The Feds are here....FRANK COCONATE

Former City Employee Says He's Been Contacted Regarding Patrick Daley's Involvement In City Sewer Contract
Reporting
Dana Kozlov
A federal investigation is now underway over a city sewer contract that involved the son of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.

As CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports, Patrick Daley and the mayor's nephew invested in Municipal Sewer Services in 2003, but one former city employee says federal investigators are asking questions about it now.
A tearful Mayor Daley, responding to reports of his son, Patrick, and nephew Robert Vanecko's investment in a sewer company that did business with the city said, "I hope those people understand that Patrick is a very good son. I love him, and Maggie and I are very proud of him. I hope you respect I have nothing more to say on this."
Now, a former city sewer worker says the FBI wants to know more about those deals, and, through his attorney, asked to interview him.
"I believe there is definitely an investigation 'cause there is no way… I felt like them contacting me showed me they're pretty serious about getting to the bottom of this," said former city worker Frank Coconate.
Coconate worked for the sewer department for 27 years but was fired in 2005. Since then, he's been a vocal Daley critic. In this case, Coconate says Municipal Sewer Services, the company Daley and Vanecko invested in, was doing taxpayer paid work for the city, even though city crews could have done the work themselves.
"Here's this kid owning a company to clean sewers when we have the equipment and the manpower sitting in the yard," Coconate said.
Coconate says when he questioned those M.S.S. crews, his bosses told him they were Daley's people, and to leave them alone.
Better Government Association investigator Dan Sprehe says questionable contracts aren't the only concern. The timing of Patrick Daley's disclosure and who, with the city, knew about his connections and when are also potential problems.
"We just are continually hit with this barrage of things that stink," Sprehe said. "Of course, the question is, with M.S.S.'s business skyrocketing, what what was behind all that?"
In a statement to employees, M.S.S. Chairman Robert Bobb acknowledges there were "a number of mistakes or oversights with regards to filings," and that the person responsible is no longer with the company. He also states Patrick Daley and Vanecko's "investments were passive" and "made long after the company had been awarded city contracts."
Mayor Daley's spokesperson, Jackie Heard, says she's not aware of any federal investigation into the matter.
As for city workers and trucks sitting idle while the private, M.S.S. crews worked instead, Heard says she's still checking on that.
The FBI told CBS 2 the agency cannot confirm or deny the existence of any investigation until an arrest is made.

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From Chicago Clout

Neil Steinberg describes Mayor Daley exactly

Neil, your honest writing skills and perfect description of Daley is worth a second look by all Chicago Clout fans. I would not have been so nice. Mayor Daley's globetrotting is costing taxpayers money, trust me.

Daley a pitchman? Hardly December 30, 2007 BY NEIL STEINBERG Sun-Times Columnist So let me get this straight . . . the argument is that Mayor Daley is taking all these trips abroad, wandering the globe like a milkweed puff, all expenses paid by his rich pals, in order to improve the image of the city abroad and help promote business? "This builds on the marketing of Chicago," Jerry Roper, president of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, which has paid for some of the mayor's jaunts, told the Chicago Tribune. Ah, hahahahahahahaha. Does anybody really believe that? Or should I say, does anybody who has ever spent time with Daley really believe that? Chicago's mayor may have transformed the city into heaven on earth -- at least in certain spots -- but in person he's an overbearing, charmless, abrupt man who couldn't sell tuna fish to cats. Awkward in his own skin, squirming, sputtering, uncomfortable, poorly spoken, vindictive, bored, florid, disheveled, mean -- really, this is the face that Chicago is projecting to the world? At least gin up an excuse that makes sense -- he likes to be able to walk in public without people lunging to kiss his ring; Maggie likes to shop in Milan; he wants to relax in cities where he doesn't have to worry about being asked about his son Patrick's business dealings. Something plausible. But Richard M. Daley, Chicago's own Keebler elf, ringing the globe like Santa, bringing awareness of our great city to unwashed Parisians and unaware Berliners? That's a joke. Tough to buy explanation of mayor's travels -- or that he could sell city

Whistleblower files suit to get job back

December 24, 2007

Sun-Times Staff Reports

Political activist, whistleblower and now-fired city employee Frank Coconate filed suit today in an effort to get his job back. Coconate, a former city water department employee since 1978, was fired in July 2005 for allegedly falsifying work sheets and related issues.

In November, a city board upheld his termination, leading to the lawsuit filed by attorney Frank Avila Jr. in Cook County Circuit Court.

Daley Corruption at it again

Clockwise from bottom left: Joseph McInerney, Robert Vanecko, Mayor Richard M. Daley, the mayor's son Patrick Daley, and Robert Bobb. (Sun-Times files)

Sun-Times Exclusive: Daley’s son had secret deal Mayor Daley’s son Patrick had a hidden interest in a sewer-inspection company whose business with the City of Chicago rose sharply while he was an owner, a Chicago Sun-Times investigation has found. Patrick Daley invested in Municipal Sewer Services in June 2003, along with Robert Vanecko, a nephew of the mayor. The pair cashed out their small investment about a year later.


What about the deal with concourse communications. Pat Daley worked there and now they have the wireless contract at midway & Ohare

Reverends at it again

Sharpton calls on Chicago to fix police brutality or he'll work against Olympics

By Karoun Demirjian |Tribune staff reporter

5:39 PM CST, December 9, 2007

The Reverend Al Sharpton has a message for the city of Chicago: do something about police brutality, or he'll work to ensure that the 2016 Olympics won't come to Chicago.

Sharpton is demanding that the city show evidence of "concrete steps" to address what he calls "rampant police brutality and misconduct" in the Chicago Police Department.

If it can't, Sharpton says, he is prepared to lobby the International Olympic Committee to take Chicago's bid out of consideration for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

Old broken down equipment

Trucks clear streets before weekend storm

The city's Department of Streets & Sanitation needed only half its snow-fighting trucks Friday morning to finish clearing the snow from Thursday night’s storm. Another storm is expected to hit the Chicago area Saturday.

About 8 p.m. Thursday, the Department of Streets & Sanitation deployed 273 snow-fighting trucks to clear the roads. However, half the trucks were sent home about 1 a.m., the department said.

*******************

Many of the snow vehicles are in need of serious repair. I was listening to the scanner the other night and heard many downs due to hydraulic hoses and other mechanical problems

Does anyone else have any infromation.

