The Feds Are Looking in to Mayor Daley's Friends Who Threatened Real Estate Developer

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Federal authorities are investigating allegations that Mayor Richard Daley's administration pressured property owners in the mayor's native Bridgeport to sell to developers favored by City Hall.

Three industrial landowners in the South Side neighborhood told the Tribune that they were contacted by the FBI -- two as recently as last week. They contend that building inspectors harassed them, the city threatened to condemn their property or they were hit with unfavorable zoning after refusing to sell to political insiders for housing projects.

The focus on Bridgeport development appears to be a new front in federal authorities' investigation of alleged corruption in Daley's administration. City Hall has already been shaken by convictions of Daley aides for taking bribes from contractors in the Hired Truck Program and for illegally rigging hiring to reward the mayor's allies with jobs.

FBI officials declined to comment.

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