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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Alan Smithee who wrote (39433)	8/26/2005 11:34:23 PM
From: paret	Respond to of 90947

Daley Questioned By U.S. Attorney's Office Aug 26, 2005 10:00 pm US/Central Mayor Says He Is Not A Target Of The Investigation cbs2chicago.com Mike Flannery Reporting (CBS) CHICAGO With corruption swirling around City Hall, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley was questioned Friday by the U.S. Attorney's office in a two-hour session about the scandals in his office. CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports that local historians say Daley may be the first Chicago mayor ever to face this kind of questioning here at City Hall. Certainly no mayor dating back to his father was grilled by the feds -- and that covers a half-century. After the questioning, Daley answered a few questions from reporters. The mayor said he could not discuss specifics of the meeting but said he does not believe he was a target. “What I can say is that I answered their questions fully and openly. I cannot comment on the substance of their questions,” Daley said. cbs2chicago.com has posted the entire news conference because CBS 2 is always on cbs2chicago.com -- Find out about breaking news first by signing up for our Breaking News Alerts. Mayor Daley's spokeswoman, Jacquelyn Heard, said the mayor met with the federal authorities in his office Friday morning. He was accompanied by Mara Georges, the city's corporation counsel, and his own attorney, John Villa of the Washington, D.C.-based firm Williams & Connelly. In a news release, Daley's office announced the interview was "regarding issues related to city policies and pr ocedures for hiring, promotion and certain city programs." Daley pledged continued cooperation with federal authorities, saying "this probe has caused me to ask many questions of my own and evaluate how and where the system broke down. On my orders, my staff is moving aggressively to address those issues." Daley said prosecutors asked to question him weeks ago, and that his lawyers negotiated for the session to take place at City Hall. Prosecutors have indicted former top Daley deputies in the mayor's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and presumably wanted to ask what the mayor knew about the alleged wrongdoing. “The notion that's floated by some that you had to know what was going on in IGA. Can you address that?” CBS 2’s Mike Flannery asked. “I'm not getting into that. I'm just here to tell you that I fully cooperated, cooperated with the U.S. Attorney's office. That's all I'm going to say,” Daley said. A few moments later, when Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass asked if Daley felt being mayor is still worth it, he responded with forceful emotion. “It is worth it. I love being mayor, John. You know that,” Daley said. While calling the questions posed by prosecutors "very serious," the mayor said once again that he won't be distracted from running the city. And contrary to recent speculation that he might not run for re-election, Daley sounded very much like a man who wants to keep his job. Daley is feeling the heat of the federal government's investigation of bribery and patronage hiring abuses at City Hall. Two city officials were charged last month with allegedly rigging the city's hiring system to flout a court order that bars City Hall from considering politics when filling most city jobs. The case is an outgrowth of a federal investigation of bribes given in return for jobs in a program in which the city outsourced hauling work. More than 20 people have pleaded guilty in that probe. The mayor has not been accused of any wrongdoing. (© 2005 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.) Related Stories Politicians Respond To Daley's Questioning