Chicago City supervisor admits taking bribes from firm

The Chicago Tribune reports:

A former Chicago Department of Buildings supervisor pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to accepting a $1,000 bribe to "resolve" or dismiss a general contractor's building code violations, according to court documents.

Kurt Berger, 45, was the second person convicted after an investigation unmasked corruption in City Hall and resulted in felony charges against 10 people -- eight of them city employees. The first city employee, building inspector David Johnson, worked undercover with the Office of the Inspector General and federal agents.

"It's always disappointing whenever a government official admits to acts of corruption," city Inspector General David Hoffman said.

Berger's position as project manager gave him the authority to dismiss building code violations, citations and stop-work orders, according to the plea agreement.

In the presence of Johnson in fall 2006, Berger agreed to dismiss citations against a contractor renovating an apartment building on South Campbell Avenue in exchange for money, according to court documents.

You can probably guess what political party David Johnson belongs to,it's the same one that's controlled Chicago since 1931.