Cook County a "Dark Pool of Political Corruption"

NBC ^ | 02/19/2010 | NBC/AP

[iowamark]

New study provides insight into 141+ years of political hijinks

Cook County has been a "dark pool of political corruption" for more than a century, a new study by the University of Illinois at Chicago says.

Nearly 150 employees, politicians and contractors in the nation's second-largest county have been convicted on corruption charges since 1957, according to a report released Thursday by the university and the Better Government Association (.pdf)

The 33-page study gives a history of corruption, starting from 1869 when county commissioners were jailed for rigging a bid to paint City Hall. It also details hiring scandals, including some under Cook County Board President Todd Stroger. Stroger hasn't been charged with any crime.

In the last 36 years, 31 sitting or former Chicago alderman have been convicted of corruption or other crimes. The last was Ike Carothers (29th), who earlier this month plead guilty to charges he accepted gifts in exchange for his votes on zoning issues.

The study says reforms could turn things around, including stricter campaign finance laws and amending a county ethics ordinance.

[iowamark]

33 page report:

http://www.uic.edu/depts/pols/ChicagoPolitics/Anti-corruptionReportNumber3.pdf

[Jack Hydrazine]

There’s a reason why they call it Crook County!

[EternalVigilance]

Dog bites man story, but still worth the telling.

[yobid]

In other news, the sun will set in the West this evening.

[iowamark]

[notpoliticallycorewrecked]

Let me guess, this is Obama’s district.

[rellimpank]

--what would we do without universities to do studies--?

--I've known that since I was about 7-8 years old--heard it from the folks, in Wisconsin , yet--

[GonzoGOP]

Yea my town made the news again..... Cook county where you get to choose between crooks and left wing communist radicals. Hint, vote for they guy in the orange jump suit.

[A. Morgan]

“A cesspool of encitefulness”.. Chicago Mayor Harold Washington

[BradtotheBone]

They need to conduct a “study” to find this out!?!

[opentalk]

But the study does look back at decades of corruption cases, including Operation Greylord -- a federal probe of the Cook County Court system that ended with 15 judges, 47 lawyers and 24 police officers and court personnel convicted of crimes. The most notorious was Judge Thomas J. Maloney, convicted of taking bribes to fix felony cases, including murder.

from related link on same study chicago suntimes

[Auntie Mame]

This brings to mind a recent email I received:

“Advice on Term Limits: Limit all US politicians to two terms.

One in office
One in prison

Illinois already does this.”

[US Navy Vet]

AGAIN I ask(I REALLY want to know) why is Chicago and/or Cook County, IL so corrupt? What in the history of the area turned them corrupt, what event?

[fredhead]

Other breaking stories.....

Fire is Hot

Ice is Cold

Tabasco is Spicy

Defecation Stinks

and

Hemorrhoids are a Pain in the Butt

[milagro]

Once when some friends and I were sitting around, one of them asked, "What's the easiest way to corrupt politicians?"

Two of us answered at the same time: "Elect them."

[Stosh]

“AGAIN I ask(I REALLY want to know) why is Chicago and/or Cook County, IL so corrupt?”

They’ve perfected the machine: if you don’t support your local precinct captain, your garbage doesn’t get emptied; if you don’t support your local alderman, your building permit never comes through; if you don’t support your local mayor, your zoning variance is never approved, etc., etc., etc.

That kind of cronyism permeates the city from top to bottom.

And most of the big fish insulate themselves from as much direct involvement as possibe. Lots of little fish get swept up from time-to-time, but except for governors, oddly enough, most of the rest of the major slime just skate above the cesspool.

And by the way, the “crony-capitalism” the current crowd in the White House has in mind for the country incorporates this sort of stuff on a truly grand scale.

[US Navy Vet]

What historical event started the corruption?

[what's up]

I wonder if it had to do with the meat-packing industry and the unions which shut them down in Chicago.

Don't know for sure.

[handy old one]

That will take a whole lot of study to do the research to go back far enough to when it first began to be a problem!!!

[GonzoGOP]

AGAIN I ask(I REALLY want to know) why is Chicago and/or Cook County, IL so corrupt? What in the history of the area turned them corrupt, what event?

As best I can tell it has always been corrupt. Al Capone cleaned things up in the 20's. At least we knew who the politicians were working for. And Al's tendency to shoot rivals ensured that the politicians were only taking bribes from him.

But with the downfall of organized crime under the Capone family, Chicago reverted to disorganized crime under the Daley family. Old man Daley wasn't too bad since he worked under the theory that you could take a dollar from a million people and nobody would notice. His son in contrast works under the theory that you take everything from everyone and use the ward bosses to distribute some of their own money back to them, but only those who are politically reliable.

Here in Illinois we have term limits. Chicago mayors are limited to a single lifetime term. Governors do 6-8 years in Springfield and then 12-16 in federal prison.