New Chicago corruption probe may expand fast

Crain's Chicago Business reports:

City Hall apparently is the target of yet another huge new federal probe, this time into bribery of city building and zoning inspectors.

Prosecutors on Thursday announced the indictment of 15 people, including seven city workers, for soliciting, conveying and/or accepting bribes of as much as $8,000 to issue phony reports and speed paperwork.

Though the City Hall workers indicted are all low-level non-executives, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman made it clear that the charges may be just the tip of the iceberg, with an unnamed confidential informant giving agents information about bribe activities involving more than 30 people.

“The picture painted by the criminal charges filed today shows, sadly, that the permit process in Chicago is governed by a separate set of rules for those who pay to corrupt the system,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “Last year’s arrests (of eight current or former employees of the Chicago Department of Buildings) did not change the system enough.”

The legacy of Fred Roti lives!