What about phony Alderman ??????

Alderman want to crack down on phony city stickers

December 5, 2007

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter

Chicago aldermen were poised to move today to shut down a “widespread black market” in counterfeit city stickers to boost city revenues by as much as $5 million a year.

At the request of Inspector General David Hoffman and City Clerk Miguel del Valle, the City Council’s Traffic Committee was scheduled to approve an ordinance imposing stiff new penalties for those who sell and manufacture bogus stickers and against motorists who purchase and display them.

Manufacturers would face six months in prison and an unspecified forgery fine. Those who purchase bogus stickers for as little as $25 — compared to $75 for passenger vehicles and $90 for SUV’s — would face the same penalty as those who display a counterfeit temporary license plate. They would have their vehicles booted, then impounded and be slapped with a fine as high as $1,000, plus towing and storage fees.

The ordinance gives police officers and parking enforcement aides “probable cause” to believe a sticker is counterfeit “whenever the sticker is missing one of its visible security features or the emblem appears on its face to be counterfeit.” Impounded vehicles would be returned only after the owner presents proof that a valid sticker has been purchased.

Hoffman urged aldermen to tighten the noose after a yearlong investigation that identified 388 counterfeit stickers — 94 percent of them at city auto pounds and at least one on a car that belonged to a city employee.

“If this was a counterfeiting problem that appeared to be caused by one high-volume manufacturer, the best solution to this problem would be to catch and prosecute the manufacturer. But that is not the nature of the problem here,” Hoffman wrote in a report to Mayor Daley and 50 aldermen in early November.

“This is a counterfeiting problem apparently caused by a large number of small manufacturers using relatively unsophisticated equipment…In this age of Photoshop, widespread scanners and color printers, it is very easy to manufacture poor- or medium-quality counterfeits…Anyone with a color ink jet printer can make a bad quality copy of one. Apparently that is sufficient to avoid detection most of the time.”

Hoffman’s projection that a crackdown would generate as much as $4.7 million in new revenue could not come at a better time.

Daley’s 2008 budget was precariously balanced with $276.5 million worth of increased taxes, fines and fees, including a new, $120 sticker fee for SUV’s.

The inspector general launched his investigation in September, 2006 after an unidentified motorist attempted to reclaim a vehicle at a city auto pound by presenting a counterfeit sticker. An alert auto pound employee noticed that she had recently released another car with that same sticker number.

After perusing an internal database for all city auto pounds, she noticed that several other cars processed over the prior two months bore that same sticker number.

Investigators subsequently interviewed more than 50 people who came to city auto pounds to pick up vehicles bearing counterfeit stickers. A “large number” of them said they had gone to a currency exchange with the intention of buying a sticker at the full price of $75 for a passenger vehicle only to be confronted on the street outside with someone selling stickers for $25-to-$40. They bought the bogus stickers at 15 different locations.

The investigation struck paydirt at city auto pounds, but didn’t stop there.

In April, a parking enforcement aide found two cars parked on one block with the same sticker number.

“As the PEA was writing a citation on one of the cars, she was confronted by the car’s owner. The owner turned out to be another city of Chicago employee, who was off-duty and lived in the neighborhood,” Hoffman wrote. The employee’s title and identity were not revealed. A footnote states, “This matter is the subject of a separate IGO investigatory report.” Hoffman refused to elaborate.

In June and July, Chicago Police officers made two arrests for possession of bogus stickers. One of the men had 18 bogus stickers and was “in the process of selling them” near a flea market.

Corruption at its best

Clout-heavy contractor got $45K for unauthorized job

O'HARE | Firm built 'break area' without official approval

December 4, 2007

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com

The Daley administration has launched an internal investigation to find out why a clout-heavy airport contractor was paid $45,000 to build a "concrete break area" for city employees at O'Hare Airport without contract authorization.

The work performed by Northlake-based Rossi Contractors became necessary after City Hall forgot something when it agreed to spend $22.5 million to convert a vacant military building at O'Hare into a new home for city employees to free up lucrative terminal space for new concessions.

Where are Aviation Department employees supposed to go to take a break, eat lunch or grab some fresh air?

The dilemma was quietly resolved this summer by building a patio-style "concrete break area" adjacent to the building at an additional cost of $45,000.

The work was performed by Rossi, whose owner Ronald Rossi has been described as the "best friend" of Christopher Kelly, a controversial fund-raiser for and top gambling adviser to Gov. Blagojevich.

City Aviation Department spokeswoman Karen Pride acknowledged that the $45,000 Rossi contract was approved unilaterally, without the proper authorization.

"A line-item modification [to an existing Rossi contract] was required, but not completed. We are investigating why this step was not completed and will take appropriate action," she said.

Rossi could not immediately be reached for comment.

Last year, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that a clout-heavy contractor who made millions from Mayor Daley's affinity for wrought-iron fences had been awarded a pair of contracts worth a total of $10.6 million to convert the vacant military building into a new home for city employees. That made G.F. Structures the big winner in the $22.5 million move.

The move to the military site shined new light on Daley's decision more than a decade ago to spend $104 million to acquire 359 acres of military land on the northeast quadrant of O'Hare for private development that has yet to take place.

In October, city Inspector General David Hoffman launched an investigation to determine whether a company that manages O'Hare's International Terminal got favored treatment because the terminal's operations chief had an alleged ethical conflict.

Chicago Department of Water Management Hero Michael McGann

From Chicago Clout

Chicago Department of Water Management Hero Michael McGann

Excellent article by Fran Spielman of the Chicago Sun-Times. Michael McGann is one of the most intelligent Plumbing Inspectors in the City of Chicago. I read his report and he is 100% correct in his review of the troubled plumbing in the Chicago School. Read here: 'They're trying to make me the fall guy' SCHOOL'S WATER WOES | City inspector may be disciplined for faxing report on dangerous plumbing to principal

