances communicate with the court or Judge Gettleman.”
“I don’t have confidence in your client,” Gettleman told Trudeau’s lawyer. “I do insist that, if he is to avoid custody today, he post bond.”
The Federal Trade Commission has labeled Trudeau a fraud and got a court order in 2004 to curtail his business.
Trudeau has sold millions of books, in part with the pitch that the government is trying to keep him from telling dieters the truth with his “The Weight-Loss Cure They Don’t Want You to Know About,” which has become a best-seller.
Gettleman previously has banned Trudeau from making infomercials for three years, fined him more than $5 million, then raised that fine to more than $37 million — the amount the FTC figured Trudeau made on the book via his infomercials. An appeals court said the ruling was too broad and sent it back to the judge. Gettleman was still weighing the matter when he was deluged with emails Wednesday.
Trudeau has pitched miracle health cures, also saying the government wants to keep the public from knowing about natural remedies.
In a recent on-air radio broadcast, Trudeau talks about wanting to land a TV show. If Fox gave him the chance, he said he’d be: “Bigger than O’Reilly. Bigger than Glenn Beck.”
Stephen Barrett, the creator of Quackwatch.org, has for years labeled Trudeau a fraud.
CASE AGAINST HIM
What led the late-night miracle-cure hawker to criminal contempt charges in Chicago:
* Kevin Trudeau's Shop America USA as well as Natural Cures Inc. are in Elk Grove Village.
* Trudeau has a home in Hinsdale.
* In 2008, U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman banned Trudeau from infomercials for three years and ordered him to pay more than $5 million in profits from his book, The Weight Loss Cure "They" Don't Want You to Know About. It was the second contempt finding in four years. An appellate court said the ruling was too broad and sent it back to Gettleman, who was poised to revise his ruling in March.
* Gettleman has previously stated that "the infomercial[s] falsely and intentionally led thousands (probably hundreds of thousands) of consumers to believe that the Weight Loss Book would describe an 'easy,' 'simple' protocol that, once 'finished' would allow the consumer to 'eat anything' he or she wants."
* Gettleman hit Trudeau with criminal contempt and threatened him with prison time after Trudeau urged supporters to flood Gettleman's e-mail in-box
“He struck me as somebody who (believes he) is omnipotent. That is, no one can touch him,” Barrett said. “That’s almost been the case.”
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Ban on phones stirs up courts
* Those with cell phones in criminal courtroom face jail time or fine.
Comments
June 29, 2009
By Ruth Ann Krause, Post-Tribune correspondent
A recent ban on cell phones in the criminal courts at the Lake County Government Center delayed testimony in an attempted murder trial after one of the jurors refused to give up the device and was arrested.
Lake Superior Court Judges Salvador Vasquez, Clarence Murray, Diane Ross Boswell and Thomas Stefaniak Jr., who preside over criminal division cases, signed an order two weeks ago banning cell phones, but visitors continue to bring their phones to the building.
Lake County Commissioners are also looking into the issue.
County Attorney John Dull said at the commissioners' request he sent Boswell, senior judge of the criminal division, a letter seeking clarification.
The order signed by the judges prohibits members of the general public from bringing cell phones into the courts building, but Dull pointed out the administration building and courts building are connected by a hallway. Someone could enter the administration building with a cell phone and walk into the courts building. In addition, there are civil courtrooms and other offices in the courts building.
Visitors in possession of a cell phone in a criminal courtroom could be held in contempt and be jailed or fined, according to the judges' order.
Last Monday, court security officers arrested a juror selected for an attempted murder case in Boswell's courtroom. The juror became upset after being told he couldn't bring his phone into court and was arrested for disorderly conduct.
Afterward, Boswell spent about an hour questioning the remaining 12 jurors and one alternate about whether the ruckus over the cell phone ban in court would affect their deliberations in the attempted murder case of Marlon Stringfellow.
During questioning by Boswell, several jurors said they were allowed to bring their cell phones, which typically are placed with other metal objects in a plastic bin and examined by court security officers while the visitor walks through a metal detector.
Since the courtroom ban went into effect, security officers ask visitors where they're going in the building. Those who say they're going to court are instructed to return their phones to the car.
* Those with cell phones in criminal courtroom face jail time or fine.
Comments
June 29, 2009
By Ruth Ann Krause, Post-Tribune correspondent
A recent ban on cell phones in the criminal courts at the Lake County Government Center delayed testimony in an attempted murder trial after one of the jurors refused to give up the device and was arrested.
Lake Superior Court Judges Salvador Vasquez, Clarence Murray, Diane Ross Boswell and Thomas Stefaniak Jr., who preside over criminal division cases, signed an order two weeks ago banning cell phones, but visitors continue to bring their phones to the building.
Lake County Commissioners are also looking into the issue.
County Attorney John Dull said at the commissioners' request he sent Boswell, senior judge of the criminal division, a letter seeking clarification.
The order signed by the judges prohibits members of the general public from bringing cell phones into the courts building, but Dull pointed out the administration building and courts building are connected by a hallway. Someone could enter the administration building with a cell phone and walk into the courts building. In addition, there are civil courtrooms and other offices in the courts building.
Visitors in possession of a cell phone in a criminal courtroom could be held in contempt and be jailed or fined, according to the judges' order.
Last Monday, court security officers arrested a juror selected for an attempted murder case in Boswell's courtroom. The juror became upset after being told he couldn't bring his phone into court and was arrested for disorderly conduct.
Afterward, Boswell spent about an hour questioning the remaining 12 jurors and one alternate about whether the ruckus over the cell phone ban in court would affect their deliberations in the attempted murder case of Marlon Stringfellow.
During questioning by Boswell, several jurors said they were allowed to bring their cell phones, which typically are placed with other metal objects in a plastic bin and examined by court security officers while the visitor walks through a metal detector.
Since the courtroom ban went into effect, security officers ask visitors where they're going in the building. Those who say they're going to court are instructed to return their phones to the car.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Daley to put taxpayers on hook for Olympic financial losses
June 17, 2009
BY LISA DONOVAN AND FRAN SPIELMAN Staff Reporters
Mayor Daley finally sounds ready to give the International Olympic Committee the financial guarantee it is seeking.
The mayor told reporters in Switzerland that he’ll sign a host city contract with the committee putting taxpayers on the hook for any financial losses if the city wins the summer 2016 games — even as some aldermen grumbled Daley is exceeding his authority.
Daley and an entourage of Chicago Olympics boosters are in the lakeside city of Lausanne, making their pitch for the games on the committee’s home turf.
Back in Chicago, mayoral press secretary Jacquelyn Heard stressed that Chicago 2016 has come up with a series of guarantees and private funding formulas for the proposed $4.8 billion game plan, so taxpayers won’t be footing the bill.
“Obviously the mayor understands that neither he nor Chicago 2016 can go to taxpayers and essentially expect them to guarantee or be responsible for long- or short-term Olympic financing,” Heard said today. "When he said he was prepared to sign the host city contract, it was with knowledge that Chicago will only sign it under the new approach that does not require us to go to the taxpayers beyond what we already promised."
She's referring to today's announcement that an added $500 million in insurance will be part of a $2.5 billion safety net for the Chicago games.
The net already includes: a $450 million “rainy day fund;” as much as $375 million in IOC cancellation insurance; an additional $500 million in insurance coverage, a state guarantee of $250 million and a “last-resort” $500 million guarantee of taxpayer money from the city of Chicago.
Daley initially vowed that not a dime of taxpayer dollars would be spent on the 2016 games, but after the last election — and a prod by the United States Olympic Committee to “put some skin in the game” — the City Council approved the financing.
Daley insisted at the time: “If everything fails — an earthquake, tornado, everything comes down — this is your insurance policy.”
Lori Healey, President of Chicago 2016 issued a written statement from Switzerland saying the new insurance “will further reduce risk to the City of Chicago and its taxpayers.”
“This new development will ensure that at the required time — two days prior to the October 2nd decision — the Mayor of Chicago will be able to sign the host city agreement,” she saidt. “The cost of this solution will be funded entirely by Chicago 2016."
Chicago 2016 officials say they're heartened by IOC president Jacques Rogues repeat of an earlier assurance that Chicago's financial guarantees are strong.
Mike Moran, a sports consultant formerly with the United States Olympic Committee , says the mayor signing this document doesn’t necessarily mean Chicago can’t work out something with the IOC to make sure city isn’t on the line for losses.
That’s what happened when Moran worked on the successful bid for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
“We had $25 million in guarantees (in largely privately dollars) against a shortfall and Mayor Tom Bradley signed it,” Moran said of the traditional host city contract calling for L.A., in this case, to cover any losses. “But there was a quiet nod by the IOC, that if there was an overrun the city wouldn’t be liable for it.”
The money issue arose as Chicago, along with competing cities Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, made brief, closed-door presentations today before 93 IOC members — about 10 shy of the full Olympic committee that will decide in October which city will host the 2016 games.
Chicago was first at bat today, using the start of the 45-minute presentation to talk about how its $4.8 billion game plan would be financed. Chicago is the only finalist city in the pack not to have 100 percent government guarantees, standard for American cities because the federal government traditionally doesn’t pony up for guarantee money for the Olympic games.
