Friends & family fund for Chicago aldermen : Shadowy $1.3 million payroll helps them get around ban on patronage hiring

The Chicago Tribune reports:

As City Hall struggles to pay for basic services, a stealth budget account worth millions has allowed Chicago aldermen to put family members, campaign operatives and those with political baggage on yet another taxpayer-funded payroll.

Operating without scrutiny, one alderman hired the mother of a former top mayoral aide later convicted of rigging city hiring. Another hired a city worker ousted for sexual harassment allegations. Several others hired relatives.

"All of us (aldermen) have family members on the payroll," said Ald. Isaac Carothers, 29th, who has paid a relative more than $30,000 since January 2008. "That's nothing new."

The revelation comes as Mayor Richard Daley prepares to ask a federal judge to end decades of court supervision over City Hall's clout-heavy hiring practices, arguing that illegal patronage is dead. But the city's hiring compliance officer told the Tribune he didn't know about the payroll of about $1.3 million a year.

The Chicago Way.