They were everything the jurors who convicted former Gov. George Ryan earlier this year were not: orderly, organized, amicable and in agreement on nearly everything from the moment deliberations began.
The federal jury that convicted the Daley administration’s former patronage chief, Robert Sorich, and three other former city officials in a job-rigging scheme deliberated less than four days before reaching a verdict Thursday.
Jurors said they spent no time dwelling on whether higher-ups at City Hall played a hand in the plot to reward political workers with jobs in violation of the federal Shakman decree outlawing most patronage.
Even so, foreman S. Jay Olshansky of Buffalo Grove said it was obvious from prosecutors’ arguments that they would be targeting other city officials down the line.
“We knew that there was significance beyond the four individuals, but we made it crystal clear at the beginning of our deliberations that we were not to discuss anyone above the level of the individuals that were involved in this trial,” said Olshansky, 52, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
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Juror Michael Hall, 52, of Algonquin said the name of Mayor Richard Daley never came up as the panel weighed the fate of Sorich, his former deputy Timothy McCarthy, and former Streets and Sanitation Department workers Patrick Slattery and John Sullivan.
Hall called evidence against the four “overwhelming” and insisted that broader significance should not be read into the verdict. The jury, he said, was not trying to send a message to Daley.
“We all agreed that this was not a political statement,” Hall said. “If anything, I hope that the people of Chicago will rest assured that they have a clean slate now that they can work with.”
Daley, he added, was a good mayor and “a great guy.” Five of the jurors live in Chicago; seven in the suburbs.
Jurors said they quickly concluded that Sorich, McCarthy and the others were helping patronage thrive in Chicago, the Shakman decree notwithstanding.
“It was evident right from the beginning this was standard practice,” said Olshansky. “This was the way things have been done for a long time. … In a way, that was more bothersome than anything else.”
Juror Neil Jagust, 53, of Lockport said that even if the scheme had originated with more powerful officials, the four men still bear responsibility for their actions.
“I wouldn’t say they were fall guys; they were aware of what was going on,” he said. “They were still in power to put a stop to it.”
Olshansky said jurors were also affected by evidence showing that Sorich directed the destruction of computer files and paper records of patronage hiring. “Clearly, there was concealment that was involved,” he said.
During the trial, defense lawyers had attacked the credibility of two key prosecution witnesses, Daniel Katalinic and Donald Tomczak. The two men were high-ranking city officials and Daley political coordinators before they admitted taking bribes from city trucking contractors.
Olshansky said jurors had serious concerns about Tomczak’s testimony but found it consistent with what they heard from other city officials.
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