Pat Ryan, head of the Chicago 2016 effort, said in a news conference in Switzerland today that he believes the Chicago’s plan to layer guarantees with private and corporate donations is the best financial approach in these recessionary times.
“We believe that it’s responsible [in] changing times. And it’s very important because it spreads the risk among public and private sources. We also believe this combination of public and private guarantees [that] could be as much as $2 billion is not only better for host city taxpayers, but we believe also offers stronger protection for the Games than government can do alone.”
With another layer of insurance protection, Daley intends to sign the host-city contract — without returning to the City Council for authorization, Heard said.
“We are not exceeding the authority granted by the City Council. We remain within the financial boundaries they set” when they approved the $500 million Olympic guarantee, she said.
Several aldermen strongly disagreed. They argued that Daley has “no authority” to sign the host-city contract without Council approval.
“This is a big deal. He’s planning to sign an agreement that puts the city on the hook for an unlimited amount of money,” said Ald. Joe Moore (49th).
“Let them come before the City Council and explain to us why this is a safe bet for taxpayers. They can tell us they have insurance. They can make all the arguments they want to make. But, as elected representatives closest to the votes, we need to have a say in this. This is something that recent events have made all too clear. We need to exercise our authority as a check and balance on the mayor’s office.”
After the fiasco caused by Daley’s $1.15 billion decision to lease Chicago’s 36,000 parking meters, aldermen can’t afford to sit back, according to Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd).
“They made guarantees, and none of those guarantees have come true on the parking meter deal. I don’t think the Council will buy his guarantee of, ‘Don’t worry. There’s multiple layers of guarantees here,’” Waguespack said.
“The Council needs to be part of this process. The mayor’s office and 2016 needs to show us what those guarantees are and what taxpayers are on the hook for ... .I have no information right now that proves to me these backstops are genuine.”
June 17, 2009
BY LISA DONOVAN AND FRAN SPIELMAN Staff Reporters
Mayor Daley finally sounds ready to give the International Olympic Committee the financial guarantee it is seeking.
The mayor told reporters in Switzerland that he’ll sign a host city contract with the committee putting taxpayers on the hook for any financial losses if the city wins the summer 2016 games — even as some aldermen grumbled Daley is exceeding his authority.
Daley and an entourage of Chicago Olympics boosters are in the lakeside city of Lausanne, making their pitch for the games on the committee’s home turf.
Back in Chicago, mayoral press secretary Jacquelyn Heard stressed that Chicago 2016 has come up with a series of guarantees and private funding formulas for the proposed $4.8 billion game plan, so taxpayers won’t be footing the bill.
“Obviously the mayor understands that neither he nor Chicago 2016 can go to taxpayers and essentially expect them to guarantee or be responsible for long- or short-term Olympic financing,” Heard said today. "When he said he was prepared to sign the host city contract, it was with knowledge that Chicago will only sign it under the new approach that does not require us to go to the taxpayers beyond what we already promised."
She's referring to today's announcement that an added $500 million in insurance will be part of a $2.5 billion safety net for the Chicago games.
The net already includes: a $450 million “rainy day fund;” as much as $375 million in IOC cancellation insurance; an additional $500 million in insurance coverage, a state guarantee of $250 million and a “last-resort” $500 million guarantee of taxpayer money from the city of Chicago.
Daley initially vowed that not a dime of taxpayer dollars would be spent on the 2016 games, but after the last election — and a prod by the United States Olympic Committee to “put some skin in the game” — the City Council approved the financing.
Daley insisted at the time: “If everything fails — an earthquake, tornado, everything comes down — this is your insurance policy.”
Lori Healey, President of Chicago 2016 issued a written statement from Switzerland saying the new insurance “will further reduce risk to the City of Chicago and its taxpayers.”
“This new development will ensure that at the required time — two days prior to the October 2nd decision — the Mayor of Chicago will be able to sign the host city agreement,” she saidt. “The cost of this solution will be funded entirely by Chicago 2016."
Chicago 2016 officials say they're heartened by IOC president Jacques Rogues repeat of an earlier assurance that Chicago's financial guarantees are strong.
Mike Moran, a sports consultant formerly with the United States Olympic Committee , says the mayor signing this document doesn’t necessarily mean Chicago can’t work out something with the IOC to make sure city isn’t on the line for losses.
That’s what happened when Moran worked on the successful bid for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
“We had $25 million in guarantees (in largely privately dollars) against a shortfall and Mayor Tom Bradley signed it,” Moran said of the traditional host city contract calling for L.A., in this case, to cover any losses. “But there was a quiet nod by the IOC, that if there was an overrun the city wouldn’t be liable for it.”
The money issue arose as Chicago, along with competing cities Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, made brief, closed-door presentations today before 93 IOC members — about 10 shy of the full Olympic committee that will decide in October which city will host the 2016 games.
Chicago was first at bat today, using the start of the 45-minute presentation to talk about how its $4.8 billion game plan would be financed. Chicago is the only finalist city in the pack not to have 100 percent government guarantees, standard for American cities because the federal government traditionally doesn’t pony up for guarantee money for the Olympic games.
Pat Ryan, head of the Chicago 2016 effort, said in a news conference in Switzerland today that he believes the Chicago’s plan to layer guarantees with private and corporate donations is the best financial approach in these recessionary times.
“We believe that it’s responsible [in] changing times. And it’s very important because it spreads the risk among public and private sources. We also believe this combination of public and private guarantees [that] could be as much as $2 billion is not only better for host city taxpayers, but we believe also offers stronger protection for the Games than government can do alone.”
With another layer of insurance protection, Daley intends to sign the host-city contract — without returning to the City Council for authorization, Heard said.
“We are not exceeding the authority granted by the City Council. We remain within the financial boundaries they set” when they approved the $500 million Olympic guarantee, she said.
Several aldermen strongly disagreed. They argued that Daley has “no authority” to sign the host-city contract without Council approval.
“This is a big deal. He’s planning to sign an agreement that puts the city on the hook for an unlimited amount of money,” said Ald. Joe Moore (49th).
“Let them come before the City Council and explain to us why this is a safe bet for taxpayers. They can tell us they have insurance. They can make all the arguments they want to make. But, as elected representatives closest to the votes, we need to have a say in this. This is something that recent events have made all too clear. We need to exercise our authority as a check and balance on the mayor’s office.”
After the fiasco caused by Daley’s $1.15 billion decision to lease Chicago’s 36,000 parking meters, aldermen can’t afford to sit back, according to Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd).
“They made guarantees, and none of those guarantees have come true on the parking meter deal. I don’t think the Council will buy his guarantee of, ‘Don’t worry. There’s multiple layers of guarantees here,’” Waguespack said.
“The Council needs to be part of this process. The mayor’s office and 2016 needs to show us what those guarantees are and what taxpayers are on the hook for ... .I have no information right now that proves to me these backstops are genuine.”
Aldermen want answers regarding Vanecko deal
June 17, 2009
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter/fspielman@suntimes.com
Chicago aldermen on Tuesday demanded to know why the city has paid nearly $500,000 to lease space at a South Side industrial site co-owned by Mayor Daley's nephew without City Council approval required for city leases.
As chairman of the City Council's Committee on Housing and Real Estate, Ald. Ray Suarez (31st) should have signed off on the lease at 3348 S. Pulaski.
But, the Daley administration's decision to make it a month-to-month lease -- and continue that temporary arrangement since November, 2007 -- denied Suarez' committee and the full City Council the right to approve the deal.
"Things have to be done the right way. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. You can't skirt" the rules, Suarez said.
"Why didn't we get a long-term contract? I want to know what their justification is for giving them a month-to-month lease. You could do month-to-month for a while," but not for 15 months.
Unless the city can prove it needed flexibility to get out of the lease quickly, it appears that the month-to-month lease was designed to get around the City Council, said Ald. Joe Moore (49th).
"It would seem to me that someone was trying to hide something," Moore said.
He added, "One of the reasons we have these meetings is so the public and ... media can know who's getting these leases. It begs the question why, in this particular case, it was done in what appears to be a secretive fashion. We are owed an explanation."
Anthony Pascente a spokesman for the city's Department of General Services, did not return repeated phone calls on the lease.
Despite weeks of questions from the Chicago Sun-Times, City Hall yet to produce a lease document or invoices to justify the monthly payments, at a rate of $3.83-per-square foot for 70,565 square feet of space, 20 percent of the warehouse.
Nor have city officials provided an explanation for the month-to-month arrangement with mayoral nephew Robert Vanecko and his partners, developer Allison Davis and Davis' son Jared.
The Sun-Times reported earlier this month that Vanecko and Davis used $4.2 million of the $68 million they manage for five city employee pension funds to help buy the mostly vacant warehouse and surrounding land.
On Sunday, the newspaper disclosed that the lease was linked to the demise of Chicago's scandal-plagued Hired Truck program.
The Department of Water Management says it needed a place to park dozens of dump trucks leased by the city to replace Hired Trucks.
In October, 2006, they found the ideal spot in the massive industrial property on Pulaski Road, just north of the Stevenson Expy.
After parking the trucks outside for a year, they decided to move them inside the warehouse on the 15-acre site.
