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Hired Truck Program
The Hired Truck Program was a scandal-plagued program in the city of Chicago that involved hiring private trucks to do city work. It was overhauled in 2004 (and phased out beginning in 2005) after an investigation by the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' revealed that some participating companies were being paid for doing little or no work, had mob connections, or were tied to city employees. Truck owners also paid bribes in order to get into the program. The Hired Truck Program officially came to an end Monday, September 18, 2006. At the end of the work day on Friday, September 15, 2006, the final eight Hired Trucks were laid off permanently. Clout on Wheels, ''Chicago Sun-Times'' Investigation of the program The ''Sun-Times'' investigation began when a reporter, Tim Novak, spotted a red truck parked on the city block where he resides. This single red dump truck bore a sign saying it was leased to the city of Chicago's Hired Truck Program. The reporter eventually staked out a city wate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of United States cities by population, third-most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. As the county seat, seat of Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most populous county in the U.S., Chicago is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area, often colloquially called "Chicagoland" and home to 9.6 million residents. Located on the shore of Lake Michigan, Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 near a Chicago Portage, portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, Mississippi River watershed. It grew rapidly in the mid-19th century. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed several square miles and left more than 100,000 homeless, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Sorich
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, renown, godlike" and ''berht'' "bright, light, shining"). It is the second most frequently used given name of ancient Germanic origin.Reaney & Wilson, 1997. ''Dictionary of English Surnames''. Oxford University Press. It is also in use as a surname. Another commonly used form of the name is Rupert. After becoming widely used in Continental Europe, the name entered England in its Old French form ''Robert'', where an Old English cognate form (''Hrēodbēorht'', ''Hrodberht'', ''Hrēodbēorð'', ''Hrœdbœrð'', ''Hrœdberð'', ''Hrōðberχtŕ'') had existed before the Norman Conquest. The feminine version is Roberta. The Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish form is Roberto. Robert is also a common name in many Germanic languages, including Eng ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Government Of Chicago
The government of the City of Chicago, Illinois, United States is divided into executive and legislature, legislative branches. The Mayor of Chicago is the chief executive, elected by general election for a term of four years, with no term limits. The mayor appoints commissioners and other officials who oversee the various departments. In addition to the mayor, Chicago's two other citywide elected officials are the City Clerk of Chicago, City Clerk and the City Treasurer of Chicago, City Treasurer. The Chicago City Council, City Council is the legislative branch and is made up of 50 alderpersons, one elected from each wards of the United States, ward in the city. The council takes official action through the passage of ordinances and resolutions and approves the city budget. Government priorities and activities are established in a budget ordinance usually adopted each November. Organization Generally speaking, the mayor and city departments comprise the Executive (governmen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Organized Crime In Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, has a long history of organized crime and was famously home to the American mafia figure Al Capone. This article contains a list of major events related to organized crime. Events – timeline 1830s *1837 – Chicago became incorporated as a city. 1850s *1850 – Chicago had a population of 80,000 people, but the city had no police force, only nine "watch marshals".Russo, Gus, ''The Outfit'', Bloomsbury (2001), p. 10 *1855 – The city had a bare-bones police force. *1850s (late) – Because Chicago was built over a swamp, mud constantly oozed from beneath the city's wooden streets. It was decided the whole city would be mudjacked 10 feet (3 metres) and the city would rest on stilts, with stones at the base. This led to the beginning of the free-wheeling crime sub-culture that overtook Chicago. After the city was raised, criminals in the area began practicing their trades in rooms and tunnels beneath the city. English immigrant Roger Plant, who ran a brothel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicagoist
''Gothamist'' is a New York City–centric blog operated by New York Public Radio. From 2003 to 2018, Gothamist LLC was the operator, or in some cases franchisor, of eight city-centric websites that focused on news, events, food, culture, and other local coverage. It was founded in 2003 by Jake Dobkin and Jen Chung. In March 2017, Joe Ricketts, owner of ''DNAinfo'', acquired the company and, in November 2017, the websites were temporarily shut down after the newsroom staff voted to unionize. In February 2018, it was announced that New York Public Radio, KPCC and WAMU had acquired ''Gothamist'', ''LAist'', and ''DCist'', respectively. ''Chicagoist'' was purchased by Chicago-born rapper Chance the Rapper in July 2018. History Early history and other blogs The namesake blog, ''Gothamist'', focused on New York City, was founded in 2003, by publisher Jake Dobkin and editor Jen Chung. other blogs operated by the company include ''LAist'' for Los Angeles, ''DCist'' for Washington ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Park Grill
