Chicago Sun-Times Calls Editorial Chicago's Government a Scam

The Chicago Sun-Times has an editorial:

Can we stop playing pretend? The insult to the intelligence of the average Chicagoan -- the Chicagoan without a heavyweight alderman for a brother -- is overwhelming.

When it comes to conflicts of interest at City Hall, one degree of separation is no separation at all, except in the make-believe world of Dan and Ed Burke.

The scam, as described by investigative reporter Tim Novak in Monday's Sun-Times, goes like this:

State Rep. Daniel J. Burke has raked in tens of thousands of dollars by working on the side as a lobbyist at City Hall, paving the way for clients who seek big city contracts. These contracts must be approved by a vote of the City Council, where Dan's brother, Ald. Ed Burke, is among the most senior and powerful members.

And Ald. Burke doesn't even bother to recuse himself from the vote because legally -- if not ethically -- he doesn't have to. Brother Ed and his pals say "aye," and brother Dan collects a fee.

If ever you needed proof, folks, that money and contracts at Chicago's City Hall are an insiders' game for the favored few, this is it.

The pathetic truth is that City Hall's culture of corruption, snaking back more than a century, is so deep-seated and strong that nobody can write enough laws to kill it. If the goo goos of reform, for instance, were to push through a new law that says the brothers and sisters of aldermen can't work as paid lobbyists in City Hall, the business would simply be passed along to nephews and nieces, or some such thing.

Improvements can be made, it's just a question of whether sleazy Chicago voters care enough to make changes.