It didn't get a great deal of attention, but on Monday the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of Mayor Daley's patronage chief, Robert Sorich, and two other men charged in a scheme to award city jobs or overtime to political workers.
This is good news for federal prosecutors here and good news for the citizens of Chicago.
It means the legal tactics that the prosecutor used to put the men in prison passes muster.
And the defense that what the men did wasn't really crime?
Well, it didn't work on the highest court in the land.
Judge Antonin Scalia offered a strong dissent, saying the court should have taken up the issue. The legal tactics in the Sorich case could be used, in theory, against "a salaried employee's phoning in sick to go to a ball game."
Such a comparison denigrates what really happened in the Sorich case.
Sorich and his colleagues oversaw a system that rigged city of Chicago hiring tests and interviews, a process that routinely gave city jobs to political workers who benefitted the mayor and his allies.
So hundreds of Average Joes waited in line to take a test or be interviewed, and the fix was in before they even walked in the door.
Hard-working city employees didn't get the promotions they deserved. Political hacks took them instead.
We feel some sympathy to the argument that Sorich and his colleagues weren't the big fish in the pond. They weren't the queen bees, only the worker bees.
That's true, to some extent, but it doesn't excuse what they did.
The U.S. Supreme Court's action on Monday leaves open the possibility that a day of reckoning for the higher-ups is still possible.
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Do you think this is what prompted the Daley rant on how the feds should be spending their time or the fact that John Harris is cooperating with the feds. I thought it was funny when Anita Alverez announced last week that her department would start investigating political corruption in Cook County but now it all makes sense...Daley calls Obama, Obama calls Holder, Holder calls Patrick Fitzgerald to change his focus from political corruption to drugs and gangs. Daley has gone national.
Once again Justice Scalia demonstrates why he never should have been appointed to the Court in the first place. His ideological rulings that twist the laws and break so much with precedent are an embarrassment to all who care about an independent and rational judiciary. We can only pray that he and his near clone Justice Thomas opt for retirement before they can do more harm to the Constitution and this great nation.
When will Mayor Daley take responsibility for his administration? When will he be held accountable for the activities of Robert Sorich and test-rigging? When will he accept any liability for the Hired Truck fraud? When will he admit that he has condoned (or created) the culture that led to the creation of, and the excesses of, the Hispanic Democratic Organization? Whenever another scandal breaks, one would think that someone else has been mayor for the past 20 years. And when will the voters of Chicago take note of the immense moral and fiscal cost of government-by-inside-favour?
Is anybody in charge of Chicago government?
how obtain balance of city corruption? just count city needs and what has been done.just count potholes and number of crews fixing it.it becomes 7000 to may be 10.
Tokio does street cleaning 10 times a year.Chicago does it 3 or 4 if you lucky.
I saw Daley's boy wonder Ron Huberman on channel eleven's program Chicago Toinght.He told these stories how Daley knows everything that is going on in the city and how he will get calls from Daley asking Ron what happened on the red line this morning? Huberman had just found out himself, but Daley already knew. I find it amazing that he knows everything going on in the city and the pulse of the city but not illegal hiring going on in his building that put over 65 family members to work for the city plus hundreds of contracts too. I think he's worse than Blago! I can still remember when he was running for mayor saying, no limousine for me, I'm not a big shot have simple needs. B S! Now he's a big shot who fly's around in private jets, It's time for him to go!
Daley:
Democratic(really),but supported by Chicago Republican Business Community.
Mayor Daley's brother married into mobster family.
Mayor Daley's friend, er ex friend, Robert Sorich was arrested and convicted of corruption, yet Daley was not. (I wonder why lol)
Daley proclaimed his anger against the IRAQ war, yet his son enlists into the ARMY? Mmmm, so when Daley steps down his SON will probably take the throne. Considering HE did serve his country! LMAOF
Daley has done next to nothing for the City of Chicago other than plant trees.
I could go on, but the real question is, "WHY IS HE STILL IN OFFICE? The FEDS have shaken down everyone else but him, WHY!!!!
If Mayor Daley continues to say that he has no knowledge about any of the curruption that continues to play out within the City of Chicago and his close cronies then he is either a crook himself or incompetent. Either way he should ho longer be the Mayor of this city.
I am a family man. That being said, I don't believe the taste of Chicago is for families. I seen this first hand. So it is not like I have an empty opinion. The taste has turned into anarchy it seems. Constant fights and worrying if, my family or myself would be trampled by the crowd or be to close to a fight being started.
There seemed to be a fight erupting every 5 minutes. Security was beefed up, it seemed as it didn't matter. I believe maybe a dress code or maybe not just the two people fighting should be arrested. the people that seemed to be fighting were with others looking for the same thing. I believe these people should be gathered up in paddy wagons and took away from the taste. If there is not a drastic change. I will not be attending this event again. I say if the mayor himself does nothing. He should take a stroll through the taste with his family with no security around him the whole time.
Picture that Daley pushing his grandchild in a stroller through the crowds. You can't cause it wouldn't happen. So all of us normal, taxpaying hardworking family people are in a safe feeling public event. I suggest a boycot.
Let the gangs have it cause it is not worth it to me anymore.