Tuesday, March 10, 2009
News / Clout City That reform bullshit
Posted by Mick Dumke on 03.10.09 at 09:46 PM
Not long ago I ran into a politician who was still amazed at a story a constituent had just related. The constituent arrived for a meeting with officials in another arm of government to discuss some contracting work, but as soon as he sat down he was immediately interrogated about why he had donated $500 to a politician who’s aiming to oust their boss from office.
The politician I was talking with shook his head. “I mean, the first question?” the politician said. “That’s really crude.”
It’s true—more-skilled politicians would at least wait until the third or fourth question. But given the high-anxiety times we live in, it’s understandable that deal makers and power brokers occasionally forget their manners.
We all know the economy is lousy, which makes for busted budgets and--worse--constituents who want something to show for their taxes.
And thanks to Rod Blagojevich and Roland Burris, it’s a good time to be a reformer, or at least to tell the public that you’re not Rod Blagojevich or Roland Burris, and that you’re fiercely opposed to going to prison. Mike Quigley parlayed his independence on the county board into a congressional primary victory last week; county board president Todd Stroger is panicked enough about his reelection chances to call reporters and ask them for interviews; there’s talk in Springfield of strengthening Freedom of Information laws; and members of the City Council are making ever louder demands for transparency about things like the TIF program and the mayor’s stimulus requests.
As independent-minded 49th Ward alderman Joe Moore put it: “We want to strike while the iron’s hot.”
Moore introduced the latest reform proposal Monday afternoon when he announced that he and several allies would be calling for a more encompassing, more independent, and better-funded inspector general’s office. Moore called a press conference for 10:30 Tuesday morning to announce details.
But Tuesday morning showed it’s still not so easy to execute this reform thing in Mayor Daley’s Chicago—or figure out just who’s in on it.
When I arrived at 10:30 for the press conference, next to the elevators on the second floor of City Hall, TV crews were packing up to move upstairs, where Mayor Daley was holding his own press conference with Desmond Tutu.
I found Moore and his ally Ric Munoz chatting in a hallway around the corner. They said their press conference was on hold. “We can’t compete with the archbishop,” Moore explained.
Alderman Ray Colon walked up, handshakes were exchanged, and Moore explained that they had to wait until the mayor and the Nobel Prize winner were finished. The same thing happened when aldermen Brendan Reilly and Bob Fioretti tracked them down. Likewise with Manny Flores and Scott Waguespack.
As the pack moved around the corner they ran into Toni Preckwinkle. “Aren’t there any girls in on this?” she wondered.
“You’re a girl,” Munoz noted.
Several aldermen told Moore they were going to have to leave soon for other meetings. He begged for patience.
Sandi Jackson ran up and gave Moore a hug. “I have to go,” she said, “but I’m right with you on this!”
“I know,” Moore said. “I know.”
Finally, after nearly an hour--once the mayor had finished dodging questions and the archbishop had “absolved” reporters of their negative ways--camera crews started to trickle back down to the second floor.With six aldermen standing behind him, Moore stepped up to the podium and began his remarks: “Over the last several years, we have witnessed a never-ending parade of scandals at all levels of government, which has served to fuel the deep public cynicism about the honesty and integrity of those elected to public service . . . ”
As a mayoral aide listened and took notes nearby, Moore went on to outline the ordinance [PDF] they were proposing: it would require that the mayor pick the inspector general from a list of finalists created by an “independent” panel of judges, prosecutors, law enforcement leaders, and nonprofit watchdogs; extend the IG’s term from four to six years; increase the office’s budget to at least 0.15 percent of the total city budget (it’s currently at $5.9 million, or about 0.1 percent); and, most important, give the office the authority to investigate wrongdoing by aldermen. That’s currently beyond its scope because of fears that the IG, a mayoral appointee, could launch investigations of mayoral opponents for political reasons.
The aldermen took a few questions--Moore said an expanded IG’s office would uncover enough waste to offset the cost, and Pat Dowell said it would be able to go after “bigger fruit” than the rank-and-file city workers who’ve been its most frequent targets.
As the press conference was wrapping up, 50th Ward alderman Berny Stone, in a long black jacket and black fedora, appeared from down the hall and wobbled toward the elevators. Stone, a fierce critic of the inspector general’s office, looked over at the group and gave it a thumbs down. “Boo!” he called out. “You’re a bunch of stupid dummies!”
I stepped into the elevator with him, and as we headed down I asked if he was really worried that the IG’s office could be used to carry out mayoral vendettas--or did he just have his own vendetta against the office? Wouldn’t this proposal at least make it more difficult?
“Come on--they’re all under somebody’s thumb!” he growled.
He stepped out of the elevator into the first-floor lobby. “Let me tell you something,” he said, and launched into a long, angry tirade about how he believed the inspector general had investigated one of his precinct workers to imperil his 2008 bid to remain 50th Ward Democratic committeeman. If so, it worked: Stone lost a bitter race to his onetime ally Ira Silverstein after the state senator got a rare endorsement from the mayor.
“It’s bullshit!” Stone declared. “And these guys think they’re going to take the office out of the mayor’s hands and make it independent? Who do you think told [the IG] to go after me before an election? Not anyone in the City Council! And you’re going to tell me that wasn’t political? It’s bullshit!”
Stone saw someone he knew across the lobby. “Hi Mike,” he called out, friendly as could be. Then he turned back to me: “It’s bullshit! Bullshit! And anybody who votes for this is stupid!”