November 30, 2007
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com
An $85,068-a-year city plumbing inspector who uncovered "two pages worth" of building code violations that left 1,100 children at Jose de Diego Community Academy without water for weeks is facing disciplinary acton for faxing a copy of his inspection report to the school's principal.
Michael McGann, a 14-year inspector assigned to the city's Department of Buildings, said he gave the Oct. 24 report to de Diego principal Alice Vera so she could use the information to try to expedite repairs that had languished for weeks, endangering students at the 116-year-old school at 1313 N. Claremont.
He can't believe he's being punished for it, simply because the embarrassing story of his bosses' bureaucratic bungling -- that prompted the school's 14 water fountains to be taped shut for weeks -- ended up in the Nov. 23 Sun-Times, with a copy of the inspection report posted on the newspaper's Web site.
The report contained two pages of code violations with "dead-ends everywhere ... uncirculated distribution lines that connected to and endangered" the integrity of the drinking water system, McGann said. It was faxed to Vera earlier this month.
"It's a disgrace. They're being exposed for not doing their job and, because I'm the one who made the inspection, they're trying to make me the fall guy, the scapegoat," said McGann, 52. "They should have processed the violation notice immediately . . . . Instead, they sat on it and did nothing."
Water reportedly back on
He added, "The principal was frustrated. . . . Nothing was happening. . . . She called me and we kept in communication. . . . It had gone weeks without any word from any of my superiors about getting the water back on in the building so the water was safe for the children. So, I sent her my report so she would know the severity of the violations and how they were to be resolved. . . . My motive was to protect the health and safety of the children of the school."
Buildings Department spokesman Bill McCaffrey said McGann faces disciplinary action -- to be determined after hearings that got under way Thursday -- for violating internal rules that prohibit preliminary inspection reports from being shared with outsiders until approved by higher-ups. "Inspection reports are subject to review by immediate supervisors and chiefs. Until the report is approved, it is still a draft document. Once it's finalized, it can be distributed outside the department," he said.
Vera could not be reached for comment.
Last week, de Diego officials told the Sun-Times they had been instructed to ration water since Sept. 14, when a water main broke outside the school in the Humboldt Park/Wicker Park area. That meant giving students as little as a half a glass of water a day for eleven weeks straight.
According to McCaffrey, the water was turned back on at de Diego on Monday after new "check valves that prevent water from flowing backwards through the system" were installed to remedy concerns about "dead-end piping."
The school is also planning to take other steps to "remove some of the pipes that just end," he said.

Sounds like whistleblower retaliation, and I know whistleblower retaliation.
But remember, dead ends must be removed, check valves do not correct dead ends, Patrick McDonough.
Photo by Jean Lachat, Patrick McDonough

Daley picks FBI agent to lead Police Department

Look he even makes more legal money than our mayor

J.P. "Jody" Weis, 49, left, meets with reporters at City Hall on Thursday after being named as the new superintendent of the Chicago police department by Mayor Richard Daley. Thursday. (Tribune photo by Bonnie Trafelet / November 29, 2007)

Mayor Richard Daley today named a veteran FBI boss to become the city's top cop, saying he was the best choice to repair trust in a Police Department beset by problems of corruption and brutality.

Only if parents would have followed the rules

But now we lose a dedicated policeman

Hiding illegal status ruined cop's career

November 25, 2007

BY CARRIE ANTLFINGER

MILWAUKEE -- Oscar Ayala-Cornejo followed the path that leads many red-blooded Americans to law enforcement.

His family lived next to a crack house in Milwaukee, where he says he often heard gunshots and came home to find thieves had stolen the things that his father had worked hard to provide for his mother, older brother and sister.

At 16, Oscar Ayala-Cornejo switched high schools and changed his identity — even referring to his parents as “aunt” and “uncle” — to fake citizenship.

(AP)

So he got excited when two officers visited his high school to recruit police aides. The 15-year-old decided he wanted to become a cop.

''I wanted to change my neighborhood, to change other people's neighborhoods, so they could feel safe, you know,'' said Ayala, now 25.

He wanted that badly enough to break the law.

Although Ayala's family moved to Wisconsin in 1992 from Guadalajara, Mexico, he says he didn't realize until after he'd made up his mind to wear a badge that he was in the country illegally. He didn't know until his dad, Salvador, told him.

A few days later, his father helped him find a way around the situation -- one that would eventually cost him his freedom.

His father's cousin Carmen, who lived in Chicago, would allow Ayala to take the identity of her son, Jose Morales, who was born five months after Ayala in Illinois and died about age 7.

Before his junior year, Ayala, calling himself Morales, switched high schools. The 16-year-old cut his hair, replaced his glasses with contacts and got braces.

He was nervous that his true identity would be discovered when he applied to be a police aide at 17, but he had established a work history. After he graduated in 2001, he entered the police aide program and stopped looking over his shoulder.

''Everybody at work, people at school, everyone I met would call me Jose, so eventually that was me,'' he said.

He became an officer in December 2004, about 10 months after his father died. Eventually, he worked in the same district as his brother Alex, a fellow officer born in the United States. And he found it rewarding.

Ayala says he never told anyone about the switch, but on Feb. 20, an anonymous caller informed a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent of Ayala's true identity.

Ayala was arrested May 31.

''I thought I was going to retire and live happily ever after, pay my taxes and all,'' he said.

Ayala was charged with falsely representing himself to be a citizen. Two weeks later, he agreed to a plea deal. He could get a year in a federal prison when he is sentenced Monday, or he could get probation. After he leaves prison, he will be permanently deported.

AP

Someone needs a Denist

From Chicago Clout

Anthony Boswell, 43, a lawyer, comes to the city after serving as a principal with the Denver-based Institute for Corporate Ethics and Governance, which helps companies implement ethics and compliance programs

Assuming City Council approval, Boswell will be appointed to a four-year term at an annual salary of $150,140.


Mayor Daley and the rubber stamp alderman have destroyed the powers of the Inspector General. Anthony Boswell a corporate lackey knows the chain of command well. Feed the information up the ladder and do what you are told. Remember Chicago City Workers, you will now have two departments to fight if you targeted by the Daley Administration. Your chance of getting your job back after a termination will be reduced. I suggest if you are a loafer to get some clout and quick. Read this article by Gary Washburn of the Chicago Tribune.

Continue reading "Mayor "I don't know" Daley hires new Compliance Leader" »

Does he have a clue

Snow advisory issued, weather may slow travel

November 21, 2007

FROM STNG WIRE REPORTS

The city's Department of Streets & Sanitation has deployed 40 trucks late Wednesday in preparation for a Thanksgiving Day snow storm that is expected to slow travelers both on the roadways and in the air.

