Three months ago,
I cried foul when Time came out with its list of best and worst mayors in the country. I didn't cry foul so much that Philadelphia's Mayor, John Street, was ranked in the bottom five for corruption within city hall, since I have made
my opinion of the Philadelphia Democratic Party rather clear. Instead, my problem was that Richard Daley was placed among
the top five mayors, even though Chicago's Democratic machine is at least as corrupt and unreformed as Philadelphia's. Why should one corrupt machine be praised and another bashed?
I can't come up with an answer to that question, which is why I think Democrats should considered taking Republicans up on this offer:
The Cook County Republican Party is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an indictment and conviction of Mayor Richard M. Daley, whose administration has been buffeted by scandal.
"The arrogance of Richard Daley is appalling," said Gary Skoien, chairman of the county party. "We hope this reward will inspire someone with critical knowledge to come forward."
If Republicans are willing to give Democrats money in order to root out unreformed Democrats, I am all for it. As
Eloy notes, via the Chicago Tribune,
City Hall in Chicago has a foul stench about it:
More than 1,200 city workers--most in jobs that are supposed to be free from political influence--belong to a select few groups that have supported Mayor Richard Daley, a Tribune investigation has found.
And most of those employees get their paychecks from City Hall departments targeted in a federal investigation of hiring.
High-level mayoral allies including former top Daley aide Victor Reyes, Chicago Park District General Supt. Tim Mitchell, Chicago Housing Authority chief Terry Peterson, Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th) and Ald. Patrick Levar (45th) have played key roles in the organizations.
Nearly four out of every 10 people who register voters for the pro-Daley groups have city jobs, according to the Tribune's analysis.
That contrasts with Jesse Jackson Sr.'s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, which has more voter registrars than the other groups but much less influence in the Daley regime. Jackson's group has only 3 percent of its registrars on the city payroll.
Sound pretty bad, right? Patrick Fitzgerald, of Plame Affair fame, is investigating the matter, and in response
Daley has proposed a solution:
The mayor says the message from US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald on Monday is that it's open season on anyone in government who tries to help a friend, relative or constituent with a phone call or e-mail. The feds charged two top Daley administration officials and friends of the mayor with corrupting the city's hiring and promotion rules to reward political allies.
"I'm not going to subject anyone whatsoever to a criminal prosecution because someone else is calling or writes a letter or anything else," Mayor Daley said.
As a result, Daley is proposing a new public service commission, located outside of City Hall, to manage the hiring and promotion of 37,000 employees who aren't in management. The mayor and the alderman would appoint the commission members, but there would be clear rules aimed at insulating them from political interference.
Yeah Mayor Daley--stick it to the man!
Eloy writes about this "solution":
Let me get this straight, Delay can not trust his own administration to hire people for city jobs. But, he want to create an independent commission appointed by himself and aldermen (who are politicians) which will lead to insulating hiring decision from political interference.
This is like a Fox appointing an other Fox to guard the henhouse.
I had an idea, A new administration in 2007 for Chicago. It is time for Delay to step down.
I agree. This is the same mayor
who apparently forced Dick Durbin to apologize, thereby dealing a blow to the entire party and to Durbin's future political career. The fact of the matter is that it is people like Daley, not Durbin, who should apologize, and who are a disgrace to the Democratic Party and progressivism. I have never voted for a Republican in my life, and I never intend to do so. However, if I had any information that would sink Mayor Daley, I'd turn it over to the Cook County Republican Party and Patrick Fitzgerald right now. The proceeds would then immediately be spent on supporting a Democratic primary challenger, like Jesse Jackson Jr., to oust Daley once and for all.
