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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 8:31 pm
Time: 8:31 pm
Results for patronage
2 results foundAuthor: Gradel, Thomas J. Title: Patronage, Cronyism and Criminality in Chicago Government Agencies Summary: Chicago's political history has been marked by scandal for 150 years; when the first political machine was created. Since then, machine politics have made it possible for public officials and business people to use public resources for personal gain. Our previous reports have focused on aldermanic corruption and major scandals in Illinois and Cook County. In this report we examine corruption in the city of Chicago government. We study certain public agencies throughout the city and their distinct patterns to better understand these hot spots of corruption. We have relied primarily on a thorough analysis of city newspapers as well as memoirs and books. In this report we focus primarily on the Department of Fleet Management, Fire Department, City Treasurers Office, Chicago Park District, Building and Zoning Department, O'Hare Airport, McCormick Place, and Procurement. However, the patterns of patronage, waste, and corruption are so pervasive as to suggest that corruption exists in most city agencies. As long as Chicago is run by "machine politics," corruption will be a hallmark of city government. The cost is high. In Chicago and Cook County there have been more than 340 convictions of public officials and business people since 1970, including three governors, 31 aldermen, more than 40 city employees in the "Hired Truck" scandal, 21 people in building inspection payoffs, and dozens of park district employees. Many of these lawbreakers have been convicted of multiple crimes. These are only some of the best-known scandals. In the roster of crooked city employees and their business associates at the end of this report we detail them along with their crimes and sentences. These felons and the many people who were also guilty but not caught have cost Chicago, Cook County and Illinois taxpayers an estimated 500 million dollars a year. This report contains three sections. First, a summary of the patterns of abuse present in each agency. Second, a roster naming more than 340 convicted city officials involved in public corruption scandals in city government offices. The report also includes the names of private citizens who were indicted and/or convicted in connection with these public corruption cases. The third section, we recommend specific reforms to end this "culture of corruption" and draft city ordinances to correct some of the worst problems. The main focus of this report covers the period of time from 1989 until the end of the administration of Richard M. Daley in 2011. However, corruption and criminal prosecution of it dates back to the public conviction of aldermen and county commissioners for a crooked contract in 1869 - almost 150 years ago. Throughout the agencies examined in this report, we see patterns of bribery, patronage, contract rigging, conflict of interest, nepotism/family ties, clout, and theft. These problems are not confined to one specific agency but occur in many government offices. Details: Chicago: University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Political Science, 2011. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: Anti-Corruption Report no. 4: Accessed August 27, 2015 at: http://pols.uic.edu/docs/default-source/chicago_politics/anti-corruption_reports/anticorruptionreport_4.pdf?sfvrsn=2 Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://pols.uic.edu/docs/default-source/chicago_politics/anti-corruption_reports/anticorruptionreport_4.pdf?sfvrsn=2 Shelf Number: 136602 Keywords: BribesPatronagePolitical Corruption |
Author: Gradel, Thomas J. Title: Corruption in Cook County: Anti-Corruption Report Number 3 Summary: Cook County government has been a dark pool of political corruption for more than 140 years. The first public corruption scandal occurred in 1869 when a number of Cook County Commissioners accepted bribes to approve a fraudulent contract to paint city hall.1 During the last several decades, Cook County has been a center of corruption with scandals emerging in many different units of county government. By chronicling the cases we hope to call attention to the need for meaningful reform. When county government such as Cook County Clerk David Orr's office or Assessor James Houlihan's office do undertake meaningful reform, others sink back into the mire. Public or political corruption occurs when government officials use their public office for private gain or benefit. In Cook County government this includes outright bribes as well as campaign contributions made by individuals or corporations in exchange for jobs, inflated contracts or political favors. It includes ghost payroll jobs in which individuals get a paycheck but do no work. With an annual budget of more than $3 billion-dishonest public servants find many different ways to profit illegally. The purpose of this report is to summarize the many different forms of corruption and to recommend basic reforms that need to be enacted to clean up Cook County government. This report provides a roster of nearly 150 convicted Cook County politicians and government officials along with descriptions of each of their illegal schemes. It includes private citizens and businessmen who were also convicted in connection with public corruption scandals. There are eight individuals named who are under investigation or have been indicted but not yet convicted. Most of the information came through a careful search of newspaper articles and public records since 1970. The actual total of corrupt officials and their cohorts may be greater than the number we have listed. We are still working to document the many other grafters, crooks and cheats who work for the county or receive county contracts. Criminal convictions are just the tip of the iceberg in Cook County. For each corrupt official who is convicted-there may be dozens more who are involved in the same or similar schemes but escape prosecution. The pattern of political corruption in county government is widespread and not confined to a single unit of government. This report documents graft and corruption in the Cook County Board President's office, his Office of Employment and Training, the Highway Department and in the offices of the sheriff, assessor and treasurer as well as the Clerk of the Circuit Court. It details outright theft and bribery, as well as endemic patronage, nepotism, and cronyism. An especially egregious example was Judge Thomas J. Maloney. He was convicted in Operation Gambat of accepting thousands of dollars in bribes to fix felony cases including murder trials. Another outrageous example was Marie D'Amico convicted in Operation Haunted Hall of having three no-work jobs. D'Amico is the daughter of Alderman Tony Laurino and wife of then Deputy Commissioner of Chicago's Department of Streets and Sanitation John D'Amico, who did 2 years in federal prison for his involvement in the ghost payroll scheme. Finally, in addition to systemic corruption, county government is infested with conflicts of interest that often result in contracts being awarded to the friends, family and political cronies of public officials. These are not cases involving outright bribery but in Chicago parlance, they are evidence of the "culture of clout" and result in hiring unqualified candidates and awarding contracts with "theft written between the lines." It is a pattern of pervasive corruption and a culture of deceit that must be changed if county government is to provide honest, transparent, efficient and effective government to taxpayers at a cost we can afford. Details: Chicago: University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Political Science and the Better Government Association, 2010. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: Anti-Corruption Report no. 3: Accessed August 27, 2015 at: http://pols.uic.edu/docs/default-source/chicago_politics/anti-corruption_reports/anti-corruptionreportnumber3.pdf?sfvrsn=2 Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://pols.uic.edu/docs/default-source/chicago_politics/anti-corruption_reports/anti-corruptionreportnumber3.pdf?sfvrsn=2 Shelf Number: 136603 Keywords: BribesCorruptionPatronagePolitical Corruption |