As they negotiated a lease for that building, it changed hands, officials said. And City Hall insisted it had no idea that the new owners of the building included an investment company co-owned by the mayor's nephew.
Last week, Vanecko abruptly announced that he would "end his involvement with DV Urban Realty Partners, both as a general partner and as an investor," effective July 1. He cited a desire to minimize "unwarranted distractions.
He bowed out two weeks after a federal grand jury issued subpoenas seeking details of why the pension funds invested with Vanecko's start-up firm three years ago.
June 17, 2009
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter/fspielman@suntimes.com
Chicago aldermen on Tuesday demanded to know why the city has paid nearly $500,000 to lease space at a South Side industrial site co-owned by Mayor Daley's nephew without City Council approval required for city leases.
As chairman of the City Council's Committee on Housing and Real Estate, Ald. Ray Suarez (31st) should have signed off on the lease at 3348 S. Pulaski.
But, the Daley administration's decision to make it a month-to-month lease -- and continue that temporary arrangement since November, 2007 -- denied Suarez' committee and the full City Council the right to approve the deal.
"Things have to be done the right way. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. You can't skirt" the rules, Suarez said.
"Why didn't we get a long-term contract? I want to know what their justification is for giving them a month-to-month lease. You could do month-to-month for a while," but not for 15 months.
Unless the city can prove it needed flexibility to get out of the lease quickly, it appears that the month-to-month lease was designed to get around the City Council, said Ald. Joe Moore (49th).
"It would seem to me that someone was trying to hide something," Moore said.
He added, "One of the reasons we have these meetings is so the public and ... media can know who's getting these leases. It begs the question why, in this particular case, it was done in what appears to be a secretive fashion. We are owed an explanation."
Anthony Pascente a spokesman for the city's Department of General Services, did not return repeated phone calls on the lease.
Despite weeks of questions from the Chicago Sun-Times, City Hall yet to produce a lease document or invoices to justify the monthly payments, at a rate of $3.83-per-square foot for 70,565 square feet of space, 20 percent of the warehouse.
Nor have city officials provided an explanation for the month-to-month arrangement with mayoral nephew Robert Vanecko and his partners, developer Allison Davis and Davis' son Jared.
The Sun-Times reported earlier this month that Vanecko and Davis used $4.2 million of the $68 million they manage for five city employee pension funds to help buy the mostly vacant warehouse and surrounding land.
On Sunday, the newspaper disclosed that the lease was linked to the demise of Chicago's scandal-plagued Hired Truck program.
The Department of Water Management says it needed a place to park dozens of dump trucks leased by the city to replace Hired Trucks.
In October, 2006, they found the ideal spot in the massive industrial property on Pulaski Road, just north of the Stevenson Expy.
After parking the trucks outside for a year, they decided to move them inside the warehouse on the 15-acre site.
As they negotiated a lease for that building, it changed hands, officials said. And City Hall insisted it had no idea that the new owners of the building included an investment company co-owned by the mayor's nephew.
Last week, Vanecko abruptly announced that he would "end his involvement with DV Urban Realty Partners, both as a general partner and as an investor," effective July 1. He cited a desire to minimize "unwarranted distractions.
He bowed out two weeks after a federal grand jury issued subpoenas seeking details of why the pension funds invested with Vanecko's start-up firm three years ago.
Democratic ward boss Cullerton's husband charged after cocaine allegedly falls out of his pocket
June 17, 2009
BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN Criminal Courts Reporter
The husband of a Democratic ward boss was hit with drug charges after a small packet of cocaine fell out of his pocket at the downtown County Building and a coworker spotted it, authorities said.
Cameras captured the cocaine falling from Kevin O'Brien's back pocket Tuesday. He admitted it was his, sheriff's spokesman Steve Patterson said.
O'Brien has worked for the county assessor's office for over 20 years, office spokesman Eric Herman said. He has been placed on administrative leave.
O'Brien is married to P.J. Cullerton, Democratic committeeman of the Northwest Side's 38th Ward, a source said.
P.J. Cullerton is the scion of a political dynasty with power stretching back just before the Chicago Fire of 1871. Family members sat on the City Council for 107 years in what became known as "The Cullerton seat."
Cullerton's father, Thomas, who died in 1993, was the last. Other family members include P. J. "Parky" Cullerton, who was elected county assessor in 1958, and state Sen. John Cullerton, who was named Senate president last year.
June 17, 2009
BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN Criminal Courts Reporter
The husband of a Democratic ward boss was hit with drug charges after a small packet of cocaine fell out of his pocket at the downtown County Building and a coworker spotted it, authorities said.
Cameras captured the cocaine falling from Kevin O'Brien's back pocket Tuesday. He admitted it was his, sheriff's spokesman Steve Patterson said.
O'Brien has worked for the county assessor's office for over 20 years, office spokesman Eric Herman said. He has been placed on administrative leave.
O'Brien is married to P.J. Cullerton, Democratic committeeman of the Northwest Side's 38th Ward, a source said.
P.J. Cullerton is the scion of a political dynasty with power stretching back just before the Chicago Fire of 1871. Family members sat on the City Council for 107 years in what became known as "The Cullerton seat."
Cullerton's father, Thomas, who died in 1993, was the last. Other family members include P. J. "Parky" Cullerton, who was elected county assessor in 1958, and state Sen. John Cullerton, who was named Senate president last year.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Busboy-turned-county worker collected salary while he was jailed
June 15, 2009
BY MARK J. KONKOL Staff Reporter
If a guy's got clout in Cook County, getting tossed in the hoosegow could be like a paid vacation.
Tony Cole, the busboy- turned-patronage worker at the center of a county hiring scandal, apparently had that kind of clout in the finance department, according to payroll records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
County president Todd Stroger's cousin, former chief financial officer Donna Dunnings, gave her former secretary paid time off that he did not earn for workdays he was locked in county jail. Dunnings also signed time cards that claimed Cole worked weekends that he did not show up at the office, county records show.
Cole got his county job after a night pouring Stroger icewater at a River North steakhouse. Stroger later fired Cole for lying about his criminal past on a job application.
Dunnings -- whom Stroger fired over her dealings with Cole without giving specifics -- signed off on three "excused" absences with pay for Cole during his stint in county jail between Nov. 19 and Nov. 21 for violating orders of protection against an ex-girlfriend, according to Cole's time records.
On Nov. 21, Dunnings used her personal credit cards to bail out Cole, who said he promised to pay her back as soon as he got paid.
Dunnings also signed off on time cards that report Cole worked 14 hours the weekend of Nov. 22.
But security records kept by the sheriff's department said Cole was in the county building at 118 N. Clark for only four hours and 20 minutes that weekend.
Dunnings bailed Cole out of jail a second time Jan. 23 -- the same day Cole got comp day off "per D. Dunnings," records show.
On Jan. 25, the Sunday after Cole was released from jail, Dunnings signed a time card that reported Cole worked four hours. But Cole did not sign in at the county building that day, sheriff's department records show.
Dunnings would not comment on the excused absences, but said Cole earned the comp days off by working extra hours.
When told county time sheets did not show evidence that Cole worked enough extra hours to warrant receiving that much comp time, Dunnings said a "time keeper" kept track of comp time hours and she just signed off on the time sheets.
A county source close to the situation said Cole was the office time keeper.
Stroger spokesman Eugene Mullins said he's not sure if Cole was assigned to keep his own time records, but the county does not condone giving employees excused absences with pay that are not due them.
"The county does not have a policy to pay money to employees for pay they have not earned," Mullins said.
The Sun-Times obtained Cole's time records through a Freedom of Information Act request. The Stroger administration, however, has refused to release other county records requested by the paper because an "investigating body" directed the county in writing not to release the information, Stroger's special counsel Laura Lechowicz Felicione said.
Sources have confirmed that the Cook County state's attorney's office financial crimes unit has launched a probe into the Dunnings- Cole controversy.
Cole, who remains in county jail and is due in domestic violence court today, said an assistant states attorney in the financial crimes division visited him in jail and he received a grand jury subpoena.
Cole also told the Sun-Times an FBI agent -- confirmed as an investigator from the Chicago field office -- has visited him in jail several times and as recently as last week to ask questions about Dunnings and Stroger and any information Cole might have about county corruption
June 15, 2009
BY MARK J. KONKOL Staff Reporter
If a guy's got clout in Cook County, getting tossed in the hoosegow could be like a paid vacation.
Tony Cole, the busboy- turned-patronage worker at the center of a county hiring scandal, apparently had that kind of clout in the finance department, according to payroll records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
County president Todd Stroger's cousin, former chief financial officer Donna Dunnings, gave her former secretary paid time off that he did not earn for workdays he was locked in county jail. Dunnings also signed time cards that claimed Cole worked weekends that he did not show up at the office, county records show.
Cole got his county job after a night pouring Stroger icewater at a River North steakhouse. Stroger later fired Cole for lying about his criminal past on a job application.
Dunnings -- whom Stroger fired over her dealings with Cole without giving specifics -- signed off on three "excused" absences with pay for Cole during his stint in county jail between Nov. 19 and Nov. 21 for violating orders of protection against an ex-girlfriend, according to Cole's time records.