The city Department of Streets & Sanitation deployed 40 snow-fighting trucks to patrol Chicago’s main roads, bridges, overpasses and other elevated structures late Wednesday, according to a Streets & Sanitation release.

“We wanted to have a small team of trucks on our main routes to keep an eye on conditions, especially those that can develop on elevated portions of roadways that can turn cold more quickly than standard pavement, which is warmed by the earth,” Streets & Sanitation Commissioner Michael J. Picardi said in the release.

Political Hack at it again

From secondcitycop

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry OFF TOPIC
Did anyone watch FoxNews and listen to the interview with MOnique BOnd.....what have we done to deserve such an idiot as spokeperson for the CPD, are we being punish for some transgression
You can say what you want to about "The Orange One" But something have to be done about this woman. This interview was an audio feed, she wasn't in front of the camera, thank GOD!!! She has got to be the original mold for political hacks and the likes. She couldn't answer any questions put to her without making it a bigger mystery. She came off as if the CPD was a poor rendition of the Keystone Kops, then finally when FOXS posted an informational screen to the public to call the CPD special victim units LOGO/ and telephone number in background to anyone with any information, she barked out a telephone number different then what was posted.....somebody help us!!!!!! surely we are not alone.

11/21/2007 10:39:00 AM

Snow for Turkey Day

• Just what holiday travelers didn't want: Snow

• The National Weather Service this afternoon issued a Chicago-area snow advisory, which will go into effect at 5 p.m. Wednesday and last through early Thursday.

Did anyone else notice the lack of snow plows at the salt yards. Usually the snow equipment is ready and able by November 1st

Lets see how the Streets & San Clowns at City Hall handle this potential problem

Supreme Court takes up gun rights case

As seen in the Tribune

Supreme Court takes up gun rights case

by James Oliphant

The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether Washington, D.C.'s strict ban on handguns is constitutional, perhaps setting the stage for an unprecedented public debate on gun rights and adding a volatile issue to the ongoing presidental campaign.

For gun-rights advocates, today is a red-letter day, one they've been waiting for decades.

"I'm on cloud nine," said Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation, minutes after the order from the Supreme Court was handed down Tuesday.

Gottlieb has reason to be optimistic. While the modern court hasn't ruled on the scope of the Second Amendment, its conservative majority may be inclined to make an emphatic statement about gun ownership as an individual right. And, as Gottlieb points out, the worst-case scenario -- a statement from the high court denying that such a right exists -- would galvanize the gun lobby and its supporters into furious political action during an election year.

The District of Columbia bans ownership of handguns, even in the home. The justices (the votes of four of which are necessary to decide to hear a case) will review whether such a ban infringes on residents' constitutional rights. The ruling, which likely will come in June, could have a cascade effect on similar bans across America, including one in the city of Chicago.

A federal appeals court in Washington ruled this spring that the District's ban violated the Second Amendment, forcing the city government to appeal the issue to the Supreme Court.

Posted by Jim Oliphant on November 20, 2007 2:10 PM | Permalink

CHICAGO SLANG

CHICAGO SLANG
1. Grachki (grach'-key): Chicagoese for "garage key" as in, "Yo, Theresa, waja do wit da grachki? Howmy supposta cut da grass if I don't git intada grach?"

2. SANGWICH: Chicagoese for sandwich. When made with sausage, it's a sassage sammich; when made with shredded beef, it's an Italian Beef sammich, a local delicacy consisting of piles of spicy meat in a perilously soggy bun.

3. Da: This article is a key part of Chicago speech, as in "Da Bears" or "Da Mare" -- the latter denoting Richard M. Daley, or Richie, as he's often called.

4. Jewels: Not family heirlooms or a tender body region, but a popular name for one of the region's dominant grocery store chains. "I'm goin' to the Jewels to pick up some sassage."

5. Field's: Marshall Field, a prominent Chicago department store. Also Carson Pirie Scott, another major department store chain, is simply called " Carson 's."

6. Tree: The number between two and four. "We were lucky dat we only got tree inches of snow da udder night."

7. Over by dere: Translates to "over by there," a way of emphasizing a site presumed familiar to the listener. As in, "I got the sassage at the Jewels down on Kedzie, over by dere."

8. Kaminski Park : The mispronounced name of the ballpark where the Chicago White Sox (da Sox) play baseball. Comiskey Park was renamed U.S. Cellular Field (da Cell)

9. Frunchroom: As in, "Get outta da frunchroom wit dose muddy shoes." It's not the "parlor." It's not the "living room." In the land of the bungalow, it's the "frunchroom," a named derived, linguists believe, from "front room."

10. Use: Not the verb, but the plural pronoun 'you!' "Where use goin'?"

11. Downtown: Anywhere near The Lake, south of The Zoo (Lincoln Park Zoo) and north of Soldier Field.

12. The Lake: Lake Michigan (What other lake is there?) It's often used by local weathermen, "cooler by The Lake."

14. Braht: Short for Bratwurst. "Gimme a braht wit kraut."

15. Goes: Past or present tense of the verb "say." For example, "Den he goes, 'I like this place'!"

16. Guys: Used when addressing two or more people, regardless of each individual's gender.

17. Pop: A soft drink. Don't say "soda" in this town. "Do ya wanna canna pop?"

18. Sliders: Nickname for hamburgers from White Castle , a popular Midwestern burger chain. "Dose sliders I had last night gave me da runs."

19. The Taste: The Taste of Chicago Festival, a huge extravaganza in Grant Park featuring samples of Chicagoland cuisine which takes place each year around the Fourth of July holiday.

20. "Jeetyet?": Translates to, "Did you eat yet?"

21. Winter and Construction: Punch line to the joke, "What are the two seasons in Chicago ?"

22. Cuppa Too-Tree: is Chicagoese for "a couple, two, three" which really means "a few." For example, "Hey Mike, dere any beerz left in da cooler over by dere?" "Yeh, a cuppa too-tree."

23. 588-2300: Everyone in Chicago knows this commercial jingle and the carpet company you'll get if you call that number -- Empire!

24. Junk Dror: You will usually find the 'junk drawer' in the kitchen filled to the brim with miscellaneous, but very important, junk.

25. Southern Illinois : Anything south of I-80. This is where Smothers' is from....

26. Expressways: The Interstates in the immediate Chicagoland area are usually known just by their 'name' and not their Interstate number: the Dan Ryan ("da Ryan"), the Stevenson, the Kennedy (da "Kennedy"), the Eisenhower (da "Ike"), and the Edens (just "Edens" but Da Edens" is acceptable).

