watchdogs
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Wrigleyville rooftop club owners have been very good to Ald. Tunney
THE WATCHDOGS: The owners of rooftop clubs outside Wrigley Field have been supporting Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) with their checkbooks. And Tunney has been backing them on issues including his opposition to new advertising signs the Cubs want to erect that would block the views of the clubs overlooking Wrigley.
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IDOT suspends clout contractor
Illinois transportation officials have suspended McDonough Associates Inc., an engineering company that’s gotten millions of dollars in government contracts, though they’ve released few details about the alleged financial improprieties that led to the decision.
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THE WATCHDOGS — Businessman: Is politics stalling Cook County fraud probe?
THE WATCHDOGS: A Chicago businessman who raised allegations of minority-contract fraud against a major contractor at the Cook County Jail is questioning whether politics has stalled Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s probe of the matter.
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Vanecko lawyer’s ties reach throughout case
Terence P. Gillespie, a lawyer for Richard J. “R.J.” Vanecko, is known for his connections. In the case of Vanecko, who’s now under renewed investigation in the 2004 death of David Koschman, those ties extend to all corners of the probe.
The Watchdogs: David Koschman witness: I felt intimidated by investigator
THE WATCHDOGS: A witness in the David Koschman case was visited last month by Thomas M. O’Connor, a private investigator he says claimed to be working for Koschman’s mother. The witness says he felt intimidated by O’Connor.
Chicago parking meter company wants more money; mayor balks
THE WATCHDOGS: The private investors who run Chicago’s parking meters are doing better than expected, and now they’re demanding an additional $14 million they say they’re owed under obscure provisions of the wildly unpopular 2008 deal that privatized metered parking and caused rates to soar, records show.
THE WATCHDOGS: Clout builder settles whistleblower suit for $6.4 million
THE WATCHDOGS: Chicago builder Walsh Construction has paid $6.4 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit that accused the clout-heavy contractor of overcharging taxpayers on 11 federally subsidized housing projects.
Daley nephew topped primary foes in fund-raising but not in votes
THE WATCHDOGS: Patrick Daley Thompson says he isn’t surprised that he finished third in the Democratic primary, even though newly released records show he raised more money than all of his opponents combined in his bid to be elected a commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
Chicago faces $200 million claim over Aqua parking garage
THE WATCHDOGS: T he consortium of investors who took control of four city-owned parking garages has filed an arbitration claim against the city that could leave Chicago taxpayers on the hook for $200 million or more.
Beavers legal-defense bash moved from McDonald’s to Navy Pier ballroom
Hours before a fund-raiser to help him pay his legal bills, Cook County Commissioner William Beavers switched the site for the event Monday from the McDonald’s at Navy Pier to a more upscale banquet facility on the pier. Beavers, who’s facing federal tax-evasion charges, said Monday afternoon that the fund-raiser was moved to The Crystal Gardens ballroom to accommodate the large crowd expected at the $125-a-ticket event.
Feds aim to sack former Bears QB Jim McMahon over bad bank loans
THE WATCHDOGS: Former Chicago Bears Super Bowl-winning quarterback Jim McMahon is one of nine former officials of the failed Broadway Bank the federal government is targeting in a lawsuit that aims to recover $104 million lost through 17 bad loans.
Alvarez defends her actions, promises cooperation
Though Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez said she won’t appeal a judge’s ruling Friday to appoint an outside prosecutor to re-examine the David Koschman case, she defended her handling of the case — and her failed effort against bringing in a special prosecutor.
How the David Koschman case unfolded
David Koschman died in 2004, but his death as the result of being punched by a nephew of then-Mayor Richard M. Daley has been back in the news since the publication in February 2011 of the first of a series of reports in a Chicago Sun-Times investigation. Here are some key dates in the newspaper’s investigation and actions that resulted from those reports:
Chicago schools investigating politically tied milk contractor
The Chicago Board of Education’s inspector general is investigating the school system’s largest milk-delivery company, McMahon Food Corp., which recently lost its certification as a woman-owned business, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
Aides’ letters rip Rod Blagojevich: ‘very difficult to work with and for’
THE WATCHDOGS: In dozens of letters, supporters who were urging a federal judge to be lenient in sentencing John Harris — a former top aide to Rod Blagojevich who was sentenced last week to just 10 days in prison — offered new insights into how difficult it could be to work for the disgraced former governor.
THE WATCHDOGS: Judge questions self-defense finding in Daley nephew case
A judge questioned Thursday how the police concluded that Richard J. “R.J.” Vanecko, a nephew of then-Mayor Richard M. Daley, acted in self-defense when he delivered a deadly blow nearly eight years ago. Juge Michael Toomin noted that five witnesses have given sworn statements denying that the victim, David Koschman, was physically aggressive.
Emanuel moves to ban McMahon electric company from city work
Mayor Rahm Emanuel is proposing to permanently ban an electrical contracting company with ties to Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th) from getting city work because its owners and their husbands allegedly operated phony women- and minority-owned companies that have gotten millions of dollars in city contracts. Emanuel revealed Tuesday that his procurement department sent “notices of proposed debarment” to Windy City Electric Co. and four members of the politically connected McMahon family, including Anthony P. McMahon, a top precinct captain for Burke’s ward organization.
Money made selling milk to governments helps politicians
Having made millions of dollars on government deals for milk and electrical and plumbing work, the McMahon family routinely gives back to politicians.
Daley nephew fights Koschman mom’s special-prosecutor request
Tired of sitting on “the sidelines,” a nephew of former Mayor Richard M. Daley is fighting a mother’s request for a special prosecutor to reinvestigate the death of David Koschman, who died after a punch police say the nephew threw. Lawyers for Richard J. “R.J.” Vanecko have asked to intervene in the case because Nanci Koschman’s lawyers suggested last week that Vanecko may have confessed to striking the Mount Prospect man — an allegation Vanecko’s lawyers called “a complete and utter fabrication.”
The Watchdogs: Inspector general wants McMahon business banned from city work
THE WATCHDOGS: A McMahon family business faces the possible loss of city business over the city inspector general’s finding that it once fraudulently presented itself as being owned and operated by women.
