Cook News

Syndicate content Get this feed!

Great Reformers Think Alike

February 8, 2010

Posted by Mick Dumke
Thanks to Isaac Carothers, citizens are losing faith in city government.

"I think after the Carothers issue, people are losing confidence in government," Mayor Daley said yesterday, according to the Tribune. "It broke the camel's back."

The camel was apparently in fine health before Carothers pleaded guilty to bribery and tax evasion last week, becoming the latest local elected official to run afoul of the feds.

Read More...


Related Links:

Daley's dilemma: Clash over control of hiring ANALYSIS | His choice: compliance chief vs. inspector general

January 29, 2010

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
Mayor Daley has long tolerated -- and all but encouraged -- the backstabbing and ego battles among top aides that can bog down a government.

By allowing such intramural tension and keeping everyone off balance and a bit insecure, Daley seems to think he can get the most out of people and keep a lid on empire-building.

Read More...


Related Links:

Vrdolyak's probation-only sentence overturned

January 29, 2010

BY NATASHA KORECKI Federal Courts Reporter
Former Chicago Ald. Ed Vrdolyak’s probation-only sentence for fraud has been overturned by an appellate panel, meaning he could face prison time when he is re-sentenced.

Vrdolyak had pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the $15 million sale of a Gold Coast building belonging to the former Chicago Medical School, now called the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.

Read More...


Related Links:

Assessor Candidate Benefits From Property Tax Lawyers

January 28, 2010

By DAN MIHALOPOULOS and DARNELL LITTLE

By day, Joseph Berrios is the longest-serving member of the three-man board that holds the power to cut the property tax bill for any parcel in Cook County. By night, Mr. Berrios is a master fund-raiser, bringing in about $3 million in political contributions over the last decade from the same lawyers who ask him and the board to give tax breaks to their clients.

Read More...


Related Links:

Daley claims strides in cleaning up hiring, but critics voice doubts

January 26, 2010

By Todd Lighty, Tribune reporter

Mayor Richard Daley's administration says it has made great strides in cleaning up the city's corrupt hiring system, but others say it's a muddy record of progress that raises lingering doubts about whether City Hall has embraced reform.

Daley has said that this year he will seek to end federal court involvement in city personnel practices, arguing that it is time to take off the training wheels and let the city manage its hiring,

Read More...


Related Links:

More Chicago hiring abuses alleged: Monitor criticizes Mayor Richard Daley's team

December 6, 2009

By Todd Lighty and Hal Dardick Tribune reporters

A new report from a court-appointed monitor accuses Mayor Richard Daley's administration of violating hiring regulations and misleading her about efforts to deal with abuses at City Hall.

Read More...


Related Links:

Michael Shakman: In Chicago, patronage is far from dead But here are a few ways to stop it

December 6, 2009
By Michael L. Shakman Forty years ago my colleagues and I filed a lawsuit seeking to end Chicago's system that trades public jobs for political work and campaign contributions. Thirty-nine years ago, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that patronage was illegal. And 37 years ago the city agreed to the first of several federal court orders prohibiting patronage in most aspects of public employment.

Read More...



Related Links: