A comment on a previous diary of mine asked how Del Valle, whom I claimed to be a reformer, got to be city clerk. Wasn't that an office that the machine usually controlled? Yes it is. And the story is worth recounting.
In Chicago, the two effective "parties" are Machine and Reform. Republicans don't count. The machine is sometimes called "regulars" or simply "regs"; reformers are sometimes called, confusingly, "independents" or, derisively, "goo-goos." (The last comes from "good government"; only in Chicago is a belief in good government considered laughable.)
The previous city clerk was Laski. He got caught in the "Hired Truck" scandal, and ultimately went to prison. There was so much being revealed about machine corruption that Daley -- who had the appointment power over an interim city clerk with the consent of city council -- couldn't afford to appoint another hack. He needed somebody who was not only honest, but was well known to be honest. He gritted his teeth and appointed Del Valle. A reformer might make him grit his teeth, but it was better than hearing more about the scandal.
Three footnotes after the jump.
- "Republicans don't count."
Vrdolyak ran for mayor on a 3rd party in 1987, and he got more than 40% of the vote; he ran for mayor as a Republican in 1989, and he got something like 4%. There were all sort of other factors, but that says something about the strength of the Republican party in Chicago.
- "Hired Truck" was the name attached to a Chicago scandal like "Watergate" was attached to a national scandal. By the time it played itself out, it involved much more.
But the original scam was pretty. The city owns hundreds of trucks, but they could hire (rent or lease) more for special needs. Since the owner would expect compensation, not only for the gas and wear of being driven all day, but also for the capital costs for when nobody hires the tuck, the competitive price is fairly high. The city was paying a generous price even so. And, for owners with the right sort of connections, they would hire the truck every day and not drive it. That saved wear, tear, gas, tires, and other expenses.
Until a local paper blew the whistle.
- The city clerk's office has added various functions, but the center of its business is keeping records of what goes on in City Council. Del Valle has brought this operation into the 21st century. None of his innovations would startle someone from a normal city, but -- in Chicago -- the aldermen sometimes don't know what they are going to vote on.