Two on Daley staff accused of doling out patronage jobs - 'goofballs' hired (CAPTION TIME!)

South Bend Tribune ^ | 7/20/05

[Libloather]

Two on Daley staff accused of doling out patronage jobs
Feds say drunk, 'goofballs' hired; scandal moves closer to mayor
July 20, 2005

CHICAGO (AP) -- One was a drunk. Some were laughed at as "goofballs." One was declared the best-qualified candidate for a job on the city payroll -- even though he was dead.

All of them were recommended for city jobs or hired because they were politically connected and helped to get out the vote on Election Day, according to U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald.

"That's the world we want to end," Fitzgerald said Monday in announcing charges against two members of Mayor Richard M. Daley's administration accused of illegally doling out patronage jobs.

The allegations sent shock waves through City Hall, already reeling from charges that trucking companies obtained city business in exchange for bribes and campaign donations.

The new charges strike at the heart of political power in Chicago -- the patronage system under which thousands of precinct workers who get out the vote are rewarded with jobs on the city payroll.

Those charged bring the scandal closer than ever to Daley, who has been mayor for the past 16 years and whose own father, Mayor Richard J. Daley, oversaw a political machine that dispensed patronage with ruthless efficiency.

Robert Sorich and Patrick Slattery are accused of participating in a plot that included sham interviews and the falsification of interview scores to ensure well-connected applicants got jobs. Fitzgerald said they were "part of a scheme involving massive fraud in the hiring process going back more than a decade."

Sorich, from his post in the Department of Intergovernmental Affairs, told officials in the departments of water management, streets and sanitation, transportation and aviation which applicants to hire, according to 78 pages of court papers. Prosecutors said Slattery carried out those instructions from his post at the Streets and Sanitation Department.

Sorich and Slattery, both 42, are residents of the city's Bridgeport neighborhood, the Daley family's power base for decades.

Both were charged with defrauding the city by violating a decades-old court order barring city officials from hiring employees for political reasons. The order, known as the Shakman Decree, was designed to weaken Chicago's traditional machine politics. One thousand of the city's 38,000 employees are exempt from the order.

Slattery's attorney said his client his innocent. Sorich's lawyer had no comment.

Prosecutors say those who got hired were often unqualified, while the city passed over the best candidates for jobs as city drivers, inspectors or maintenance workers.

One unidentified cooperating witness quoted in court papers said a department head grumbled when a drunk was foisted on him. Sorich was quoted as saying: "Do the best you can with him."

[Libloather]

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley ponders a question May 4, 2004, in Chicago where he responded to new disclosures in the city's corruption-riddled Hired Truck Program. With his approval ratings at historic lows and potential mayoral hopeful, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., not letting a series of corruption scandals die, Daley has brought out the ax and forced out five department heads, politcal strategists say is a smart move to keep him in office another four years. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Film critic Roger Ebert acknowleges the applause of those gathered to pay tribute to him at the historic Chicago Theatre on Monday, July 18, 2005. A sidewalk medallion bearing his name was unveiled under the marquee of the theatre during the celebration. Ebert, 63, became the film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times in 1966 and a decade later became the first film critic to receive a Pulitzer for arts criticism. In the background is Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

In this photo provided by Sundance Summit, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley speaks during the Sundance Summit, Tuesday, July 12, 2005, in Sundance, Utah. Mayors from Chicago to Seattle traded ideas for cutting pollution and making their cities more livable at the final day of the conference on global warming. Daley gave other mayors a how-to session Tuesday on absorbing combustion emissions with extensive gardens throughout his city _ from the ground to the rooftops. (AP Photo/Sundance Summit, Wil Tidman)

[bitt]

Ebert looks like the walking dead. He has enuf money to at least go out and buy a suit that fits...

[prairiebreeze]

This crap's been going on for years in his administration. But Mayor Richie never knew a thing about it.

Yeah, right.

[prairiebreeze]

Sheesh, I'll say. He's dropped a lot of weight, but still wears his size XX suits?

[COEXERJ145]

Just another normal day in Chicago city politics.

[Boazo]

Goodwill suit

[nuconvert]

I'm thinking maybe he's wearing one of his old suits for some kind of nostalgia thing .

[Reaganesque]

I have a tapeworm and it's thiiis big!

[oolatec]

Everyone but Daley is guilty... the family legacy lives on.

[wayoverthehill]

Yes, it is. I was born in Chicago in 1940 and lived there until 1968. Daley's machine ruled with an iron fist and the ward alderman would come to your house and "encourage" you how to vote. Oh sure, old man Daley did a lot of good things for the city but it was corruption at its finest. Did anyone really think that the son would not follow in the family tradition? I can truthfully say that my disdain for the Democratic party and unions were a direct result of the shenanigans I saw or heard about when I lived in Chicago.

[glorgau]

Ebert has lost a _lot_ of weight. He has some kind of illness - cancer maybe?

[Chode]

do I REALLY have to say it???

[CyberAnt]

Wow! Is Ebert ill or having chemo or something ..?? That suit is definitely way too big for him.

[Prince Charles]

Mayor Dummy seems to understand that he's one grand jury away from jail.