On Nov. 21, Dunnings used her personal credit cards to bail out Cole, who said he promised to pay her back as soon as he got paid.
Dunnings also signed off on time cards that report Cole worked 14 hours the weekend of Nov. 22.
But security records kept by the sheriff's department said Cole was in the county building at 118 N. Clark for only four hours and 20 minutes that weekend.
Dunnings bailed Cole out of jail a second time Jan. 23 -- the same day Cole got comp day off "per D. Dunnings," records show.
On Jan. 25, the Sunday after Cole was released from jail, Dunnings signed a time card that reported Cole worked four hours. But Cole did not sign in at the county building that day, sheriff's department records show.
Dunnings would not comment on the excused absences, but said Cole earned the comp days off by working extra hours.
When told county time sheets did not show evidence that Cole worked enough extra hours to warrant receiving that much comp time, Dunnings said a "time keeper" kept track of comp time hours and she just signed off on the time sheets.
A county source close to the situation said Cole was the office time keeper.
Stroger spokesman Eugene Mullins said he's not sure if Cole was assigned to keep his own time records, but the county does not condone giving employees excused absences with pay that are not due them.
"The county does not have a policy to pay money to employees for pay they have not earned," Mullins said.
The Sun-Times obtained Cole's time records through a Freedom of Information Act request. The Stroger administration, however, has refused to release other county records requested by the paper because an "investigating body" directed the county in writing not to release the information, Stroger's special counsel Laura Lechowicz Felicione said.
Sources have confirmed that the Cook County state's attorney's office financial crimes unit has launched a probe into the Dunnings- Cole controversy.
Cole, who remains in county jail and is due in domestic violence court today, said an assistant states attorney in the financial crimes division visited him in jail and he received a grand jury subpoena.
Cole also told the Sun-Times an FBI agent -- confirmed as an investigator from the Chicago field office -- has visited him in jail several times and as recently as last week to ask questions about Dunnings and Stroger and any information Cole might have about county corruption
City's lease with Vanecko's company has Hired Truck link
INDOOR PARKING | City says it didn't know of Vanecko's interest in warehouse
June 13, 2009
BY TIM NOVAK, CHRIS FUSCO AND FRAN SPIELMAN Staff Reporters
Chicago water officials wanted a place to park dozens of dump trucks they'd been leasing since the collapse of the city's scandalous Hired Truck Program.
They found the spot in October 2006 -- a massive industrial property on Pulaski Road, just north of the Stevenson Expy.
For a year, they parked dump trucks outside. Then, city officials decided they wanted to move the trucks indoors to a warehouse on the 15-acre site.
As they negotiated a lease for that building, it changed hands, city officials say. And they say they had no idea the new owners included an investment company co-owned by Mayor Daley's nephew, whose firm manages $68 million for five city pension funds.
Some of that pension money -- $4.2 million -- was used to buy the warehouse in November 2007. And Chicago taxpayers have since paid nearly $500,000 to lease it.
The property is at the center of the latest scandal confronting Daley, whose nephew Robert Vanecko resigned from his pension-investment company Tuesday, two weeks after a federal grand jury issued subpoenas seeking details of why the pension funds invested with Vanecko's start-up firm three years ago.
City officials have yet to respond to a Chicago Sun-Times request for copies of lease documents. But they are now offering an explanation for how they came to lease a huge garage at 3348 S. Pulaski for the city Water Management Department.
And it ties back into the biggest scandal Daley has faced during his 20 years as mayor: the Hired Truck Program, which the city got rid of after a Sun-Times investigation found the city spent millions of dollars hiring dump trucks that were often paid to do nothing.
"In 2006, the City of Chicago's Hired Truck Program was dismantled, and the city needed to purchase 50 20-ton trucks to work with water and sewer construction crews," said water department spokesman Tom LaPorte. "To meet this demand, an additional 45 trucks were also leased. This significant addition of equipment meant adequate parking locations needed to be found.''
The city wanted to park the trucks near Reliable Asphalt Corporation, a supplier of construction materials, at 3741 S. Pulaski. Reliable is owned by Michael Vondra, who is referred to in the original criminal complaint filed against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Vondra wanted unspecified help from the governor on a business venture, according to prosecutors, who said Blagojevich, in turn, wanted $100,000 in campaign contributions. Vondra, who hasn't been charged with any wrongdoing, never raised the money.
City officials hoped to park the trucks on property Reliable leases from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, but Reliable turned the city down, LaPorte said. So city officials set their sights on the Pulaski warehouse.
On Oct. 10, 2006, the city signed a month-to-month lease to park trucks at 3348 S. Pulaski. That included city-owned trucks and also trucks leased from Steve's Equipment Services under multimillion-dollar contracts struck after the Hired Truck Program was scrapped. At first, the trucks were parked outside the massive, 320,000-square-foot warehouse, LaPorte said.
Then, city officials decided they wanted to move the trucks inside and began negotiating a long-term lease with owner Michael Lazar.
"In the midst of the negotiations, Mr. Lazar sold his interest in the building,'' LaPorte said.
On Nov. 14, 2007, the city signed a month-to-month lease with Lazar to move its trucks inside the warehouse.
On Nov. 27, 2007, Lazar sold the building to Sydney Pulaski LLC for $10.5 million. The deal included the $4.2 million in city pension money managed by DV Urban Realty Partners, co-owned by the mayor's nephew and his partners, Allison S. Davis and his son Jared Davis.
City officials have said they didn't know Vanecko was involved. Vanecko has never taken part in the ongoing negotiations for a long-term lease, they also said.
On Dec. 1, 2007, the city began parking its trucks inside the warehouse, LaPorte said.
The city says it moved into the warehouse after Vanecko's group bought the property. Vanecko's firm said last week that the city already had its trucks in the warehouse before it bought the property.
The city has paid a total of $480,408 in rent to Sydney Pulaski.
The city had paid $50,026 in rent to Lazar's company.
The terms of the indoor lease remained the same after Lazar sold the building to Vanecko's group, according to city officials and Vanecko's company. The city is paying $3.83 per square foot for 70,565 square feet -- about 20 percent of the warehouse.
Another tenant is Bus & Truck of Chicago, a city contractor that got a three-year, $4.3 million deal last September from the city's Fleet Management Department to repair city vehicles. The city has paid the company more than $345,000 since 2006.
City officials are still negotiating a five-year lease for the warehouse, but they are also looking at other places to park the trucks, LaPorte said.
Vanecko's partners apparently wouldn't mind if the city found another location.
"What we knew is [city officials] were looking for larger space, so our assumption was that they would move out," Allison Davis said in an interview last week on WTTW-Channel 11's "Chicago Tonight." "And we were marketing the space to other buyers. They repeatedly came back to us and wanted to lease the space, and we said no, this is not appropriate, and this will only cause us grief and problems.
"While it's a very attractive lease, it's a problem,'' Davis said. "I don't need a problem."
INDOOR PARKING | City says it didn't know of Vanecko's interest in warehouse
June 13, 2009
BY TIM NOVAK, CHRIS FUSCO AND FRAN SPIELMAN Staff Reporters
Chicago water officials wanted a place to park dozens of dump trucks they'd been leasing since the collapse of the city's scandalous Hired Truck Program.
They found the spot in October 2006 -- a massive industrial property on Pulaski Road, just north of the Stevenson Expy.
For a year, they parked dump trucks outside. Then, city officials decided they wanted to move the trucks indoors to a warehouse on the 15-acre site.
As they negotiated a lease for that building, it changed hands, city officials say. And they say they had no idea the new owners included an investment company co-owned by Mayor Daley's nephew, whose firm manages $68 million for five city pension funds.
Some of that pension money -- $4.2 million -- was used to buy the warehouse in November 2007. And Chicago taxpayers have since paid nearly $500,000 to lease it.
The property is at the center of the latest scandal confronting Daley, whose nephew Robert Vanecko resigned from his pension-investment company Tuesday, two weeks after a federal grand jury issued subpoenas seeking details of why the pension funds invested with Vanecko's start-up firm three years ago.
City officials have yet to respond to a Chicago Sun-Times request for copies of lease documents. But they are now offering an explanation for how they came to lease a huge garage at 3348 S. Pulaski for the city Water Management Department.
And it ties back into the biggest scandal Daley has faced during his 20 years as mayor: the Hired Truck Program, which the city got rid of after a Sun-Times investigation found the city spent millions of dollars hiring dump trucks that were often paid to do nothing.
"In 2006, the City of Chicago's Hired Truck Program was dismantled, and the city needed to purchase 50 20-ton trucks to work with water and sewer construction crews," said water department spokesman Tom LaPorte. "To meet this demand, an additional 45 trucks were also leased. This significant addition of equipment meant adequate parking locations needed to be found.''
The city wanted to park the trucks near Reliable Asphalt Corporation, a supplier of construction materials, at 3741 S. Pulaski. Reliable is owned by Michael Vondra, who is referred to in the original criminal complaint filed against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Vondra wanted unspecified help from the governor on a business venture, according to prosecutors, who said Blagojevich, in turn, wanted $100,000 in campaign contributions. Vondra, who hasn't been charged with any wrongdoing, never raised the money.
