Semper Corruptus: The Real Illinois Motto
From Crain's Chicago Business
History records that Chicago's first significant episode of indictable political corruption occurred just after the Civil War, in 1869.
As Dick Simpson, a former alderman and professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, tells it in his book “Rogues, Rebels and Rubber Stamps,” a group of officials fixed a contract to repaint City Hall, wiring it so the deal would go to a pal who would kick back a portion of his fee. Only instead of paint, the contractor used cheaper whitewash. It, um, washed right off in a rainstorm, and four aldermen ended up in the pokey.
Many hundreds of indictments later, has anything changed? Mr. Simpson doubts it and, after a week like this, so do I.
Consider that once fast-rising couple of Jesse Jackson Jr. and Sandi Jackson were sentenced to prison, the ex-congressman getting 30 months and the former alderman a year. A day later, former city Comptroller Amer Ahmad was indicted in Ohio on public corruption charges. Turmoil continued at Chicago's transit agencies, with one scandal or another so far forcing out seven members of the boards of Metra, the Chicago Transit Authority and the Regional Transportation Authority in less than a month.
Meanwhile, Mayor Rahm Emanuel showed no sign of agreeing to a request from the City Council's reform caucus to reappoint city Inspector General Joe Ferguson to a new term. And Chicago's newest City Council member, Deb Mell, settled into office after being appointed to succeed her father and maintain the Chicago tradition of keeping it in the family.
So the next question is: What can be done to drain the swamp that hasn't already been done?
Read more in our daily News Update...
From Crain's Chicago Business
History records that Chicago's first significant episode of indictable political corruption occurred just after the Civil War, in 1869.
As Dick Simpson, a former alderman and professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, tells it in his book “Rogues, Rebels and Rubber Stamps,” a group of officials fixed a contract to repaint City Hall, wiring it so the deal would go to a pal who would kick back a portion of his fee. Only instead of paint, the contractor used cheaper whitewash. It, um, washed right off in a rainstorm, and four aldermen ended up in the pokey.
Many hundreds of indictments later, has anything changed? Mr. Simpson doubts it and, after a week like this, so do I.
Consider that once fast-rising couple of Jesse Jackson Jr. and Sandi Jackson were sentenced to prison, the ex-congressman getting 30 months and the former alderman a year. A day later, former city Comptroller Amer Ahmad was indicted in Ohio on public corruption charges. Turmoil continued at Chicago's transit agencies, with one scandal or another so far forcing out seven members of the boards of Metra, the Chicago Transit Authority and the Regional Transportation Authority in less than a month.
Meanwhile, Mayor Rahm Emanuel showed no sign of agreeing to a request from the City Council's reform caucus to reappoint city Inspector General Joe Ferguson to a new term. And Chicago's newest City Council member, Deb Mell, settled into office after being appointed to succeed her father and maintain the Chicago tradition of keeping it in the family.
So the next question is: What can be done to drain the swamp that hasn't already been done?
Read more in our daily News Update...