27. Gym Shoes: The rest of the country may refer to them as sneakers or running shoes but Chicagoans will always call them gym shoes! =====================================================
This is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about Chicago .

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you live in Chicago

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you live in Chicago

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you live in Chicago .

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you live in Chicago

If "Vacation" means going anywhere south of I-80 for the weekend, you live in Chicago .

If you measure distance in hours, you live in Chicago .

If you have switched from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again, you live in Chicago .

If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in Chicago .

If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you live in Chicago

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you live in Chicago

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -- you're going 80 and everybody is passing you, you live in Chicago

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you live in Chicago .

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, you live in Chicago .

If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in Chicago

If you find 10 degrees "a little chilly", you live in Chicago .

If you actually understand these jokes, and forward them to all your Chicago friends & others, you live or have lived in Chicago

Cops drop hammer on towing scam

The scam was brazen and fast, carried out in broad daylight.

A tow-truck driver pulled up to a car parked on the street or in a lot and hauled it away to a "chop shop" or even just to another neighborhood.

Off went tires, rims, batteries, alternators and the catalytic converter, coveted for its platinum. The most valuable parts removed, the driver shuttled what was left to a scrap yard. The car was sold by weight, netting the thieves a few hundred dollars more.

Related links

• Got towed?

After just a few hours, the stolen car had essentially disappeared.

That's how Chicago police on Friday said 13 renegade tow-truck drivers stole cars from around the city. Authorities charged the men with the theft of 35 vehicles but believe the thieves stole thousands of cars, stripping and junking them for millions of dollars in profits.

In a seven-month undercover investigation code-named "Operation Steal Tow," police captured on videotape some of the thefts in progress.

The thieves targeted cars most owners wouldn't even bother to get back. The more the car looked like junk, the easier it was to pass off to a scrap yard, police said.

When one car didn't look bad enough, the tow-truck driver grabbed a large piece of concrete from the street and threw it onto its windshield, unaware a Chicago police officer videotaped the scene from nearby.

The thieves targeted all types of cars and stole them from neighborhoods across the city, from parking lots, street corners and even repair shops, said Harrison Area Sgt. Joseph Petrenko. Sometimes they stripped the car right in the street, not far from where the theft took place. Other times, they drove the stolen cars to chop shops.

"They can back up and lift [a car] and drive off in 15 seconds," said Lt. Dominic Rizzi. "Within a half an hour, you could have that car in a yard, and it could be crushed in an hour or two."

Detectives from the area's robbery, burglary and theft unit worked with investigators from the Cook County state's attorney's office to catch the rogue tow-truck drivers in the act, videotaping about two dozen drivers on numerous occasions as they allegedly swiped and stripped cars, sometimes with crude tools.

In one video, the driver is seen punching a hole in the gas tank of the car, draining gasoline into the street as it is driven to a scrap lot, where full tanks aren't allowed.

One man was videotaped under a car struggling to remove a part. He finally resorted to using a long pole to knock the part loose. Another man could be seen using a hammer and chisel to pry open a trunk before dumping its contents.

When another man's tow truck broke down, he could be seen loading wheels and rims from an allegedly stolen car onto a dolly, then pushing the parts to a shop.

Police estimate the thieves each took as many as five or six cars a day, from a 1993 Lincoln Continental to a 2001 Lexus. One thief allegedly told police he stole 300 cars in one year.

Many of the cars were never reported stolen, their owners believing the vehicles had been impounded by the city. They often didn't try to recover them, figuring the cost of retrieving them exceeded their value.

The drivers worked independently in tow trucks without professional licenses, some claiming to be owners of fictitious towing companies. Many drove trucks with no required identification on the sides of them.

The scrap shops that bought the stripped cars worked with police and were never targets of the investigation, said Interim Police Supt. Dana Starks.

The thieves were aided by a loophole in state law that allows used-car dealers to sell vehicles for scrap without showing a title. The dealer is then supposed to report the sale to the state. But police believe the accused used fake dealer licenses to sell the cars to scrap yards and never reported the sales to the state.

Ronald Kelly, chief investigator for the state's attorney's office, said prosecutors are working with the General Assembly to try to close the loophole. That might mean requiring all cars sold for scrap to have titles with them or requiring the scrap companies as well as the dealers to report the sales to the state.

Rizzi said he wants to start a training session for patrol officers to teach them how to recognize rogue tow-truck drivers. Some tipoffs might be if the driver doesn't have identification on the side of the truck or just temporary stickers. Most authentic tow-truck companies also carry safety equipment such as fire extinguishers, sand buckets and hazard cones.

Police said more charges are likely to come.

"That's just a small sampling," said Rizzi of the 13 charged so far. "We believe there is a problem citywide with these rogue drivers."

----------

arozas@tribune.com

Starve to Death You Goof - From SCC

From second city cop

Starve to Death You Goof

Can't keep a dumb idea down:

• A Mexican migrant-rights advocate deported from the U.S. said she began a hunger strike Friday to push her government to demand its citizens receive better treatment north of the border
• Elvira Arellano, a former illegal migrant who took sanctuary at Chicago's Adalberto United Methodist Church for about a year in defiance of a deportation order, said she would starve herself "because I want our government to listen, to act, to defend our migrant families."
• "Is Mexico prepared to receive all of these deported people and their families?" Arellano said on the opening day of the "First Parliament of Mexican Migrant Leaders Who Live in the U.S."

We certainly hope Mexico is prepared to receive more of its citizens back. Then they can get to work on improving their inadequate social net instead of printing up directions on how to take advantage of ours. Republican candidates are getting a ton of traction on this issue and the Democrats are taking a beating.

Arellano starving herself to death would just be icing on the cake.

From Chicago Clout

Thomas
November 10th - 11:22 a.m.
Patrick McDonough stumbled on tens of millions of taxpayer waste (at least $40,000,000) just by seeing private drivers sleep in their trucks. Gang bangers get good paying jobs who take bribes from outfit trucking companies who do no work.
Maybe ask Patrick McDonough where to find waste.

