Patronage is Still Wrong
Cross posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:
Cynthia Canary, Director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, released the following statement in reaction to the convictions of Robert Sorich, former director of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, and his three co-defendants:
A U.S. Supreme Court decision, newspaper exposés, and angry taxpayers have not been able to stop corrupt hiring practices in Chicago City Hall. Some long prison terms should help clean up City Hall. The men convicted today were not merely “playing the game” the way it has always been played. Government isn’t a game. Public funds and the health and safety of the public were at stake. The schemers who treat government as a game should be drummed out of City Hall and we’re confident U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and the scores of prosecutors and investigators working with him will remain vigilant.
10 comments:
All the times Chicago City Workers like me went to phony interviews, wasted millions of dollars of taxpayer money, hoping the best qualified would get the job. Daley and company made fools of many city workers, wrecked many a hope and dream. Payback is a bit**. Makes you want to belive in the system again. Thank you, Jury. Patrick McDonough.
Lovie,
Well said and the same here. These men are hardly 'Lords of Levee' dealing in the skin trade and demon rum; nor are they bagmen for boodlers.
Reform - O.K. reform. The same silly, syllable slingers who scream mouse at every dust bunny have been heard to yelp -'This Combine lining its own pockets at the taxpayers expense . . . ' have yet to produce one example ( George Ryan included) of a convicted public official who got rich at the public's expense. Their back up is the G's patented 'taxpayers were denied the service they deserved.'
You are a crook - but you don't have two nickles to rub together.
Durkin had it right from the start - these guys were convicted in the Tribune long before their trials began. The Politburo is already warming the hot-seat for their next victims up the food chain.
We will see Petey Fitzgerald resurface by Christmas in Tribune International features as the man who roped these varmints with his Paddy Fitzgerald Lasso. Stay tuned.
Thank god there is no patronage in the Federal Government! Do you think any of those prosecutors got their jobs by influence? Of course not. There is not a Federal Judge out there, of an ambassador for that matter, that got a job because of pull. they are all Jack Armstrong the all American Boy who worked hard and played be the rules
Pat Hickey-
While I appreciate your comments, I do have to point out that George Ryan had $5 million in his campaign fund that he could have kept for "personal use" under the law but which instead went toward legal defense fees. Included in that total is $156K in funds the source of which was never explained (other than the Monopoly-sounding "bank error in your favor"). Federal prosecutors have not charged that corrupt officials got rich, but they haven't needed to. Are you saying that corruption on the cheap is ok? I mean, most drug dealers would make more money working at McDonalds; does that mean that drug dealing is alright?
Just curious-
-David
Hi David,
On the contrary, corruption on the cheap is just that;however, had the Feds found 'ill-gotten-gains' they most assuredly would have touted that fact. Rather, a legal Procrustean rack was constructed once Petey Fitz got his political butt handed to him over the Lincoln Museum tiff.
This rack is one size
( conviction) Fitz - all for the 'evil Combine' in Illinois and is a swell starter kit for political losers who have never done a favor for their crippled grandmas much less anyone else and never will need to sounder the Fitz-Rack Rules. Losers can Win ! Not elections, mind you, but they can exact punishment on those who are effective politicians.
Pat-
I guess we'll disagree about this. I don't see why the US Attorney would introduce evidence of any activity not necessary to prove the charge. If they can win convictions without showing proof of personal wealth, then that's what they'll do. After all, they're operating in a court of law, not of public opinion.
And for the anonymous 10:03 poster: the point of comments is to discuss the original posting, not to plug particular political candidates. Please find a post more germane to your comment.
-David
Dear David,
My fundamental problem with this entire purge (probe, if you will) is that the convictions occured well before the trials began; they seem, at least to me, public executions - a priori.
While filthy lucre may not have exchanged hands and fattened most of the suspects' bank accounts, there may be many a mattress or sock tucked away, a la Paul Powell. And for people who aren't on the monetary take, they sure all seem to have nice homes and even nicer vacation homes and lots of money to travel to foreign shores and the Caribbean on lengthy vacations. I wonder where the money for all that comes from? Oh, I forgot, someone what someone sent gave them a free ticket or a free ride. Silly me, working my a-- off to pay my own way. Dumb middle class taxpayer.
Disgusted,
Do you think that the Feds might have missed something? It appeared that they counted the four convicted victims' communion money going into the prosecution, let alone tallied up frequent flier mileage and the free City of Chicago Park District T-Shirts as well.
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