By: Matt Rosenberg
Six-term former Chicago alderman Ricardo Munoz (22nd) last week was sentenced to 13 months in prison. He funneled money into his own bank account from the political action committee of the, er, Chicago Progressive Reform Caucus. Munoz used the stolen funds of his political collective to pay for personal perks – pro sports tickets, hotels, boudoir items, jewelry, women’s apparel, three iPhones, aerial sightseeing, skydiving, and $16,000 in college tuition for an unnamed beneficiary. Prosecutors said Munoz lied to the state elections board about it all.
The Munoz case is a timely reminder to take stock of the character of Chicago’s elected officials, and of our city’s current plight. Chicago is gripped by deadly violence, failing public schools, staggering public employee pension debt, and rising taxes. Yet at every stage of this great city’s modern-day devolution, too many aldermen and city workers have turned out to be crooks.
By September of 2021, 36 current or former Chicago alderpersons had been convicted on corruption charges since 1973. Now it’s 37, with several more charged and awaiting trial. City, suburban, and county officials have always followed suit. From 1976 through 2018 there were 1,750 corruption convictions in the Greater Chicagoland division of our nation’s federal courts, known as the Northern Illinois District. That was well ahead of all other major metro regions.
Chicago is ground zero for regional and state political corruption. The fish rots from the head down. The City of Chicago needs term limits for the city council; and an end to low-turnout, odd-year elections. We also need to take a hard look at longstanding corruption in public contracting.
The common rebuttal to term limits is that we already have them: they’re called elections. It’s an appealing argument. But officeholder longevity beyond all bounds of reason is still common. It breeds corruption and helps to justify term limits. Consider recent Chicago imbroglios and the city council tenure of those involved.
- Munoz – who dreamed aloud about running for mayor just a few short years before his federal indictment and subsequent conviction – was on the council 26 years.
- Alderman Ed Burke (14th) now faces a 19-count federal indictment for racketeering and bribery. He landed on the council 53 years back, in 1969.
- Alderman Carrie Austin (34th) also faces trial on federal charges of bribery and her Chief of Staff for bribery and theft of government funds. Austin joined the council almost 28 years ago in 1994.
- Now an ex-Chicago Alderman, Patrick Daley Thompson (11th) was convicted in February on seven counts of lying to bank regulators and falsifying tax returns. Daley Thompson joined the council in 2015 but came from a ward and family steeped in insider privilege. He’s the grandson of Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley and nephew of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.
The case for term limits is also evident in our state’s capitol. Ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan of Chicago was this month charged with 22 counts of racketeering and bribery in a 106-page federal indictment. Madigan had many terms in office to learn the ropes. He was in the state House for more than 50 years and was Speaker for 36 years.
Madigan is alleged to have run a vast criminal enterprise with four previously-charged cohorts, where the hiring of his city and state political allies, and the intent to award business to Madigan’s property tax appeals law firm, allegedly resulted in favorable policy decisions for supplicants. Including a major electric utility which according to a watchdog group, profited handsomely with Madigan’s assistance, at ratepayer expense.
Eighty percent of Illinois voters favored legislative term limits in a 2016 survey by the Paul Simon Institute at Southern Illinois University. But the State Supreme Court has twice blocked attempts to force a statewide vote on legislative term limits, in 1994 and 2014. You may hate term limits on principled grounds. Illinois and Chicago elites have other reasons. They want power, unconstrained. Both for its own heady sake and for what comes with it.
As a candidate Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot pledged she’d push for a two-term limit for the mayor and city council members. Once she was elected that didn’t happen.
As the 2019 mayoral race shaped up in Fall 2018 former Illinois Governor and long-time political reformer Pat Quinn spearheaded a successful petition signature drive to get a mayoral term limits measure on Chicago’s ballot for voters to decide.
That wouldn’t do. Council allies of then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel crowded the ballot with three advisory measures, which due to an arcane rule limiting ballot measures to that number, blocked mayoral term limits from voter consideration.
Citizen ballot measures are probably still the likeliest pathway to term limits for Chicago’s mayor and city council. Nine of the nation’s ten biggest cities have term limits for the mayor or council or in most cases, both. Of those top cities Chicago is the outlier with no term limits at all.
But Chicago’s rules are rigged in other ways. The city needs to reschedule its mayoral and city council elections from odd-numbered years, when turnout often hovers around 33 percent, to Presidential elections when local turnout is greater than 70 percent. The off-cycle voter turnout problem is even worse in Cook County suburbs and other local jurisdictions statewide, as Wirepoints reported in January.