Comments (23)
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I'm still waiting for Alderman Joe Moore to return my phone call about this so called Whistle Blower ordinance, that was supposed to protect guys like me. I'm with Alderman Stone! It's all BULL-SHIT!
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It works well if you are an original whistleblower. It does not work if you are the tenth or eleventh guy "re-blowing" the whistle.
Coconate was the original. He stood up for the Union worker and was punished hard for it. The Alderman of the City Council should have asked for a investigation of his termination, but were scared of the mayor. So , if your talking about the first, it's Coconate.
He broke the story on the rain blockers. DOES fRANK COCONATE HAVE AN ORGANIZATION,AND HOW DOES ONE GO ABOUT JOINING HIS GROUP?
these people, just like the mayor, are sleezeballs. they are waiting for the mayor to start to stink and they will run for mayor.
"Whistle Blower ordinance ... It works well if you are an original whistleblower." the ordinance has been completely ineffective, no claim has ever been paid out on account of it, it has had zero impact on transparency The "whistleblower" ordinance is typical Moore legislation in being a meaningless stunt that makes a great talking point
Is Joe Moore a media whore? You only see him on the news for flashy issues that never go anywhere. Will someone tell him the camera makes him look fat too.
Perhaps we should all pay heed to the words of Edison Love, one of the great precinct workers of antiquity: "Reform? What is reform? What are they going to reform?"
And the mighty censor removed the head count on who may vote how on this. Nice work, bankrupt paper
The only thing worse than Joe Moron is the morons who keep punching his name at the ballot box. Like my son Tommy. I knew I shouldn't have let him eat the glue when he was young.
"Reformer," we remove posts containing vulgarity, obscenities, racism, and other content we feel may discourage readers from participating in our comment streams.
Had a very very long streak of bad luck, or so it seems. The City of Chicago law department did not believe a single word he said or he would still be working for the City of Chicago as a Laborer of Local 1092. He had great lawyers, all his co-workers told the truth under oath, what happened? Frank should get his job back, people crack up from these kind of things. Frank should cut a deal to get his job back! It is no fun getting fired from a nice easy city job! How is you court case going Frank Coconate, did you win against the tyrant Daley?
Hmmmm, no vulgarity, obsenity or anything like that in the headcount of which aldermen would vote for this. Yet a headline blares a barnyard ephithet. Nice hypocrisy
Frank Coconate was a whislte blower on the rain blockers saving the City 60 million. Frank Coconate was a whistle blower on the Mayors Coordinator system. Frank Coconate was a whislte blower on drugs in the Department of Water management before the big busts. Frank Coconate was a whistle blower on bloated middle management. Frank Coconate was a whistle blower on ghost payrollers. Frank Coconate was a whistle blower on corrupt political upper management. Frank Coconate was a whistle blower on sexual harrassment. Frank Coconate was a whistle blower on organized crim in politics. Joe Moore is a hypocrite and inneffective. The Whistle Blower ordinacne is a joke. The Inspector General is a joke and was a corrupt institution under Alexsandr Vroustrias.
Let him blow his own "whistle". You had your time to talk and blew it. To be a whistleblower you need to document the time and place of when the whistleblowing took place. Tell Coconate's "witnesses" to come forward and testify to his claims. I feel bad for your friend but that is the way it is. Terry you give yourself away with the "misspells". Ban lawyers from the board. Ban phonies from the board. Ban plumbers and communists and gays from the board.
Share some of the income from this blog with the people that make it funny and interesting. Orion, stupid,and myself. How much money does this blog make? Answer me. People are going bankrupt and liberals like Mick and Ben don't share. Food stamps on line three!
Alderman Stone is such a old, cynical blowhard that it is easy to laugh and dismiss all of his commentary. However, there is usually at least a kernel of wisdom in what he says, and that is true here as well. In this case, the kernel of wisdom is Stone's statement that "they're all under somebody's thumb". If a blue-ribbon appointment board was created, for the purpose of selecting a new improved IG, the members of that board would be appointed, by someone. If the appointment board members were appointed by the Mayor, the result would resemble the Community Development Commission--a rubber stamp for the Mayor. The IG would continue to be a mayoral appointee, one step removed, but complete with instructions from above. If the members were appointed by a group of aldermen, the result would be an IG who wouldn't take the mission of investigating the aldermen seriously. I don't know of any other way to insure an independent IG, other than making the position elective, which is not under discussion. Justice is probably just as well served by keeping our aggressive federal prosecutor, and our hiring monitor, appointed by a federal judge. We might do even better with more federal oversight of City decisions, eg, a contract monitor to insure that minority recipients are not sham corporations. You have to take the investigative power away from both branches of City government, or the result will be tainted by the inherent corruption in City Hall. Meanwhile, if Stone would take a deep breath and stop ranting and sputtering every time he answers a question, his message might be taken more seriously, as he is very candid and has much institutional experience.
Pick the IG and a 7 member committee to oversee the IG by using the 5 number Little Lotto system. Designate a specific special lottery drawing date, public announcements given a minimum of 30 days prior to drawing, sell single chance tickets at a buck apiece, the 8 purchasers with the winning numbers bought closest to a specified date and time get the jobs. Make ALL current, or former, employees of any government, city, county, state or federal, whether elected, reelected, hired, appointed, contracted or otherwise, ineligible. Proof of not being ineligible required upon presentation of winning ticket.