Frank Coconate found $60,000,000 in waste with the vortex Rain Blocker program with thousands of the devices being thrown out behind the Department of Water Managment (and many times they did not work as they were supposed to)
Falph Fero with Chicago Magazine did an analysis of the top heavy management (with 3 to 10 managers supervising 1 worker sometimes) and very large salaries of family members and politically connected people with no credentials. Even Alderman Bernard Stone did a study and spoke out on the number of over $100,000 city employees.
If Ralph Fero can find $60,000,000 in waste with the rain blockers and see the obvious top heavy and overpaid political commissioners, deputy commissioners and do nothing political workers--what about a study, a efficiency expert with an education, the US Attorneys etc.

Just read the Sun Times and the Tim Novak now regular series on political waste and corruption.

Some ways to cut (from big to small)
1. Why does Alderman Burke need 4 bodyguards and a city car and a driver? He sometimes has more police officers all assigned to him? WHY?--is he going to be assasinated?
ALSO--he is very wealthy why doesn't he hire bodyguards instead of us paying for them.

2. Why did Mayor Daley's mother (and daughtes and son)(and God rest Sis's great soul and a great lady) need a bodyguard???
Again, the Daley's are wealthy let John Daley's insurance company (which insured all the hired trucks) pay for a bodyguard or international investment and finance "guru" Williama Daley.
The taxpayers should not have to pay extra protection for alderman,
unkown and no threats to all family members.
YES, some of these jobs are hard and people in the public light can be attacked or kidnapped BUT nobody knows what Daley's daughters look like. Alderman Burke sometimes has four or more police officers and a driver and city car (and picks up friends and does social things with his city car and driver)

3. Cut the top heavy management, the deputy commissioners. Just ask Daley ally alderman Stone.

4. Cut the HDO drug dealers and thugs, cut the 11th ward ghost payrollers, cut the 19th ward do nothings.
The Operating Engineers salaries are too high.
There are whole sections of people doing nothing or Whirity swiping in and out or Strodin building a house on city time.

5. Chicago has much higher law suits by city workers and much higher workmens compensation claims than anywhere else in Illinois including coal miners.
You have to change the culture.
You have to get good lawyers and not political hacks like Mara Georges who is there to get contracts for Shefsky.

6. Cut Intergovernmental affairs, which even the alderman joke are the notebooks with their spying and writing notes on everyone.

7. Cut Maggie Daley's subsidized art program let her friend Ryan and Aon fund it and not taxpayers--not saying it might not do some good but my mom might have a great idea to help kids and I don't get taxpayer funding.

8. TIFS--just read Ben Joravsky or County Commissioner Mike Quigley.

9. The Inspector General's office under Vrstrouias was a corrupt joke. His salary was a waste. How many stupid investigations wasted money on silly stuff or protecting big corruption and waste.
Vrstourias now works in the States Attorney's office.

10. The Burge legal defense when everyone knows he is guilty and they settled or are going to settle cases that everyone knew would be settled over $20,000,000.

11. The Jeremiah Joyce Airport contracts.

12. The loss in the city revenue from selling land undervalue and buying it back for insane profits from Tom DiPiazza, Tim Degnan, Jerry Joyce, Oscar Dangelo, Michael Marchese.

13. Grants to Churches (Separation of Church and state) and no interest loans over 30 years ffor 5 million. The Reader just did a story on the blaspehemer "Rev" Lucius Hall who corrupted the "Our Father/Lord's Prayer" saying "give us our Daley, Daley, Daley bread" in exchange for corruption of the Black clergy and selling out his own people Rev. Lucius Hall has received 3,500,000 in grants.
City Commissioners used to shake down contractors and employees for Old Saint Patricks Church and government has given them a lot of breaks.

14. Alderman Stone had a good idea to sell the vacant lots the city owns or sell idle city property.

15. Every alderman should have a program to turn vacant lots into productive tax earning land.

16. Cut the stupid city council committees that do nothing and provide ghost payrollers and job spots for political people. One hack they call the hallwalker has no education and makes over $100,000 with no skills or training in his supposed field.

17. Cut the number of alderman from 50 to 25 or 20 or even 10.

18. Implement Term Limits
2 6 year terms for Mayor
3 4 year terms for Alderman
The money and power is calcifying in the wrong places.

19. Consolidate the Treasurer and Clerk into 1 appointed post. Why have elections on what de facto amounts to an appointment by the Mayor.

20. Really eliminate patronage and thus eliminate the need for the millions wasted on the stupid Federal Monitor.

21. Act right so you don't have Sorich/Slattery indictments and federal monitors and stupid Shakman settlements where Michael Shakman will make 4,000,0000 in attorneys fees.

22. The no bid and overbilling legal contracts that Mara Georges gives out to her mentor Brian Crowe at Shefsky or Freeborn Peters or other silly political connected overbilling law firms.

23. Victor Reyes, just his family members on the city payroll, let alone the money he makes from no bid contracts on redisticting (Cost taxpayers 1,300,000) or his sisters company Aztec or pass through bs minority contacts.
Let alone what Victor Reyes has cost in legal bills for investigations and law suits or all the criminal idiots who he put on the payroll (he probably put 1000 employees on the city payroll including his entire fat family)

24. The whole property tax assessment and appeals which is for the politically connected
Speaker Madigan got a 2,000,000 fee for his law firm when he saved a big airline $6,000,000 that could of gone to taxpayers
Hynes, Houlihan and company make a lot of money from the current Byzantine tax system which does not work and favors politics
Both commercial and homeowners are over taxed

25. The Duffs at $50,000,000 of phony minority contracts for cleaning and other services that could of been done better and cheaper

26. Grants to churches and non for profits that are political payback

Eliminate politically connected art programs
Eliminate the Inspector Generals office
Eliminate 20 or 30 alderman
Eliminate City Council committees
Make a 10 or 20% across the board cut

27. The Joyce cousins made a HALF A BILLION 500,000,000 of profit on the Cable buyout which was a joke

28. Daley's wife's friends and Oscar Da'Angelo made money on concessions at O'Hare
as did Tim Degnan with McDonalds

29. The towing scandal

30. The City of Chicago could probably fire at least 2000 political hack do nothing ghost payrollers

We will get to education and pensions later

Hahaha
November 10th - 3:17 p.m.
Great ideas, Thomas. I agree with most except eliminating the IG's office. If Hoffman were allowed to investigate city departments (and add the aldermen) without interference from Daley he would eliminate enough corruption to pay for his department tenfold.