Along with nutty ward boundaries – and please, let’s not even go there, today – off-cycle elections are a big part of Chicago’s insider-protection racket. They favor public employee unions whose members will make sure to vote no matter what. State law currently mandates Chicago’s election dates. State law can be changed.
There’s at least one more elephant in the room: corruption stemming from the awarding of government contracts in Chicago.
City officials have for years steered public contracts to preferred insiders in return for kickbacks. Most of the forty-eight defendants convicted in Chicago City Hall’s “Hired Truck” scandal were city workers. Chicago aldermen for decades have been nailed in O’Hare Airport contracting kickback scams. The repellent case of convicted Chicago Schools Chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett – who made contracting kickbacks Job One – should have immediately prompted sweeping reforms. It didn’t.
Chicago’s first contracting corruption trial was in 1869! Fourteen city and county officials were tried for bid-rigging on a contract to paint City Hall. Four got convicted. Opportunities for contract steering by corrupt officials have remained rife for a century-and-a-half in Chicago. How – seriously – does this happen? Can we not at least agree that it’s time to explore new ways of doing the public’s business?
The ethics landscape in Chicago is a raging dumpster fire. Only a fraction of actual public corruption meets the eye. Former Chicago alderman and University of Illinois-Chicago political science professor Dick Simpson says, “We have a kind of rule of thumb about bureaucratic crime, that if one person is convicted there were probably ten people involved in either that particular pattern or that general pattern, that were not caught.”
Chicago’s public sector is an ethical bog in a province of greed. It remains an insiders club ruled by self-interested elites. As the city approaches a death spiral, the cost of inaction on pressing ethics reforms is greater than ever.
Matt Rosenberg is senior editor of Wirepoints, and author of What Next, Chicago? Notes of a Pissed-Off Native Son,” from which parts of this column are adapted. He has worked in journalism, public policy, and communications for more than three decades.
Read more from Wirepoints:
- Don’t downplay Chicago’s crime this year. It’s up 34 percent.
- Here’s what real voter suppression looks like in Illinois
- Jussie Smollett’s legacy: Race-hustling must no longer hinder smart policy
- Spiraling Violence in Chicago: Causes and Solutions
- Five reasons why Gov. Pritzker’s gas tax “relief” isn’t relief at all
- Another pension sweetener? State lawmaker proposes a week of paid mental health leave for teachers
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
It is a waste of time to try to change a system which cannot be changed. Alternative: outbid the more destructive bad actors for the whores’ services. “Munoz used the stolen funds of his political collective to pay for personal perks – pro sports tickets, hotels, boudoir items, jewelry, women’s apparel, three iPhones, aerial sightseeing, skydiving, and $16,000 in college tuition for an unnamed beneficiary.” Looks like it cost under $100,000 to purchase this whore’s services. Communities lose far more than 6 figures in property devaluation, excessive taxation, and economies ruined by anti-competitive practices. Therefore, home owners and non-corrupt business… Read more »
Well, yes, when you put it that way, it’s a no brainer, Matt! But, we are totally controlled by this mob. They’ll never vote to end their gravy train, and you see what happens when citizens try to circumvent them. Talk about voter suppression. It’s a battle, and when so much money is at stake, there are no Democrats, or Republicans. It’s “Them”, hanging on with all of their might. Who wrote that last constitution? Right.
Term limits are definitely overdue, but there is also the problem of benign acceptance by the public of the corruption. When I was a reporter for the Daily Calumet in the mid-1970s, Edward R. Vrydolyak was the alderman of the 10th Ward. At that time, Pam Zekman, who was writing for the Chicago Tribune, set out on a quest to report on Vrdolyak’s myriad examples of corruption. Some of our reporters would talk to residents of the 10th Ward about her allegations, and many of them would dismiss the reports as just another example of Chicago politics. Some would go… Read more »
““if he is a crook, at least he is our crook.””
Yes, because he probably got him a job in Streets & Sans. Its like that.
So it was and still is in many wards. I’d like to say that kind of insularity and tolerance of corruption are finally wearing thin. That maybe the Madigan case’s vast reach has finally moved the needle for way more than the usual good-government suspects. But hell: not gonna bet on that. Love that you reported from there in the 70s. The 10th was rife with everything Chicago.
Excellent commentary. If Matt makes it seem like Chicago city government is akin to a continuing criminal enterprise (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuing_Criminal_Enterprise_Statute), well, that’s because it is. It will change only when there are enough Chicagoans like Matts, not merely sharing his anger but willing to rise up and do something about it. Let’s hope.
For the good of the order, some great new candidates need to run for Chicago City Council. We won’t ever be endorsing any here. But we’ll sure be articulating what we see as the right policies. And reporting the policy positions of candidates.
