Patrick Murphy deserves enormous credit for not letting anyone off the hook for Friday’s County Building fire disaster. He said he didn’t care much about whether the mayor’s "cronies" were involved in the retrofit of the building, and he called the governor a politician in "search of a backbone" for saying the matter was none of his business. His day of hammering now means that Mayor Daley is "open" to an independent investigaion.
Open? How about demanding one Mr. Mayor?
But the tangle gets thicker and thicker. Word comes yesterday that one of the partners in the building’s management is Elzie Higginbottom, a long-time friend of Daley and Stroger (and a party fundraiser leading Dan Hynes’s fundraising effort). Stroger said yesterday (from today’s Sun-Times):
Stroger on Monday defended Elzie Higginbottom, a friend of both Daley’s and Stroger’s and owner of one of two companies in the joint venture that manages the county administration building. Stroger said it is not clear management made the controversial call to evacuate the whole building — sending people into the smoky stairwells.
"The management of that building had nothing to do with the fire in that building," Stroger said.
Just like E2, if a friend of the powers-that-be is involved, circle the wagons right away. What could Stroger know at this point? Nothing. And, yes, management didn’t start the fire. But did they handle the evacuation properly? Was the building up to code? Why were the stairwell doors locked? That is why Murphy wants an independent investigation, so that everyone, friends and foes alike, will have to answer tough questions and, if necessary, be held accountable.
Keep hammering Mr. Murphy.