City officials hoped to park the trucks on property Reliable leases from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, but Reliable turned the city down, LaPorte said. So city officials set their sights on the Pulaski warehouse.
On Oct. 10, 2006, the city signed a month-to-month lease to park trucks at 3348 S. Pulaski. That included city-owned trucks and also trucks leased from Steve's Equipment Services under multimillion-dollar contracts struck after the Hired Truck Program was scrapped. At first, the trucks were parked outside the massive, 320,000-square-foot warehouse, LaPorte said.
Then, city officials decided they wanted to move the trucks inside and began negotiating a long-term lease with owner Michael Lazar.
"In the midst of the negotiations, Mr. Lazar sold his interest in the building,'' LaPorte said.
On Nov. 14, 2007, the city signed a month-to-month lease with Lazar to move its trucks inside the warehouse.
On Nov. 27, 2007, Lazar sold the building to Sydney Pulaski LLC for $10.5 million. The deal included the $4.2 million in city pension money managed by DV Urban Realty Partners, co-owned by the mayor's nephew and his partners, Allison S. Davis and his son Jared Davis.
City officials have said they didn't know Vanecko was involved. Vanecko has never taken part in the ongoing negotiations for a long-term lease, they also said.
On Dec. 1, 2007, the city began parking its trucks inside the warehouse, LaPorte said.
The city says it moved into the warehouse after Vanecko's group bought the property. Vanecko's firm said last week that the city already had its trucks in the warehouse before it bought the property.
The city has paid a total of $480,408 in rent to Sydney Pulaski.
The city had paid $50,026 in rent to Lazar's company.
The terms of the indoor lease remained the same after Lazar sold the building to Vanecko's group, according to city officials and Vanecko's company. The city is paying $3.83 per square foot for 70,565 square feet -- about 20 percent of the warehouse.
Another tenant is Bus & Truck of Chicago, a city contractor that got a three-year, $4.3 million deal last September from the city's Fleet Management Department to repair city vehicles. The city has paid the company more than $345,000 since 2006.
City officials are still negotiating a five-year lease for the warehouse, but they are also looking at other places to park the trucks, LaPorte said.
Vanecko's partners apparently wouldn't mind if the city found another location.
"What we knew is [city officials] were looking for larger space, so our assumption was that they would move out," Allison Davis said in an interview last week on WTTW-Channel 11's "Chicago Tonight." "And we were marketing the space to other buyers. They repeatedly came back to us and wanted to lease the space, and we said no, this is not appropriate, and this will only cause us grief and problems.
"While it's a very attractive lease, it's a problem,'' Davis said. "I don't need a problem."
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Background checks for sheriff's office, police
February 25, 2009
BY FRANK MAIN Crime Reporter fmain@suntimes.com
The Cook County sheriff's office and the Chicago Police Department are launching new efforts to weed out bad apples.
Sheriff Tom Dart recently ordered his internal-affairs investigators to conduct background checks on every one of the office's roughly 7,000 employees, spokesman Steve Patterson said.
Under the department's rules, every sworn law enforcement officer is required to report any contact with police. If they don't, they could be fired, Patterson said. Also, any sworn officer with a felony conviction can't keep that post, he said.
"As for civilian employees, we'd look at it on a case-by-case basis," Patterson said.
The Chicago Police Department, meanwhile, is sending four officers and a sergeant through training to operate polygraph machines. Anyone applying to be an officer will have to take a lie-detector test, said Ted O'Keefe, head of the department's personnel division.
Patterson said the sheriff's office already requires people applying for sworn positions to take a polygraph test. Sworn positions include correctional officers, court deputies and police officers.
Applicants are asked about drug sales, theft, time-sheet fraud, vandalism, gang affiliations and arrests, Patterson said. Last year, 295 applicants took polygraph tests, he said.
"The test gives us tremendous insight into the backgrounds of people applying for law enforcement jobs," he said, adding, "The test results aren't the sole determining factor in deciding whether someone gets hired."
BY FRANK MAIN Crime Reporter fmain@suntimes.com
The Cook County sheriff's office and the Chicago Police Department are launching new efforts to weed out bad apples.
Sheriff Tom Dart recently ordered his internal-affairs investigators to conduct background checks on every one of the office's roughly 7,000 employees, spokesman Steve Patterson said.
Under the department's rules, every sworn law enforcement officer is required to report any contact with police. If they don't, they could be fired, Patterson said. Also, any sworn officer with a felony conviction can't keep that post, he said.
"As for civilian employees, we'd look at it on a case-by-case basis," Patterson said.
The Chicago Police Department, meanwhile, is sending four officers and a sergeant through training to operate polygraph machines. Anyone applying to be an officer will have to take a lie-detector test, said Ted O'Keefe, head of the department's personnel division.
Patterson said the sheriff's office already requires people applying for sworn positions to take a polygraph test. Sworn positions include correctional officers, court deputies and police officers.
Applicants are asked about drug sales, theft, time-sheet fraud, vandalism, gang affiliations and arrests, Patterson said. Last year, 295 applicants took polygraph tests, he said.
"The test gives us tremendous insight into the backgrounds of people applying for law enforcement jobs," he said, adding, "The test results aren't the sole determining factor in deciding whether someone gets hired."
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Former fed Blakey gets top Cook County corruption-fighting post
February 19, 2009
BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN Criminal Courts Reporter
Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez introduced Jack Blakey today as her office's new special prosecutions chief.
The former assistant U.S. attorney will be in charge of pursuing corruption cases, as well as organized-crime and narcotics investigations.
Blakey moves to Alvarez's staff from the office of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, where he was on the team that successfully prosecuted Tony Rezko on corruption charges involving state of Illinois deals under ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
As Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed reported today, crime-busting is in Blakey's blood. His father, George Robert Blakey, was the principal author of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known for short as the RICO law, that's often used to prosecute organized-crime figures, and is a preeminent authority on the law. The father has been a law professor at the University of Notre Dame since 1980 and, before that, also taught there from 1964 to 1969.
BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN Criminal Courts Reporter
Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez introduced Jack Blakey today as her office's new special prosecutions chief.
The former assistant U.S. attorney will be in charge of pursuing corruption cases, as well as organized-crime and narcotics investigations.
Blakey moves to Alvarez's staff from the office of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, where he was on the team that successfully prosecuted Tony Rezko on corruption charges involving state of Illinois deals under ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
As Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed reported today, crime-busting is in Blakey's blood. His father, George Robert Blakey, was the principal author of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known for short as the RICO law, that's often used to prosecute organized-crime figures, and is a preeminent authority on the law. The father has been a law professor at the University of Notre Dame since 1980 and, before that, also taught there from 1964 to 1969.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
2 city workers charged in park drug deal
HUMBOLDT PARK | Firefighter, Water Dept. worker accused of cocaine transaction
February 17, 2009
BY FRAN SPIELMAN AND ANNIE SWEENEY Staff Reporters
A 62-year-old Chicago firefighter has been charged with selling cocaine to a worker in the Department of Water Management, which was at the center of a 2005 heroin-trafficking scandal.
Fire engineer Ruben Santiago has been placed on an unpaid leave of absence after being charged Thursday with manufacture, delivery and possession of more than 15 grams of cocaine.
Waldemar Cruz, a 63-year-old Water Management rate taker who allegedly bought drugs from Santiago, was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance. His employment status was not known.
The alleged drug deal between two city employees in their 60s allegedly took place in the inner drive of Humboldt Park.
Officers from the Chicago Police Department's gang enforcement unit conducting surveillance in response to complaints of narcotics sales in Humboldt Park reportedly observed the hand-to-hand transaction.
After the 2 p.m. street sale, Santiago allegedly got into his personal vehicle and threw drugs on the ground after being stopped by police. Cruz was also driving his personal car, sources said.
"At this time, there is no indication that anything illegal was done on city time. However, the conduct alleged clearly violates the oath taken to protect life," said Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
In 2005, a Water Management hoisting engineer who served as a deputy voter registrar for the Hispanic Democratic Organization was accused of heading the Chicago arm of a Colombia heroin-trafficking ring. George A. Prado was arrested along with two other city employees.
Santiago's arrest marks the latest in a series of black eyes for the Chicago Fire Department.
In December, firefighter Jose Moreno was charged with sexually molesting three young children, including a 3-year-old girl and two boys, ages 5 and 6. He was hired to be their caretaker three or four times a week.
Two weeks later, another firefighter was charged with fraud and forgery; he allegedly stole natural gas after the heat was cut off at his home.
Chicago firefighters and paramedics are subject to random drug testing that traditionally yields a 1 percent positive rate, "which is good," Langford said.
February 17, 2009
BY FRAN SPIELMAN AND ANNIE SWEENEY Staff Reporters
A 62-year-old Chicago firefighter has been charged with selling cocaine to a worker in the Department of Water Management, which was at the center of a 2005 heroin-trafficking scandal.
Fire engineer Ruben Santiago has been placed on an unpaid leave of absence after being charged Thursday with manufacture, delivery and possession of more than 15 grams of cocaine.