The corruption tax in Illinois has lead to corrosive policies that are to vast to list here. I’m going to give the Illinois voters one more chance to get it right this cycle. That must include the GOP winning the two Supreme Court seats in the 2nd snd 3rd Districts and making major incursions in the general assembly. Anything after that would be gravy. If we don’t make those inroads this year, we never will, and then I will permanently give up on my home state!
Can’t outvote the “vote for blue no matter who” crowd in Chicago
Great work Matt. I keep hoping things will somehow get better but the city, county and state reaction to the pandemic over the last 2 years has just made things so much worse especially compared to other relatively sane parts of the country. I don’t blame people who give up and leave and I give you a lot of credit for returning and trying to help.
Thanks David. It’s good to be back. Could the city be at some kind of inflection point on corruption, crime, education, and finance? Even if crime eases down a bit this year – which I’m not exactly betting on but do hope for – there’s still a ton of work to do.
Excellent article. Term limits? Yes that’s start. Campaign contribution reform also is must. No mega millionaires backing their agenda. I have lived in another state. When asked where I am from? I answered Chicago. The next question was the Windy City? Yes was my answer. The next question was is it really that windy? At that point I just chuckled. No it’s not that windy. The name comes from our politicians being full of hot air. I am sixty ( cough cough) some years old and this has been the lay of the land. At this point to hear the… Read more »
#1-2 most corrupt politicians in the country; #1-2 in overall tax burden; #51 (behind Puerto Rico in fiscal condition)….owned by public unions…not in their interest to serve ordinary taxpayers…need to change their calculus, as they will never change on their own. May have to let it collapse, so at least their kids will not benefit from the gravy train, and start over.
It was time to fix it when they had the first Mayor Daley. I remember him well. Not only did they not fix it they elected his son. It seems hopeless.
Still sharing concerns in the same liberal arena, anyone wonder why Anthony Fauci was absent from media for a month or more? Do you think he had Covid? Democrats wouldn’t want us to know, it doesn’t fit their agenda.
Electing Republicans would certainly be better ,but history has shown that they are just a little bit less corrupt. We need some conservatism for certain, but along with that, we need some serious checks on power. We need to chase out these bums who’ve been lying to us and ripping us off all these years. Term limits for a start. public financing of campaigns. no PACS no elected officials can lobby for ten years after leaving office. taxes must be paid on junkets, gifts, “fact finding missions” paid for by lobbying firms. The city and state Finances must be audited… Read more »
Republicans won’t save us. Individual people on the local and state level will. But there’s not enough good people left in IL to affect change.
Correct. Rational residents consider the Illinois situation and conclude only one option makes sense, and it’s not to stay and fight. Maybe 10 years ago fighting was a viable option, but that ship has sailed.
Corruption in Illinois, Cook County and Chicago is so deeply rooted that residents know it will never change. The names change but the practices continue. It starts with having to promise a committeeman directed vote for a service like having a tree trimmed. Job? You better be a friend of the local office/party. It’s just the way it is and always will continue.
Nothing has been done since 1869. You think change starts now? Chicago, the city of low voter turn out. It’s all by design. When has the last time Mayor and Alderman did something good for the city and not their own self interest? When voting, follow my simple system of choosing; assume anyone running is corrupt to start and will only get worse. If the Ethics Committee endorses a candidate vote for the other guy. Term limits only gives less time to make the same amount of $ with unlimited terms. After 2 terms they just move into one of… Read more »
Matt Rosenberg writes the truth in pretty much everything. I highly recommend his book “What Next, Chicago?: Notes of a Pissed-Off Native Son“. Yes, Rep Munoz was corrupt and got caught. So did Mike Madigan and Jessie Jackson Jr. But, I don’t see a lot of practical ways out of this as we don’t have a competitive 2 party system or better yet a multi party, parliamentary system like is the case in most European countries. Term limits is not going to solve everything. Plus when we actually get a leader that is honest or just effective like Mayor Daley,… Read more »
I could fill a book on Burke’s Law Firm Schemes. He’s the only one I know that represented Injured workers’ WORKMAN’s COMPENSATION CASES WHILE HE WAS THE HEAD OF THE CITY FINANCE COMMITTEE. Very few if any ever lost their case with the City. Everyone knew that to use Burkes’s law firm was a winner. He also made a move in the CITY COUNCIL to reinstate selling spray paint in the city. Guess whose law firm represented the Paint and Hardware association. Imagine every Lowes, Home Depot, and Hardware store restocking Spray paint. It was a multiple million-dollar move on… Read more »
I think the people of Chicago and Illinois are numb to the corruption and they are resigned to just accept it. However, this is not the way we should be thinking about this issue. This is an excellent article that highlights corruption and the damage that it does to everyone. I read something a few years ago that public corruption costs a family of four about $2200 in higher taxes because of corruption by elected officials. Excellent job Matt!