Pensions will be tough to tackle, especially with the new labor agreements. Daley 10-year, 4% raise per year contract with unions, minus meaningful benefit concessions, will handcuff the city. All in the name of the Great White Olympic Whale

NBA OR NFL?

NBA OR NFL?

36 have been accused of spousal abuse

7 Have been arrested for fraud

19 have been accused of writing bad checks

117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses

3 have d one time for assault

71, repeat71 cannot
get a credit card due to bad credit

14 have been arrested on drug-related charges

8 have been arrested for shoplifting

21 cu rrentlyare defendants in lawsuits, and

84 have been arrested for drunk driving
inthe last year

Can
you guess which organization this is?

Give
up yet? . . . Scroll down,







Neither,
it's the 535 members of the United
States Congress.

The
same group of Idiots that crank out hundreds of new laws each year
designed to keep the rest of us in line.

You
gotta pass this one on!

AND THEY JUST VOTED THEMSELVES $15,000 PER MONTH PENSION FOR LIFE AFTER SERVING ONLY ONE TERM IN CONGRESS!!
###########################################

Security at its finest, the Chicago way

Workers arrested at O'Hare in alleged fake ID scheme

Tribune staff report

More than 20 workers were arrested today at O'Hare International Airport after authorities said employees at a suburban staffing agency used fraudulent security badges to gain access to unauthorized areas of the airport.

Many of the workers arrested were illegal immigrants, authorities said.

The eight-month investigation led to the execution of a search warrant today at Ideal Staffing Solutions, 170 N. Pine Lane in Bensenville, and the arrests of two managers there: Mary Gurin, 36, of Carpentersville, and Norinye Benitez, 24, of Franklin Park, according to a statement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Each was charged with one count of harboring illegal aliens for financial gain and one count of misuse of Social Security numbers for allegedly assisting the workers in obtaining unauthorized access to secure areas of the airport, including the tarmac, the statement said.

Working with the Cook County sheriff's office, federal officials arrested more than 20 of the staffing agency's workers at a warehouse close to O'Hare, the statement said. Those workers, whose names were not released, are facing felony charges of possession of fraudulent identification in the form of airport security badges and those suspects identified as illegal immigrants will face deportation, federal officials said.

"If we are to ensure public safety, we must know who has access to the secure areas of airports," U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald said in the statement. "A fundamental component of airport safety is preventing the use of false identification badges, and punishing those who commit or enable such violations."

Gurin, a corporate secretary at Ideal Staffing, hired Benitez and signed her airport badge application, despite knowing that she was an illegal immigrant from Mexico, authorities allege.

According to criminal complaints unsealed today, Ideal Staffing managers told workers they needed identification to work at O'Hare, but that the documents did not need to be legitimate. Federal authorities allege more than 100 temporary workers employed by the agency were in possession of fraudulently obtained airport security badges, which allowed the workers to gain access to secure areas of the airport while loading pallets, freight and meals for companies doing business at O'Hare.

Today's raid echoed a 2002 federal crackdown at O'Hare in which 25 workers were arrested, including Elvira Arellano, who went on to become a well-known activist, and took refuge in a church for more than a year before she was deported.

Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

National Ammo Day 2007

National Ammo Day 2007

It’s almost here!

On November 17 we will open a survey where you may report your participation results.

Get the word out and don’t hestitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Thank you for your participation in National Ammo Day 2007.

A brief explanation - What is National Ammo Day?

November 19 is National Ammo Day.

It is a nationwide BUYcott of ammunition. You buy ammunition. 100 Rounds a person.

The goals of Ammo Day:

The goal of National Ammo Day is to empty the ammunition from the shelves of your local gun store, sporting goods, or hardware store and put that ammunition in the hands of law-abiding citizens. Make your support of the Second Amendment known--by voting with your dollars!

There are an estimated 75 MILLION gun owners in the United States of America. If each gun owner or Second Amendment supporter buys 100 rounds of ammunition, that’s 7.5 BILLION rounds in the hands of law-abiding citizens!

The gun/ammunition manufacturers have been taking the brunt of all the frivolous lawsuits, trying to put these folks out of business. Well, not if we can help it! And we CAN help it by buying ammunition on November 19!

CTA Tattler

Seen and heard on the Chicago Transit Authority

From second city cop

Crap Reporting - Again

The headline reads "Wrongly Accused"

The subtitle says "Think Illegals are More Likely to be Involved in Crime? Think Again"

The opening paragraphs:

• Some say undocumented immigrants -- illegal aliens, as they're often called -- spread crime when they come to the U.S. Others say that is a myth.

  Reliable statistics on crime by undocumented immigrants are hard to come by. But the Chicago Sun-Times has learned that less than 4 percent of the adults in Illinois prisons have been identified as illegal immigrants. And as of mid-July, less than 3 percent of the inmates in Cook County Jail were illegals.

  Those incarceration figures nearly mirror the undocumented immigrant population.

Damn. We guess we've been wrong about illegals committing crime. We better open up the borders first thing tomorrow, disband the border patrol, and strew the paths into this country with rose petals to welcome in our new law abiding neighbors.

Then we read the rest of the article:

• Those numbers are, as of now, the best snapshot available.

  But they could be incomplete.

  That's because the figures are based on "detainer warrants" -- and not every illegal immigrant in jail or prison has one. What's more, immigrants tend to under-report crime in their communities out of fear of the police, Weitzer said.

  The Cook County Jail figures also could be misleading, since not everyone in custody can be considered a criminal -- some have been charged with crimes but not convicted.

So the writer is admitting that his entire premise for writing the article could be bullshit? Why have that title and subtitle up top then hinting at how wrong all of the conservative racist xenophobes have been in demanding a secure border before we allow legal and documented immigrants to enter the country?

One would think the media had an agenda.

16% of Chicago Aldermen Can’t Read a Calendar or Use a Computer

An analysis by the BGA found that eight Chicago aldermen have failed to comply with Illinois law by filing their campaign statements late, not at all, or on paper. Illinois has virtually no rules on campaign finance except requiring disclosure of campaign contributions. Apparently, for some aldermen even Illinois' minimal requirements were too much to comply with in a timely fashion.