Waldemar Cruz, a 63-year-old Water Management rate taker who allegedly bought drugs from Santiago, was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance. His employment status was not known.
The alleged drug deal between two city employees in their 60s allegedly took place in the inner drive of Humboldt Park.
Officers from the Chicago Police Department's gang enforcement unit conducting surveillance in response to complaints of narcotics sales in Humboldt Park reportedly observed the hand-to-hand transaction.
After the 2 p.m. street sale, Santiago allegedly got into his personal vehicle and threw drugs on the ground after being stopped by police. Cruz was also driving his personal car, sources said.
"At this time, there is no indication that anything illegal was done on city time. However, the conduct alleged clearly violates the oath taken to protect life," said Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
In 2005, a Water Management hoisting engineer who served as a deputy voter registrar for the Hispanic Democratic Organization was accused of heading the Chicago arm of a Colombia heroin-trafficking ring. George A. Prado was arrested along with two other city employees.
Santiago's arrest marks the latest in a series of black eyes for the Chicago Fire Department.
In December, firefighter Jose Moreno was charged with sexually molesting three young children, including a 3-year-old girl and two boys, ages 5 and 6. He was hired to be their caretaker three or four times a week.
Two weeks later, another firefighter was charged with fraud and forgery; he allegedly stole natural gas after the heat was cut off at his home.
Chicago firefighters and paramedics are subject to random drug testing that traditionally yields a 1 percent positive rate, "which is good," Langford said.
Could Burris’ new statement protect him from perjury charge?
February 17, 2009
BY DAVE MCKINNEY AND NATASHA KORECKI Staff Reporters
The ranking Republican on the Illinois House panel that moved to impeach former Gov. Rod Blagojevich said today he does not want to reconvene the committee to accept Sen. Roland Burris’ changed testimony.
Doing so, Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), could give Burris an ironclad defense against perjury charges should they be brought against him by a Sangamon County prosecutor.
If House Democrats allow Burris to present his revised affidavit, “They’re quietly giving him the ability to rehabilitate himself to bar any prosecution under perjury,” Durkin said.
The provision of the perjury statute that could protect Burris reads this way:
“Where the contradictory statements are made in the same continuous trial, an admission by the offender in that same continuous trial of the falsity of a contradictory statement shall bar prosecution — under any provisions of this code.”
On Monday, state Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) became the first high-ranking House Democrat to call for the House Special Investigative Committee to be reconvened and to demand that Burris reappear and explain the discrepancies in his testimony.
“This, to me, is a very clever way to pound their fists,” Durkin said. “The greatest defenders of Mr. Burris are all of a sudden angered and troubled about the new affidavit. But they’re also winking at Sen. Burris at the same time.”
BY DAVE MCKINNEY AND NATASHA KORECKI Staff Reporters
The ranking Republican on the Illinois House panel that moved to impeach former Gov. Rod Blagojevich said today he does not want to reconvene the committee to accept Sen. Roland Burris’ changed testimony.
Doing so, Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), could give Burris an ironclad defense against perjury charges should they be brought against him by a Sangamon County prosecutor.
If House Democrats allow Burris to present his revised affidavit, “They’re quietly giving him the ability to rehabilitate himself to bar any prosecution under perjury,” Durkin said.
The provision of the perjury statute that could protect Burris reads this way:
“Where the contradictory statements are made in the same continuous trial, an admission by the offender in that same continuous trial of the falsity of a contradictory statement shall bar prosecution — under any provisions of this code.”
On Monday, state Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) became the first high-ranking House Democrat to call for the House Special Investigative Committee to be reconvened and to demand that Burris reappear and explain the discrepancies in his testimony.
“This, to me, is a very clever way to pound their fists,” Durkin said. “The greatest defenders of Mr. Burris are all of a sudden angered and troubled about the new affidavit. But they’re also winking at Sen. Burris at the same time.”
Ex-alderman Troutman sentenced to four years in prison
February 17, 2009
BY NATASHA KORECKI Federal Courts Reporter
Despite a tearful plea for mercy, proclaiming she's "no monster," former Ald. Arenda Troutman was sentenced to four years in prison on mail fraud and tax fraud charges that were part of a corruption investigation.
An emotional Troutman hung her head and apologized to her ward, the city and for bringing "shame" to her family.
"As God as my witness, I am no monster. I am not a criminal and I never helped criminals," Troutman said.
U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo said he couldn't understand how public officials continue, year after year, to think they can get away with corruption.
"You are a walking contradiction," Castillo said. Adding "you join the hall of shame," of corrupt Illinois politicians.
Troutman, a single mother of three, said she turned on the radio this morning -- and her son heard about his mother's predicament.
"I looked at my son's face. I didn't know what to do or say but tell him I loved him and that I'm sorry," she said, crying.
"I'm sorry. I'm regretful. There's still good in me."
A prosecutor in the case said today the corruption case grew out of a probe into the Black Disciples street gang. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Alesia said agents doing surveillance on gang kingpin Marvel Thompson saw a meeting take place between the ex-alderman and Thompson.
It was later revealed that Troutman carried on a relationship with another member of the gang, Donnell Jehan. Alesia said it was "aggravating" for law enforcement to battle gangs only to find Troutman, an alderman, had befriended gang members and used them to help her in campaigning.
"It is appalling and something the court should consider," in sentencing, Alesia said.
Alesia also revealed that on the day agents knocked on her door for her arrest, she was shredding documents having to do with the Hired Truck program and a family member who had business in that controversial program.
The Sun-Times previously revealed Troutman's family ties to the program and first reported that Troutman's shredder was still warm when agents entered her home in the 2007 raid.
Troutman admitted she coerced kickbacks totaling $21,500 over the years from developers to support their projects in her South Side ward and, in one case, outside her ward. She was famously caught on wiretaps saying that all aldermen are "ho's."
Her lawyer, Michael Gillespie, said Troutman, 51, is a single mother of three and repentant.
"Her actions are terrible," Gillespie said. "But judge, you have to look at this picture as a whole."
He spoke of doing work for affordable housing, kids, seniors and the poor.
Troutman, wearing a tan pants suit, was soft-spoken, tearful and repeatedly apologized for her actions.
BY NATASHA KORECKI Federal Courts Reporter
Despite a tearful plea for mercy, proclaiming she's "no monster," former Ald. Arenda Troutman was sentenced to four years in prison on mail fraud and tax fraud charges that were part of a corruption investigation.
An emotional Troutman hung her head and apologized to her ward, the city and for bringing "shame" to her family.
"As God as my witness, I am no monster. I am not a criminal and I never helped criminals," Troutman said.
U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo said he couldn't understand how public officials continue, year after year, to think they can get away with corruption.
"You are a walking contradiction," Castillo said. Adding "you join the hall of shame," of corrupt Illinois politicians.
Troutman, a single mother of three, said she turned on the radio this morning -- and her son heard about his mother's predicament.
"I looked at my son's face. I didn't know what to do or say but tell him I loved him and that I'm sorry," she said, crying.
"I'm sorry. I'm regretful. There's still good in me."
A prosecutor in the case said today the corruption case grew out of a probe into the Black Disciples street gang. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Alesia said agents doing surveillance on gang kingpin Marvel Thompson saw a meeting take place between the ex-alderman and Thompson.
It was later revealed that Troutman carried on a relationship with another member of the gang, Donnell Jehan. Alesia said it was "aggravating" for law enforcement to battle gangs only to find Troutman, an alderman, had befriended gang members and used them to help her in campaigning.
"It is appalling and something the court should consider," in sentencing, Alesia said.
Alesia also revealed that on the day agents knocked on her door for her arrest, she was shredding documents having to do with the Hired Truck program and a family member who had business in that controversial program.
The Sun-Times previously revealed Troutman's family ties to the program and first reported that Troutman's shredder was still warm when agents entered her home in the 2007 raid.
Troutman admitted she coerced kickbacks totaling $21,500 over the years from developers to support their projects in her South Side ward and, in one case, outside her ward. She was famously caught on wiretaps saying that all aldermen are "ho's."
Her lawyer, Michael Gillespie, said Troutman, 51, is a single mother of three and repentant.
"Her actions are terrible," Gillespie said. "But judge, you have to look at this picture as a whole."
He spoke of doing work for affordable housing, kids, seniors and the poor.
Troutman, wearing a tan pants suit, was soft-spoken, tearful and repeatedly apologized for her actions.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Lawyer: Rep. Jackson 'completely guiltless'
U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) is "completely guiltless" in the alleged scheme to corrupt the appointment of a new U.S. senator from Illinois and will meet with federal investigators as soon as Friday, the congressman's newly hired lawyer said today.
Jackson was not named in the criminal complaint yesterday charging Gov. Rod Blagojevich with trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. But descriptions in the court document fit the congressman's profile and sources have further identified him as the "Senate Candidate 5" who was among those being considered for the job.
Jackson hired longtime Chicago lawyer James Montgomery Sr. on Tuesday after federal prosecutors unveiled criminal charges against Blagojevich and top aide John Harris, sources said.
"There is nothing there to implicate the congressman," Montgomery told the Tribune. The attorney said he and Jackson have been advised by a top deputy to U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald that Jackson is not a target of the investigation.
