In the city of Chicago, drivers can't yack on a cell phone unless they have a hands-free device. Phone to the ear risks a $50 ticket.
Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) knows that. He voted in favor of the law two years ago.
Another thing he surely knows: If an alderman gets a ticket, then phones the district commander to complain about it, an implicit deal is being struck.
The deal was completed when a uniformed police officer showed up at the alderman's office to return his drivers license.
The average citizen doesn't get the license back without going to court. The only way Joe Public keeps his prior to a court appearance is to surrender his motor club card as a bond card instead.
Tunney dug himself in deeper today by saying he called Town Hall District Cmdr. Gary Yamashiroya to question whether his officers had something better to do than "pull people over solely for cell phone violations."
Tunney broke the law by talking on a cell phone while driving. He broke the public trust when he accepted special treatment.
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This is not the first and only favor Tunney received from Commander Yamishiroya. As the the underdeserving rececipent of a tow zone ticket and near tow I finally got to the bottom of the mysterious tow zone violations that have plagued Lakeview residents for years. In this scenario, unwitting Lakeview residents park their cars only to find police tow zone signs plastered around them several minutes later indicating that a tow zone was in effect starting an hour earlier. The police officer's reaction to protests that the signs weren't there moments earlier when you parked your car is, "Too bad, so sad, it's not their problem, get your relocated car from the tow lot and pay the fine." Major media coverage has only yielded denials by Mayor Daley that the problem could exist and coy "we just don't know why this is happening" remarks from the local Aldermen. "Like Hell", I say.
It turns out that Alderman Tunney and Alderman Shiller in Commander Yamishiroya's police district have a ready supply of police tow zone signs that they hand out like M&M on Halloween to anyone who asks. The signs are supposed to be posted at least 24 hours in advance of the tow zone by a city worker, but hey!!!, that would require the ward superintendent, the police, or streets and san to do some real work for their paychecks. SO they simply entrust this important police power to the local resident or building owner or anyone who walks in off the street and never bother checking to see if the sign posting is ever done.
At the appointed hour, the uncaring holder of the stack of police tow zone signs simply arrives on the scene with his film crew, moving van, utility trucks, etc ., slaps the signs on the trees and calls the police to start ticketing and towing cars. It is a win-win for the city. The alderman get their patronage from handing out tow signs, the police get their ticket quota, the Commander gets his brownie points with the Aldermen, the city gets the parking ticket revenue. It's just the poor Lakeview parking suckers who get stuck paying, and paying, and paying because after all, how can they prove that they parked when the signs were not posted? It's not like they took a picture of the street when they pulled up to the curb. Administrative parking judges offer no relief without proof.
As one of the few legal types who actually documented and proved this scam - and got the local cops to fess up that they know this is going on but won't buck the Alderman - I'm glad to see Tunney and Yamishiroya get caught red handed.
Well, I drove my neighbor downtown to his traffic court date. He received a ticket from the 23rd Police District for cell phone use while driving. He received it during the same crackdown that caught Alderman Tunney. (The police told my neighbor that they were ordered to go out and start enforcing that law, which they otherwise had ignored up to that point.) My neighbor was fined $110 for court costs and given 1 year court supervision. He is an umemployed chef with no priors. I wonder how that compares to what Tunney is receiving?