Posted on 02/08/2004 9:39:20 AM PST by Prince Charles
Daley is king of Chicago
BY LEE ENOKIAN
Richard M. Daley has assumed the hereditary mantle of mayor for life to become the unquestioned ruler of the Chicago Metropolitan area.
He will reside on the mayoral throne for a long time to come since nobody has the political juice to challenge his regal claims. Citizens could appeal to the Cook County government if it wasn't ruled by an allied monarch, John Stroger, oh and John Daley, the mayor's brother.
Daley's hold on the city remains stable despite the various scandals associated with his administration. His Teflon skin continues to slough off the shadow of doubt continually looming over his office. Considering recent events, citizens should be reminded about the mayor's megalomaniacal obsession with power and the allegations of corruption that follow in his considerable wake.
Federal, state and county tax dollars fuel his opulent largesse:
_Millennium Park - billion dollar landscaping project that moved Lake Shore Drive, created a museum campus, and is still not finished. The project remains a bleeding wound on Chicago's accounting books.
_Duff family relations - The "connected" Duff family received lucrative government contracts, allegedly as a result of their relationship with the Daley family.
_O'Hare International Airport expansion - Chicago continues to seize property from the neighboring communities of Elk Grove Village, Bensenville, Des Plaines and Arlington Heights, impacting both DuPage and Cook Counties. The mayor gets to pump his ego and keep O'Hare's status as "the world's busiest airport." He has to stay one step ahead of that upstart, Atlanta.
_1998 audit - After spending $1 million, irregularities are discovered in the city's Hired Truck Program. Daley promised to fix the situation. It got fixed alright.
_Chicago police and fire departments both worked without contracts as the city stalled negotiations.
_Meigs Field demolition - Shortly after Daley's reelection, bulldozers, with a Chicago Police escort, paid a nocturnal visit to the doomed airfield, confident that their efforts would go undetected until too late. The surreptitious destruction circumvented the protests of the FAA, city council and those pesky citizens that may actually want due process. Let's not forget that the airfield was adjacent to Daley's precious Millennium Park, oh, yes and near his expensive townhouse.
_E2 nightclub disaster - 21 people died as the result of a panic-stricken stampede to escape the building. Daley's administration failed to enforce state fire code occupancy regulations and a July 19, 2002 court order closing a portion of the club because of numerous building and fire code violations. Many allegations of political influence and patronage by high profile figures are made.
_Daley and the Chicago city council take pay raises as they ask city workers to take pay cuts and days off without pay.
_Lincoln Park porch collapse - Thirteen people were killed when a porch built without a permit collapsed during a party. Annual inspections of the building did not notice the problem. City inspection procedures are called into question.
--Cook County Administration Building fire - Six people died as the result of an alarming lack of enforcement of state fire code regulations.
Allegations of quid pro quo and political favoritism abound. Daley continues to support the city's oppressive gun control ordinances, despite Chicago's infamous status as murder capital of the nation. The hired truck program scandal broke like a $40 million dollar per year wave across the Daley administration. Lord Mayor was missing in action as the story broke. Angelo Torres, former program head was arrested and charged. City Budget Director William Abolt took the fall for Daley, despite the mayor's insistence to the contrary.
Considering his track record, one should be surprised that Daley won 79 per cent of the votes during his last election. Chicago is not known as "the Windy City" because of the weather. Having consolidated his metropolitan power base years ago, he continues to seek control over surrounding municipalities.
Recently, I received an interesting email from a concerned citizen. It contained a letter purportedly originating at the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) headquarters. The letter was apparently addressed to Chicago public school principles, targeting Chuck's Gun Shop in Riverdale, Illinois with a February protest. Immediately intrigued by the notion that officials from the Chicago Police Department supported public protests against the activities of a fully compliant and legally operated business in another municipality, I began making telephone calls.
The Riverdale village government and police department knew nothing about the protest.
Chuck's knew about the protest because an article had been carried on the U.S. Newswire at usnewswire.com. Chuck's spokesman, John Riggio, was not worried or surprised. Apparently, Chicago had supported a similar protest in the past.
And then there was the Chicago Police Department. I asked for details regarding the upcoming protest sponsored by CAPS in Riverdale and was greeted with the chuckled response, "Try calling the Riverdale Police Department" I explained that CAPS was a part of CPD and read part of the letter to him. He then told me that somebody would get back to me. Apparently, I struck a chord.
After a short wait, David Bayless returned my call and stated, "The letter was never sent."
He didn't say it hadn't been written, he simply said it hadn't been sent. If it was never sent, then the Chicago public schools never saw it. Apparently, a conscientious person within CPD leaked it.
Bayless admitted that possible protest plans had been discussed, but nothing had been formalized. Possibly some other organization, such as the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence would schedule a protest.
ICHV denied involvement.
There is a clear implication here that CPD cooperates with special interest lobbyists. What is the legal status of de-facto support of private lobbyists by public entities? As a part of the executive branch of government and an extension of the Daley administration, this sort of behind the scenes maneuvering is nothing of a surprise. It is merely one more example of Daley's quest for power and eternal fame.
Despite a litany of questionable decisions and silenced rumors, a lack of credible political opponents ensures Daley's longevity. Armed with the muscle of highly questionable business associates and a 14,000 strong army, his executive orders will be followed no matter what the public thinks.
In the wake of Chicago's 1968 Democratic Convention, Richard J. Daley said, "The police are not here to create disorder; they are here to preserve disorder."
Truer words were never spoken about the political climate and personal safety in Chicago.
Lee Enokian's column solely represents the opinion of the writer and not necessarily that of The Times. His columns appear each Sunday. Enokian welcomes comments by email at lenokian@earthlink.net
Did you mean George Ryan - the indicted (by Fitzgerald) ex-governor?
Jim Ryan was the ex-attorney general who lost a race for governor partially because of the same last name.
"Uncle Joe" Stalin..(as the leftists called him) said, "It doesn't matter who gets the most votes, its' who counts them, that matters."
..as Al Gore tried in Nov./2000...forbidding the military vote, gumming-up the counts, butterfly ballots (of which his party approved)
Unfortunately, this happens at least once a summer in Chicago. People are having a good time out on the balcony, and bang. I'm not sure any inspections would prevent it.
"--Cook County Administration Building fire - Six people died as the result of an alarming lack of enforcement of state fire code regulations. "
This is starting to look like an arson, possibly to cover up some of George Ryan's crimes while Secretary of State. The fire was started with gasoline, in a Secretary of State storage room. Hmmm.
Let not my comments keep you from believing, however, that Daley is a fascisti. He even looks a little like Mussolini. He does keep Chicago running, though,which is something none of the commie lib mayors after his father and before him could do.
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