Montgomery said he expected Jackson would meet with officials from Fitzgerald's office as soon as Friday.
In an interview posted on the ABC News website today, Jackson did not specify who had told him he was not a target. He also said he did not know whether he was Candidate 5.
Jackson did say, however, that prosecutors had asked him to "come in and share my insights and thoughts about the selection process" and he planned to do so after consulting with his lawyer.
A lengthy government affidavit filed with the criminal complaint against Blagojevich refers to a Senate Candidate 5 who was under on-again, off-again consideration by the governor as a replacement for Obama in the Senate.
The affidavit quotes Blagojevich from a surveillance recording as describing an approach by an emissary of Candidate 5 who had promised to raise upwards of $1 million for Blagojevich if Candidate 5 secured the Senate seat.
On Oct. 31, according to the affidavit, Blagojevich described an approach by an associate of Senate Candidate 5. "We were approached 'pay to play.' That, you know, he'd raise me 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made [Senate Candidate 5] a senator," Blagojevich allegedly said.
Last week, according to the affidavit, Blagojevich told an adviser that he was giving greater consideration to Senate Candidate 5 because that person could raise money for Blagojevich if he ran for re-election and perhaps kick in "some [money] upfront" as well. And Blagojevich was recorded as saying that he was going to meet with Senate Candidate 5 in the next few days, the affidavit said.
On Monday, Jackson met with Blagojevich to discuss the Senate post. Last week, Jackson told the Tribune that he had recently reached out to Blagojevich confidant John Wyma as well as the governor's patronage chief, Victor Roberson, to discuss the Senate job. The Tribune reported last week that Wyma has been cooperating with the federal corruption probe of Blagojevich.
Blagojevich allegedly told one of his fundraisers to pass a message to someone identified in the affidavit only as Individual D whom Blagojevich believed to be close to Senate Candidate 5: If Candidate 5 was to land the Senate seat, "some of this stuff's gotta start happening now . . . right now . . . and we gotta see it. You understand?"
Of the affidavit, Montgomery said: "Even if you read that in its worst light, it was an assumption on the part of Blagojevich that his operatives had sought to induce someone who he believes to be as associate of the congressman to engage in a quid pro quo for the Senate seat."
Jackson told ABC News he had authorized no one to make overtures to Blagojevich on his behalf and said he was sure no one did.
"It's impossible for someone on my behalf to have a conversation that would suggest any type of quid pro quo, payments or offers," Jackson declared. "It's an impossibility to an absolute certainty."
-- Bob Secter and Dan Mihalopoulos
Jackson was not named in the criminal complaint yesterday charging Gov. Rod Blagojevich with trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. But descriptions in the court document fit the congressman's profile and sources have further identified him as the "Senate Candidate 5" who was among those being considered for the job.
Jackson hired longtime Chicago lawyer James Montgomery Sr. on Tuesday after federal prosecutors unveiled criminal charges against Blagojevich and top aide John Harris, sources said.
"There is nothing there to implicate the congressman," Montgomery told the Tribune. The attorney said he and Jackson have been advised by a top deputy to U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald that Jackson is not a target of the investigation.
Montgomery said he expected Jackson would meet with officials from Fitzgerald's office as soon as Friday.
In an interview posted on the ABC News website today, Jackson did not specify who had told him he was not a target. He also said he did not know whether he was Candidate 5.
Jackson did say, however, that prosecutors had asked him to "come in and share my insights and thoughts about the selection process" and he planned to do so after consulting with his lawyer.
A lengthy government affidavit filed with the criminal complaint against Blagojevich refers to a Senate Candidate 5 who was under on-again, off-again consideration by the governor as a replacement for Obama in the Senate.
The affidavit quotes Blagojevich from a surveillance recording as describing an approach by an emissary of Candidate 5 who had promised to raise upwards of $1 million for Blagojevich if Candidate 5 secured the Senate seat.
On Oct. 31, according to the affidavit, Blagojevich described an approach by an associate of Senate Candidate 5. "We were approached 'pay to play.' That, you know, he'd raise me 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made [Senate Candidate 5] a senator," Blagojevich allegedly said.
Last week, according to the affidavit, Blagojevich told an adviser that he was giving greater consideration to Senate Candidate 5 because that person could raise money for Blagojevich if he ran for re-election and perhaps kick in "some [money] upfront" as well. And Blagojevich was recorded as saying that he was going to meet with Senate Candidate 5 in the next few days, the affidavit said.
On Monday, Jackson met with Blagojevich to discuss the Senate post. Last week, Jackson told the Tribune that he had recently reached out to Blagojevich confidant John Wyma as well as the governor's patronage chief, Victor Roberson, to discuss the Senate job. The Tribune reported last week that Wyma has been cooperating with the federal corruption probe of Blagojevich.
Blagojevich allegedly told one of his fundraisers to pass a message to someone identified in the affidavit only as Individual D whom Blagojevich believed to be close to Senate Candidate 5: If Candidate 5 was to land the Senate seat, "some of this stuff's gotta start happening now . . . right now . . . and we gotta see it. You understand?"
Of the affidavit, Montgomery said: "Even if you read that in its worst light, it was an assumption on the part of Blagojevich that his operatives had sought to induce someone who he believes to be as associate of the congressman to engage in a quid pro quo for the Senate seat."
Jackson told ABC News he had authorized no one to make overtures to Blagojevich on his behalf and said he was sure no one did.
"It's impossible for someone on my behalf to have a conversation that would suggest any type of quid pro quo, payments or offers," Jackson declared. "It's an impossibility to an absolute certainty."
-- Bob Secter and Dan Mihalopoulos
Happy birthday, Guv — How about a little self-exam?
Mary Schmich
December 10, 2008
Happy birthday, Governor.
Yeah, well, bleep you, too. Sit down. Yes, that seat is very hot. We don't coddle our clients here at to Pay-to-Play Therapy Inc., a fully licensed Illinois facility catering to crooked politicians. You're lucky we could squeeze you in. We're usually booked.
Let's cut to the chase, Guv. Are you out of your bleeping mind? Trying to sell—allegedly—a Senate seat? Trying—allegedly—to extort Tribune Co.? When you knew the feds were watching you through the sights of a loaded gun?
Ha ha ha. Very funny, sir, but you can't have me fired. I'm a therapist, not an editorial writer.
And I'm here to help you, Governor. You're 52 years old today. It's OK to feel sad. Fifty-two's no lollapalooza even if you're not a crook.
But it's especially sad for you. Just think. On Dec. 10, 1956, an innocent babe was born in Chicago. He grew up to be a husband, a father, a politician, an embarrassment to his state and a joke to the world. Help me to understand why someone would squander so much opportunity and promise.
That's all you can say? The word "bleep" again?
Here. Take this mirror. Birthdays are a time for self-examination. Are you proud of what you see?
Yes, you've still got a full head of hair. That's not what I meant. Keep looking while I consult my manual.
Hmm. "Delusional." Sounds right. How else could you think you had a chance of running for president in 2016?
"Compulsive." That works. You certainly seem to have been overpowered by repetitive, irrational behavior.
"Arrogant?" Yes. "Narcissistic?" Could be. Hmm. I don't see an entry for "dumb."
Sir. Please. Do I have to warn you again about the word "bleeping?"
I agree with you on one thing, Governor. No, not about the media. It's true they're feasting on your woes, but you have to admit that those taped phone conversations are pretty juicy meat.
Like the time you allegedly were talking about Barack Obama's open Senate seat and said, "I've got this thing, and it's [bleeping] golden. And I'm just not giving it up for [bleeping] nothing."
Grade A sirloin, sir.
Anyway, the thing we probably agree on is your kids. I'm sad for them, too. I'm sad they had to wake up Tuesday and find their dad had been hustled out of the house at dawn by the FBI. I'm sorry you put them in that position.
Are you listening, Governor? I get the feeling you don't listen very well. Can I read you something? It's from the statement by U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald. Ready?
"The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges," he wrote, "is staggering. They allege that Blagojevich put a 'for sale' sign on the naming of a United States senator; involved himself personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism."
Can we at least agree that Pat Fitzgerald can turn a phrase?
Governor, our time's almost up, so I'm going to offer you some advice. Even if these charges haven't been proven, they're so strong and the evidence is so compelling that this state and this city are weakened if you stay. Give up your job. Give Illinois back. Commemorate your birthday by giving the people that gift. You owe us.
December 10, 2008
Happy birthday, Governor.
Yeah, well, bleep you, too. Sit down. Yes, that seat is very hot. We don't coddle our clients here at to Pay-to-Play Therapy Inc., a fully licensed Illinois facility catering to crooked politicians. You're lucky we could squeeze you in. We're usually booked.
Let's cut to the chase, Guv. Are you out of your bleeping mind? Trying to sell—allegedly—a Senate seat? Trying—allegedly—to extort Tribune Co.? When you knew the feds were watching you through the sights of a loaded gun?
Ha ha ha. Very funny, sir, but you can't have me fired. I'm a therapist, not an editorial writer.
And I'm here to help you, Governor. You're 52 years old today. It's OK to feel sad. Fifty-two's no lollapalooza even if you're not a crook.
