Mayor Daley Doesn't Want to Answer Questions About Mob Connections

Carol Marin reports on Mayor Daley's silence on the Chicago Mob's connections to Mayor Daley himself:

I read and then reread a small item that appeared in Monday's Sun-Times. It was just three sentences in length, dwarfed by a seven-page story titled, "The First Family of Clout," the first installment of a three-part series by reporters Tim Novak, Bob Herguth and Steve Warmbir. For more than six months, they exhaustively investigated the politically connected, clout-heavy Roti clan and its connections to the scandal-plagued city Hired Truck Program, to labor unions and, in some cases, to the mob.

The small item I found so riveting was this one:

MAYOR DALEY: NO COMMENT

The Chicago Sun-Times tried to interview Mayor Daley for this series. His press secretary, Jacquelyn Heard, asked that questions be submitted in writing. After receiving the questions, Heard said she decided not to present them to the mayor.

I didn't vote for Jackie Heard. And neither did you. She was appointed, not elected. And we the taxpayers pay her to act as an information conduit from the mayor's office through the press to the public. To refuse to present legitimate questions to the mayor is both high-handed and outrageous.

Let's be clear about a couple of things. Novak, Herguth and Warmbir didn't exactly storm a Daley news conference and shout out challenges to the mayor. They instead, arguably too politely, agreed to give questions to Heard for the mayor to formulate a reply. But Heard told me yesterday she ultimately decided the inquiries were too "insulting" and "upsetting" to pass on.

I have seen those questions. There are only 11. And they begin by asking about Fred Bruno Barbara, a multimillionaire member of the Roti clan who stood to make even more millions from a company named Allied Waste provided that Allied won the city's Blue Bag recycling contract. Mr. Barbara, a close friend of Mayor Daley, is a fascinating study in clout, contracts and cozy relationships with very powerful people, some of whom are now under federal investigation. It's all in today's installment for you to read.

One of the questions that apparently drew Heard's ire was the one about Mr. Barbara being a guest at a christening party three years ago for the first Daley grandchild. Sun-Times reporters asked if he had given a gift, and if so, what it was.

Where would the Chicago Mob be without a Mayor they can rely on?