Jul 7, 2006 1:01 pm US/Central
Public Weighs In On City Hall Convictions
Former Patronage Chief, Three Others Were Convicted Thursday
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Robert Sorich leaves the courthouse Thursday.
CBS
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Radio host Cliff Kelley says the convictions set a bad precedent.
CBS
The four guilty verdicts that came down in the City Hall corruption trial were a hot topic in morning radio Friday.
Listeners at WLS-AM and WVON-AM radio sounded off on the verdicts. Some said it will not change how City Hall works, while others were pleased with the outcome of the trial.
But WVON radio host and former Chicago alderman Cliff Kelley is worried the verdicts set a bad precedent.
"What is wrong with someone saying, 'I know someone who's a fantastic person, and we are just recommending him for a job?'" Kelley said. "That could be looked on as you being involved in a criminal activity."
Jurors deliberated for three and a half days before convicting Robert Sorich, Daley's 43-year-old former patronage chief, of two counts of mail fraud on Thursday. Jurors acquitted him of two additional mail fraud counts.
The verdict represented a fresh victory for federal prosecutors in a two-year investigation of corruption at Chicago's City Hall that has thus far brought charges against 44 individuals and 41 convictions. One defendant died after being charged and two others are awaiting trial.
Investigators say they're not finished yet.
"We are continuing to investigate. Things are not over," FBI Chicago Agent-In-Charge Bob Grant said.
Daley, who is expected to run for re-election next year, has been accused of no wrongdoing in the case.
The mayor spoke for less than two minutes about the jury's decision and took no questions. When asked him how this would affect his bid for re-election, he did not respond.
"While I accept the jury's decision, I am saddened by the verdict for these men and their families, because I've never known them to be anything but hardworking and I feel for them at this difficult time," Daley said Thursday evening. He added that the city has taken steps to prevent abuses of the hiring process.
Sorich's former aide in the mayor's office of intergovernmental affairs, Timothy McCarthy, 35, was convicted of two counts of mail fraud. Patrick Slattery, 42, a former official of the department of streets and sanitation, was convicted of one mail fraud count.
Another former official, John Sullivan, 38, was convicted of one count of lying to an FBI agent and acquitted of another count of lying.
Sentencing is scheduled for August. The defendants plan to appeal.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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