Matt hits us between the eyes with brutal honesty of corruption we accept again an again. Time to really vote them all out and change the cosrse.
I fear that until “The Voter” wakes up and changes their party affiliation, Chicago will just continue to sour until it’s fully spoiled. Current status, as described by sycophants is essentially “yeah, but the Miracle Mile! Michigan Avenue! Fun neighborhoods like Bucktown!” All true, I guess. Just don’t ask about how to get to these places, each a whole lot worse than in the glory days anyway. And I’m no stooge for the GOP. Illinois’ republicans are as impotent as California’s. They’re just happy to collect a check to be in “politics.” No, Illinois needs bravery from the Right (see… Read more »
Dan, a dirty chai and then another; that’s my morning energy pill! I think part of the waking up you rightly prescribe is getting more people to actually vote. My colleagues at Wirepoints did some great research just this past January, which I linked to in the article. It shows that Chicago is not alone in seeing miserable registered voter turnout during odd-year (“off-cycle”) elections. About one-third in Chicago, and well under one-fifth in a number of suburban Cook County jurisdictions and others around the state. Kudos to the office of Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas for doing some of… Read more »
One self-defense available to non-political-class Illinois residents is civil litigation. This requires individuals to document evidence of hyper-local government corruption, no matter how trivial that malfeasance may appear. Then, parties whose taxes are adversely affected by corruption may file tax objection lawsuits or qui tam suits on behalf of the aggrieved party if that party is The State. Alternatively, citizens of Illinois might offer competitive bids to corrupt politicians: simple financial analysis illustrates that the bribe amounts offered by improperly chosen recipients of government contracts are eclipsed by financial devastation of the taxpayer community (in the form of outlier high… Read more »
This piece is typical of Tribune “coverage”. It describes events that happened 10 years ago and more as if that is news. But before Madigan’s pending indictment became public knowledge, details (or any other useful information) of how he operated were rarely if ever reported by the Tribune, though the Trib’s Springfield staff was very close to Madigan for decades. Instead the Trib told its readers how lucky they were to have a smart guy like Madigan running their state. If you want to know what kind of chicanery is going on in Springfield now, stay tuned and the Trib… Read more »
And the Tribune continues to decline … sad demise for a once-great newspaper.
Yeah, start with term limits, although if the city continues the ‘death spiral’ as you call it, some of these aldermen will be voted out anyway. If it gets bad enough, Fido the Dog may win. Kinda like Jimmy Carter winning in 1976 after Watergate. So, I’d prefer the city not get to Detroit-low. Find some tangible malfeasance that prosecutors can hang their legal hats on–RICO is a good start. And then, even before their trials, recall their a**es out of there–Lightfoot, Foxx, Preckwinkle, Evans…for starters.
The greatest example of game rigging ever, and it’s perpetrated by those that claim to be acting in the best interests of the public. It has been going on for such a long time that it is simply accepted as the “Chicago way”, as if it is something to be proud of. It is so tiresome that instead of fighting it, people either block it out or simply move away. It is so ingrained in the culture that ordinary residents don’t know how, or where, to start an organized movement to change it. Great article Matt, and I wish it… Read more »
Thanks. I agree that systemic corruption is a rotten thing to blithely tolerate as we do here. And it’s a rotten core competency for a city, a county, and a state to have. The “Madigan Electric” chapter at the Electric Bureau of Chicago’s Department of Streets and Sanitation spoke volumes. More here.
Hundred per cent right. Ask anyone about the recent convictions of Cullerton, Daley Thompson, Munoz, etc. people just shrug their shoulders, have no sense of interest or outrage, and have become immune to the corruption. Most even have a relative working for the city, county, or state, maybe got the jobs through political connections, and don’t want to upset the apple cart. Sorry, Matt, until you can build up outrage among the regular voting public, it’s not going to change. We’ve gotten out of Illinois to a state with a whole different approach of government serving its residents, not its… Read more »
Wally, I agree that the collective response to Chicago and Illinois corruption has been an amused smirk and a wisecrack followed by a shrug. We absolutely don’t endorse candidates or ballot measures here. Policy is our thing. And as a drive-by political anthropologist, I say that the outrage to gin up change on corruption has to first come from candidates who make it an issue. If the Democratic Socialists of America can run on a tailored platform and win seats in Chicago’s non-partisan city council elections, why could not candidates affiliated with (and I’m making this up) a Chicago Reform… Read more »