But it's especially sad for you. Just think. On Dec. 10, 1956, an innocent babe was born in Chicago. He grew up to be a husband, a father, a politician, an embarrassment to his state and a joke to the world. Help me to understand why someone would squander so much opportunity and promise.
That's all you can say? The word "bleep" again?
Here. Take this mirror. Birthdays are a time for self-examination. Are you proud of what you see?
Yes, you've still got a full head of hair. That's not what I meant. Keep looking while I consult my manual.
Hmm. "Delusional." Sounds right. How else could you think you had a chance of running for president in 2016?
"Compulsive." That works. You certainly seem to have been overpowered by repetitive, irrational behavior.
"Arrogant?" Yes. "Narcissistic?" Could be. Hmm. I don't see an entry for "dumb."
Sir. Please. Do I have to warn you again about the word "bleeping?"
I agree with you on one thing, Governor. No, not about the media. It's true they're feasting on your woes, but you have to admit that those taped phone conversations are pretty juicy meat.
Like the time you allegedly were talking about Barack Obama's open Senate seat and said, "I've got this thing, and it's [bleeping] golden. And I'm just not giving it up for [bleeping] nothing."
Grade A sirloin, sir.
Anyway, the thing we probably agree on is your kids. I'm sad for them, too. I'm sad they had to wake up Tuesday and find their dad had been hustled out of the house at dawn by the FBI. I'm sorry you put them in that position.
Are you listening, Governor? I get the feeling you don't listen very well. Can I read you something? It's from the statement by U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald. Ready?
"The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges," he wrote, "is staggering. They allege that Blagojevich put a 'for sale' sign on the naming of a United States senator; involved himself personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism."
Can we at least agree that Pat Fitzgerald can turn a phrase?
Governor, our time's almost up, so I'm going to offer you some advice. Even if these charges haven't been proven, they're so strong and the evidence is so compelling that this state and this city are weakened if you stay. Give up your job. Give Illinois back. Commemorate your birthday by giving the people that gift. You owe us.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Feds: Allegations against Gov. Blagojevich 'would make Lincoln roll over in his grave'
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald says the corruption charges against Gov. Blagojevich represent “a truly new low,” and he says the allegations “would make Lincoln roll over in his grave.”
“This is a sad day for government,” he said at a news conference with federal prosecutors to discuss the arrest of Blagojevich. “Gov. Blagojevich has taken us to a truly new low."
Fitzgerald called Blagojevich's actions in the last several weeks as “a political corruption crime spree.”
The head of the FBI office in Chicago said if Illinois isn’t the most corrupt state in the United States, it’s a strong competitor.
The charges accuse Blagojevich of trying to benefit financially from his ability to appoint President-elect Barack Obama’s replacement in the U.S. Senate.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald says federal investigators bugged the Democrat’s campaign offices and placed a tap on his home phone. And Grant says even seasoned investigators were stunned by what they heard on those tapes.
Fitzgerald described the situation by saying: “We were in the middle of a corruption crime spree and we wanted to stop it.”
Blagojevich has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
“This is a sad day for government,” he said at a news conference with federal prosecutors to discuss the arrest of Blagojevich. “Gov. Blagojevich has taken us to a truly new low."
Fitzgerald called Blagojevich's actions in the last several weeks as “a political corruption crime spree.”
The head of the FBI office in Chicago said if Illinois isn’t the most corrupt state in the United States, it’s a strong competitor.
The charges accuse Blagojevich of trying to benefit financially from his ability to appoint President-elect Barack Obama’s replacement in the U.S. Senate.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald says federal investigators bugged the Democrat’s campaign offices and placed a tap on his home phone. And Grant says even seasoned investigators were stunned by what they heard on those tapes.
Fitzgerald described the situation by saying: “We were in the middle of a corruption crime spree and we wanted to stop it.”
Blagojevich has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Blagojevich calls Obama mother****er
December 9, 2008
Click here to read the entire complaint
Rod Blagojevich calls Obama a mother******
Rod Blagojevich said that the consultants (Advisor B and another consultant are believed to be on the call at that time) are telling him that he has to "suck it up" for two years and do nothing and give this "motherf***er [the President-elect] his senator. F*** him. For nothing? F*** him." Rod Blagojevich states that he will put "[Senate Candidate 4]" in the Senate "before I just give F***ing [Senate Candidate 1] a F***ing Senate seat and I don't get anything." (Senate Candidate 4 is a Deputy Governor of the State of Illinois). Rod Blagojevich stated that he needs to find a way to take the "financial stress" off of his family and that his wife is as qualified or more qualified than another specifically named individual to sit on corporate boards. According to Rod Blagojevich, "the immediate challenge [is] how do we take some of the financial pressure off of our family." Later in the phone call, Rod Blagojevich stated that absent getting something back, Rod Blagojevich will not pick Senate Candidate 1.
Harris re-stated Rod Blagojevich's thoughts that they should ask the President-elect for something for Rod Blagojevich's financial security as well as maintain his political viability. Harris said they could work out a three-way deal with SEIU and the President- elect where SEIU could help the President-elect with Rod Blagojevich's appointment of Senate Candidate 1 to the vacant Senate seat, Rod Blagojevich would obtain a position as the National Director of the Change to Win campaign, and SEIU would get something favorable from the President-elect in the future.
Patti Blagojevich: Hold up that f***ing Cubs s***
During the call, Rod Blagojevich's wife can be heard in the background telling Rod Blagojevich to tell Deputy Governor A "to hold up that f***ing Cubs s***. . . f*** them." Rod Blagojevich asked Deputy Governor A what he thinks of his wife's idea. Deputy Governor A stated that there is a part of what Rod Blagojevich's wife said that he "agree[s] with." Deputy Governor A told Rod Blagojevich that Tribune Owner will say that he does not have anything to do with the editorials, "but I would tell him, look, if you want to get your Cubs thing done get rid of this Tribune." Later, Rod Blagojevich's wife got on the phone and, during the continuing discussion of the critical Tribune editorials, stated that Tribune Owner can "just fire" the writers because Tribune Owner owns the Tribune. Rod Blagojevich's wife stated that if Tribune Owner's papers were hurting his business, Tribune Owner would do something about the editorial board. Rod Blagojevich then got back on the phone. Rod Blagojevich told Deputy Governor A to put together the articles in the Tribune that are on the topic of removing Rod Blagojevich from office and they will then have someone, like JOHN HARRIS, go to Tribune Owner and say, "We've got some decisions to make now." Rod Blagojevich said that "someone should say, 'get rid of those people.'"
Click here to read the entire complaint
Rod Blagojevich calls Obama a mother******
Rod Blagojevich said that the consultants (Advisor B and another consultant are believed to be on the call at that time) are telling him that he has to "suck it up" for two years and do nothing and give this "motherf***er [the President-elect] his senator. F*** him. For nothing? F*** him." Rod Blagojevich states that he will put "[Senate Candidate 4]" in the Senate "before I just give F***ing [Senate Candidate 1] a F***ing Senate seat and I don't get anything." (Senate Candidate 4 is a Deputy Governor of the State of Illinois). Rod Blagojevich stated that he needs to find a way to take the "financial stress" off of his family and that his wife is as qualified or more qualified than another specifically named individual to sit on corporate boards. According to Rod Blagojevich, "the immediate challenge [is] how do we take some of the financial pressure off of our family." Later in the phone call, Rod Blagojevich stated that absent getting something back, Rod Blagojevich will not pick Senate Candidate 1.
Harris re-stated Rod Blagojevich's thoughts that they should ask the President-elect for something for Rod Blagojevich's financial security as well as maintain his political viability. Harris said they could work out a three-way deal with SEIU and the President- elect where SEIU could help the President-elect with Rod Blagojevich's appointment of Senate Candidate 1 to the vacant Senate seat, Rod Blagojevich would obtain a position as the National Director of the Change to Win campaign, and SEIU would get something favorable from the President-elect in the future.
Patti Blagojevich: Hold up that f***ing Cubs s***
During the call, Rod Blagojevich's wife can be heard in the background telling Rod Blagojevich to tell Deputy Governor A "to hold up that f***ing Cubs s***. . . f*** them." Rod Blagojevich asked Deputy Governor A what he thinks of his wife's idea. Deputy Governor A stated that there is a part of what Rod Blagojevich's wife said that he "agree[s] with." Deputy Governor A told Rod Blagojevich that Tribune Owner will say that he does not have anything to do with the editorials, "but I would tell him, look, if you want to get your Cubs thing done get rid of this Tribune." Later, Rod Blagojevich's wife got on the phone and, during the continuing discussion of the critical Tribune editorials, stated that Tribune Owner can "just fire" the writers because Tribune Owner owns the Tribune. Rod Blagojevich's wife stated that if Tribune Owner's papers were hurting his business, Tribune Owner would do something about the editorial board. Rod Blagojevich then got back on the phone. Rod Blagojevich told Deputy Governor A to put together the articles in the Tribune that are on the topic of removing Rod Blagojevich from office and they will then have someone, like JOHN HARRIS, go to Tribune Owner and say, "We've got some decisions to make now." Rod Blagojevich said that "someone should say, 'get rid of those people.'"
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