Daley Patronage Chief Indicted
While it’s one of the most reported stories, it’s one of the most important. Even if the legal case doesn’t reach the Mayor, the political fallout already has.
Most importantly, it opens up serious enforcement of the Shakman decree. Michael Shakman’s call for the Mayor to be held in contempt isn’t as outlandish as many people think. Connecting the Mayor to specific decisions concerning patronage hiring is a lot harder than demonstrating the City has largely bypassed the decree and not enforced rigorously the conditions leaves Daley and the City Government open to sanctions.
Even if Daley and his staff attempt to only put a show on in terms of reforming hiring and promotions, greater scrutiny from the Federal Court is almost assured. That will force changes further reducing the power that comes along with patronage.
Prompted by a criminal probe of City Hall hiring, the man who for years has fought to free city jobs from politics asked Tuesday that Mayor Richard Daley’s administration be held in contempt of federal court orders against patronage.
Attorney Michael Shakman asked a federal court in Chicago to impose “substantial” civil fines on Daley and other city officials for what he described as “systemic, widespread violations” of court orders that Shakman won decades ago.
Shakman also asked the court in a document filed Tuesday to put at the top of the list for new openings “hundreds and perhaps thousands” of qualified job-seekers who were passed over for city jobs or promotions in favor of politically connected candidates.
He also requested an independent expert to investigate alleged abuses and recommend how to clean up hiring.
The Daley administration’s top lawyer, Mara Georges, said that the city would challenge any attempt to find it in contempt. She denied widespread problems with hiring and repeated the mayor’s assertion that he had no knowledge of wrongdoing.
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Although Shakman did not allege that the mayor had been aware of specific abuses, he blamed Daley for a “culture of disregard for the law and disrespect for court orders” that fostered the hiring violations. As a “hands-on administrator,” Daley should have known of the problems, according to Shakman’s court filing.“The mayor is the chief executive officer of the city of Chicago and as such he obviously has responsibility for what his subordinates did,” Shakman said at a news conference at his office.
Shakman may not get exactly what he wants, but he will bring greater scrutiny on city hiring which will be a tremendous change in how politics operates in the City of Chicago.
My name is Adam Merit and I started working for the Cook County Comptrollers Office in May 5th. 1988. 4 years as a part time employee as I was in Columbia College
My grade level has increased only once since In March 15 1993 after college I have started full time in 1993 and 13 years a full time employee during this time there are over fifty employees, even employees which whom have much less work in the office.
During the time I have started, I have been under paid, my job title Clerk VI has always has stayed at the same. My level has only increased once from grade 9 to grade 11 which is the lowest grade in the office and many years I have been through many issues of job discrimination, and illegal statutory matters partly due toward my epileptic disability which I’ve gone through and continue to face Several have caused my seizures to occur in the very office… For many years I have overlooked this problem and just gone about my job.
. At one point when our office started with computers everyone had one on their desk but myself and I was told by my past supervisor Rosemary Schulter I was not able to one due to my disability.On Friday March 24 2000 at 8:30 am I started my job paying travel bills. As I was working The assistant supervisor stormed into the office were I worked and acted like the chief of the office since my supervisor Rosemary Schulter was on vacation and told me I needed to help another employee Xerox the bills I told him ok let me first finish this batch up. Then the assistant supervisor started getting mad at me gave me a dirty look and started to use profanity and me and told me to speed it up. Then I talked back at him and started to tell him ?Patience Joe Patience? but he interrupts me and says, ?I ant got patience ?I ant got patience! Then storms out.As I continue my job paying the travel bills that vary day and rush on them so I wouldn’t get him angry as I was forced to, I found out I had made an error and I found it and have to print out a new report which took extra time. As I see him I explain to him calmly of my error and that I can’t rush on my work. As I told him of this he uses more profanity at me and illegally threatens me.On Thursday September 7th 2000 I was called into my supervisor Rosemary Schulter?s office I sat down and she told me that ever since I have been coming to work on my new time due toward health circumstances which was at 7:30 am and leaving at 3:30pm which I had gotten permission to do, my head had been on my desk for a short period of time I responded to her that was a lie and claimed when I got to work I started right away. She didn’t trust me then I asked her who had told her this and she wouldn’t let me know and also told me she would make sure I was kept busy then I walked out.On June 2001 I was transferred to The Cook County Comptrollers Payroll Department. My job title was still Clerk V and should have I was taught many responsibilities and assisted accountant Joseph Sternad who supervised the Payroll Inheritance Tax Department who trained me well to work with him to match and balance hospital registers with the Tax checks from the Cook County M I S Department (Management Information Department) Handle Corporate work on Corporate and Hospital Union Dues handle and release all Cook Count County Hospitals payroll checks Such As Stroger Hospital, Oak Forest Hospital Cermack, etc. I worked very hard with all employees assisted them in different ways and solved many problems for them.One Employee in our office which was transferred to the payroll section in 2003 as I was her job title changed to payroll assistant like my title should have. Later I was assigned to train her to assist me with part of my job because she was getting board with her job just answering the phone for people calling requesting 90 U tax forms so I tried to teach her how we worked with the Corporate Union dues as I taught her she wouldn’t take notes, she was always interrupted with phone calls which she stayed on from her friends for hours so their was nothing I could do I saw my supervisor Joseph Vargo many times but she wouldn’t listen to him and one time she even hit me then I went to my desk and typed out instructions for her to work which helped her. Recently on December 1 2004 which is the first pay period I discovered every employee in my department, Cook County Payroll Department under grade 15 got promoted to grade 15 but myself. I wondered why I was left out. I asked my Boss Mr. Walter Knorr Cook County Comptroller several times and he said he said he?s working on it and would take care of this for me. Months have passed buy I have written a letters to the Human Resources department several times asking why I have not been given a performance appraisal and was ignored .Throughout the years I discovered all employees in the office including Employees with much less responsibilities, 2. Have much less work 3. Work less in the office 4.Talk On the Phone more 5. Play on the Internet more 6.get away with misconduct 7.Constantly use profanity in the office 8.Come in less and such as: have better titles higher grade levels and salaries the names are and their salary has increased and got promoted including a several employees which whom just recently started, have less responsibilities, and work less in the office, and I was assigned to train. Them to work with me. In May 2004 The new Cook County Comptroller Walter Knorr started I have been continuously extra assignments straight from my boss Mr. Walter Knorr Cook County Comptroller which I worked very hard on, especially when I brought to his attention and told him to look into regarding the budget in February 2005 the reports which list Cook Count County Hospitals Stroger Hospital, Oak Forest Hospital Cermack, etc. Overtime extra hours and salaries from all cook county employees I receive from M I S Department (Management Information Department) that however my grade level and salary continue the lowest I deserve and I would like to try to change these matters and try to file a suit.