The Park Grill is the only full-service restaurant included in Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois. Its outdoor seating area is the largest al fresco dining area in Chicago. It has placed among the leaders in citywide best-of competitions for best burger and is widely praised for its views. The exclusive location, the lucrative contract terms, the investor list, and a close personal relationship between a managing partner of the restaurant and the Chicago Park District's project manager led to a formal ethics investigation, court litigation, and extensive press coverage, and ranked among the most prominent scandals of the administration of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley in 2005. The more than 80 investors include some of Daley's friends and neighbors. One of the most financially successful restaurants in Chicago, the Park Grill remains exempt from property taxes after a multi-year litigation which reached the Illinois Supreme Court. Location and views File:Millennium Park Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago Parking Meters LLC
Chicago Parking Meters, LLC, also known as ParkChicago, is an American company with several investors that owns the parking meters in the city of Chicago, Illinois. The company has gained notoriety for its roots in the sale of the City of Chicago's parking meters to private investors, considered a financial disaster for the city. History During the 2008 financial crisis, the City of Chicago faced a major budget deficit, which prompted then-Mayor Richard M. Daley to propose the sale of city-owned parking meters. Brokers affiliated with Morgan Stanley then formed an LLC called "Chicago Parking Meters LLC" to facilitate a potential deal with the city over the sale of the meters. By December 3, 2008, a deal was made to sell all 36,000 of the parking meter spots in the city for 75 years for $1.15 billion. The deal was approved and finalized on December 4, 2008. When the deal went through, prices increased and many meters were vandalized in the initial rollout. As of 2023, the investor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Obstructing Justice
In United States jurisdictions, obstruction of justice refers to a number of offenses that involve unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investigators, or other government officials. Common law jurisdictions other than the United States tend to use the wider offense of perverting the course of justice. Obstruction is a broad crime that may include acts such as perjury, making false statements to officials, witness tampering, jury tampering, destruction of evidence, and many others. Obstruction also applies to overt coercion of court or government officials via the means of threats or actual physical harm, and to deliberate sedition against a court official to undermine the appearance of legitimate authority. Legal overview Obstruction of justice is an umbrella term covering a variety of specific crimes. ''Black's Law Dictionary'' defines it as any "interference with the orderly a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Laski
James J. "Jim" Laski (born 1954) was the City Clerk of Chicago, Illinois from 1995–2006. The former congressional aid and city alderman resigned from the City Clerk's office following his indictment for obstruction of justice due to his involvement in the city's scandal-plagued Hired Truck Program. After serving a prison sentence, Laski became a controversial talk-radio host for a program that was broadcast on two Chicago-area radio stations. He also wrote a book about his experiences in Chicago politics and federal prison. Personal life Laski grew up on the southwest side of Chicago, a lifelong resident of Chicago's 23rd Ward. He attended St. Laurence High School and graduated with a degree in political science from Lewis University. He graduated from Northern Illinois University College of Law in 1978, and quickly volunteered his services to then 23rd Ward Alderman, William O. "Bill" Lipinski. Political career By 1988 Laski was chief of staff of the joint Democrat S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cook County Board Of Commissioners
The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district, and a president who is elected county-wide, all for four-year terms. Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, which includes the City of Chicago, is the United States' second-largest county with a population of 5.2 million residents. The county board sets policy and laws for the county regarding property, public health services, public safety, and maintenance of county highways. It is presided over by President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, its president and the county's chief executive, currently Toni Preckwinkle. The commissioners, president, and county clerk (who serves as clerk of the board), hold the same offices ''ex officio'' on the separate governmental taxing body, the Cook County Forest Preserves, Cook County Forest Preserve District Board of Commissioners. History Until 1870, Cook County had been governed under the "township supervisor" syste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
