Aug 25, 2008 7:54 am US/Central
Indicted Niles Mayor Retiring After 47 Years
NILES, Ill. (Sun-Times Media Wire) ―
Niles Mayor Nicholas B. Blase, who took office when John F. Kennedy was president, is retiring Monday.
Blase, 80, faces trial next month in federal court. He is accused of squeezing business owners to buy insurance from a firm that fed him more than $420,000 in kickbacks.
A letter posted on Niles' website by the great-grandfather says that after "47 years of Mayoring, I am tired. I am retiring early so a Mayor candidate can start campaigning now without the question 'is Mayor Blase going to run?' ''
He did not return calls about whether his move might signal an effort to negotiate a plea bargain. His wife, Faye, said: "He wants to spend more time with the family."
Blase delivered the vote in his role as Democratic committeeman of northwest suburban Maine Township.
He has been a colorful advocate for constituents. For example, when he was angry about the state's slow work on a bridge at Milwaukee and Dempster, he erected a prominent sign that said: "They tell me the bridge on Dempster will be open 9/20/91. Wanna bet?"
He put up signs attacking AT&T for installing an "ugly" cell phone tower at a busy intersection, where, he said, the tower could be toppled in an accident.
Residents praised him for a strong tax base, for fighting noise and expansion at O'Hare Airport, and for lobbying for fair prices for Chicago water. "He singlehandedly is responsible for the growth and fiscal well-being'' of Niles, said Laura Murphy, Maine Township's Democratic committeeman.
--Sun-Times
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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