The Felon Behind Rahm Emanuel's Power

John Kass reports on the power behind Rahm Emanuel, Donny Tomczak:

Donny pulled in the cash. He admits only to taking a measly $400,000 in bribes, which gets a laugh from the guys who know him. Tomczak also ran a mayoral patronage army for Daley in violation of federal court orders.

Then things went bad. If only Daley had tossed him, City Hall wouldn't be facing what's coming: a frightened 70-year-old convicted political crook wondering if he'll be able to do four years in federal prison.

Tomczak is still a tough guy. For all the tired meat in his face, his eyes are still cold stones. He might do four.

But more will be added if he doesn't testify in future federal City Hall corruption cases. That is explicit in Tomczak's guilty plea agreement, and that worries those who know what's on Donny's mind: that he can't do any more time and die in there.

In federal court this week, Chicago realpolitik got a reprieve, of sorts, if only for a few days.

Tomczak didn't make his own sentencing. His lawyer said he was ill, and the grand event was rescheduled for Thursday, two days after Election Day. Outside the courtroom, I joked that I knew Tomczak's doctor.

"Who?" asked a lawyer.

Dr. Timothy Degnan, I said, the famed City Hall neurologist, who must understand Donny's state of mind.

The delay is unfortunate. Voters should have seen Tomczak's sentencing in the news before Election Day to be reminded how things work in this state, for both parties, which is why I'm writing this now.

Readers of this column sometimes ask me why I use Tomczak in references to U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the Chicago Democrat heading his party's national push to regain control of Congress.

When I mention him, I do it this way: U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Tomczak).

That's how Emanuel got elected, defeating a non-machine liberal Democrat. Daley sent his patronage armies out for Rahm. One was commanded by Tomczak.

They had thugs and tough guys on the city payroll, goons and eager apprentices, some of them even qualified for their government jobs, but most of them were qualified to muscle the vote for Emanuel.

Tomczak testified to helping Emanuel and others in federal court at the trial of Daley's patronage chief, the convicted Robert Sorich.

Some Democrats really understand the "culture of corruption".