• Read the news release
• See Alderman Reilly's campaign report, which despite regulations, was filed on paper (PDF - 4.15 MB)
• Printer-friendly PDF version of BGA news release

Alderman Track

A nice little web site

http://aldertrack.typepad.com/aldertrack2/


Be sure to click on your neighborhood in right tab to see whats going on

Security Guards Busted

From ChicagoClout

Chicago Department of Water Management Honor-Guard Busted

For quite some time, the Department of Water Management has used a lousy choice for Security Guards to protect the Drinking water of Chicagoland. Chicago choose a company that is not even located in Chicago. I know the Chicago Inspector General was aware of this company because I reported them as just another form of "Hired Trucks". If you read the contract they promise some top guards, but the workers on site were never on certain posts. The "officers" guarding the entrance of the 3901 S. Ashland post was never in the post because, "there is no heat".
The two ladies would chat in the front entryway all night. The guard in the back would watch t.v. all night and had nothing to do except guard a pile of dirt at the transfer station. These guards are paid about $10.00 - $10.50 per hour and they do not receive any health and welfare benefits. In the contract with the city Honor-Guard promised benefits and health employees with a military background. They also subcontracted to two "Minority" subcontractors to have a minority presence. The guard at 39th and Iron, in the middle of the street was doing nothing for months and nobody in management noticed? I say fire more of the management. Excellent job Sun-times and star journalist Fran Spielman. According to the story, Jan Pestka actually did a good job? Also the guards never received paid training according to two of the guards. Read story below. Photo by Patrick McDonough

Corruption

If you are interested in contracts for the city of Chicago you can go to the city's web site and look up the contracts and payouts. Click on the link below and select either agency. Select payments and then type in the service you would like to explore ( security)

Remember some of the companies who do business with the city also use sub contractors who are listed on a disclosure given to the city. Take a close look who the behind scene subcontractors are.

http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/vcsearch/home.do

AARGUS SECURITY SYSTEMS, INC. ABLOY SECURITY $95,500.00 ALL AROUND SECURITY & DET. INC $737,577.47 ALL PHASE VIDEO SECURITY INC $1,552.00 S024779 AMERICAN SECURITY TRAINING INS $239,080.17 C015217 AMERICAN SECURITY TRNG INST. C015557 $50,200.11 $50,134.00 $58,822.00 $101,346.00 $81,764.80 $108,605.40 C017365 C018976 D6952930007 D7952930005 D8952930086 ANDY FRAIN SECURITY SERVICE $4,434,007.53 T4990460401 AVIATION SECURITY CLEARINGHSE $1,473,875.00 4500 CHICAGO'S FINEST SECURITY INC T25255 $17,105,417.98 DIGBY'S DETECTIVE & SECURITY AGT INC E010759 $7,978.00 E011232 $8,750.00 E011255 $9,945.00 T24839 $562,998.87 T25085 $355,119.05 T26078 $21,109,033.54 T28035 $8,553.13 n

More Corruption?

From Chicago Clout

Well Written Chicago Sun-Times, Hired Trucks and Chicago Corruption

When are we going to start reviewing the contracts for Unarmed Security Guards? Or the portable dumpsters, or the lease contracts? So much corruption, clout, and crime in Chicago, Mayor Daley. I give Daley and his hoodlums credit, they protect their master. Make sure you click below as Fran Spielman and Tim Novak continue to scratch the surface of Daley's corrupt empire. I have a feeling more missing taxpayer's loot will show up soon. Patrick McDonough.

Red Light Camera info

Here is a data base of redlight cameras

http://www.photoenforced.com/

Speed Trap Exchange

Here is a site which lists all the known speed traps around the county.


Speed Trap Exchange.

Mayor proposes record property tax increase

October 10, 2007

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter

Mayor Daley today asked the City Council to raise property taxes by a record $108 million to finance library maintenance and construction, but only if the Illinois General Assembly extends the 7 percent cap on property assessments.

If the state doesn’t act, Daley told aldermen, the City Council will have to find other ways to balance a 2008 city budget amid rising personnel costs and declining revenues tied to the housing slump.

To appease aldermen, Daley dropped plans to double the city’s gasoline tax, from a nickel a gallon to a dime, and also nixed plans to double the city’s tax on restaurant meals, from .25 percent to .50 percent.

But other taxes would see increases, raising the overall burden on city taxpayers.

“We have a choice: Do we maintain city services and make the investments needed to keep Chicago moving forward, or do we cut services, make substantial layoffs and and risk falling behind?” Daley said. “I believe we have only one choice

Cops to kill elite SOS unit

October 9, 2007

BY FRANK MAIN AND ANNIE SWEENEY Staff Reporters

The Chicago Police Department will disband its Special Operations Section, which is at the center of a corruption case involving seven officers facing criminal charges, a source said today.

The change could come as early as this afternoon, the source said. The unit — whose officers have citywide jurisdiction to target narcotics and gun crimes — includes the Hostage-Barricade-Terrorist Incident team.

One SOS member, Officer Jerome Finnigan, is accused of being the ringleader of a group of rogue SOS cops who allegedly conducted home invasions, kidnappings and robberies since 2002. The seven officers were arrested last year and face state corruption charges.

» Click to enlarge image

Police Officer Jerome Finnigan is accused of being the ringleader of a group of rogue SOS cops.
(AP file)

RELATED STORIES

• Bond cut for cop who aided probe

One SOS supervisor welcomed the move.

“Change us, disband us, do something,” said the supervisor, who refused to be quoted by name. “It’s getting harder and harder for guys to do good police work.”

“I’ve been in the unit for a long time,” the supervisor said. “There are still a lot of good people there. I’m tired of saying that’s where I work.”

The supervisor acknowledged Finnigan and his co-defendants have tarnished the once-elite unit.

“These are only a few bad apples [but] they’re very bad apples,” the supervisor said.

Finnigan, 44, was charged in federal court last month with trying to hire someone to kill a former cop cooperating with the government as a witness against him in the state corruption case.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday that Finnigan is No. 3 in the department in the number of complaints of misconduct — 52 — filed against him between 2001 and 2005.

He’s on a list of 662 officers with 10 or more complaints over that period. The city has been trying to keep the list secret, citing concerns about privacy and other issues.

Boston University professor Tom Nolan told the Sun-Times the department should consider disbanding SOS to send a message to the public that such conduct is not tolerated.

Interim Police Supt. Dana Starks has been holding weekly meetings with top staff to study potential problems posed by officers with repeated complaints.