Politicians, by their very nature, are often people endowed with gargantuan egos.
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You can imagine that many of them as children probably stood before their bedroom mirrors using their fists as a microphone, practicing their acceptance speeches. For many of a certain age, the old line “See Dick or Jane run” probably meant something different for them than for the rest of us.
And so, they grew up and got elected to public office, earning generous salaries. Many have become accustomed to all sorts of entitlements, as well as to being treated like near-royalty. It’s not unimaginable that some might see themselves as being beyond reproach, and even above the law.
Last week, the FBI scooped up Ald. Arenda Troutman (20th) for allegedly taking money to help grease the way for a mixed-use real estate deal on the South Side. According to the FBI complaint, she took $5,000 in cash and was promised $10,000 more to smooth licensing and zoning for a fictitious development at 57th and Halsted Streets. She allegedly also arranged to have a residence on the property as well as commercial space. Troutman has said that she is innocent.
In the justice system, for most people, there is a presumption of innocence. In the court of public opinion, when it comes to politicians accused of wrongdoing, there just isn’t much of a presumption.
That may not be fair, but it is not without good reason. Illinois and Chicago have seen their share of politicians who have promised reform but have been accused of making backroom deals, profiting from corruption and playing fast and loose with the public trust.
Four of our last eight governors, two Republicans and two Democrats, faced criminal charges after leaving office. Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sworn in last week as a federal investigation regarding accusations of rigged political hiring by state officials continues.
For the last two years, federal investigators have been scouring City Hall and Mayor Richard Daley’s administration. The city clerk resigned last year, becoming the highest-ranking city official to get caught up in the Hired Truck scandal. He pleaded guilty to receiving $48,000 in bribes in return for steering truck business to a friend.
There have been, let’s call them, problems in several city departments, not the least of which is the Water Department, where the feds called the crimes of the convicted first deputy commissioner there “stunning in their scope and duration.”
There’s been so much corruption on the state and local levels that you almost wonder: For every Troutman-type fish that’s allegedly caught (on tape or otherwise), how many slither through the net? How many other politicians become millionaires not just off their salaries but off their outside deals that hinge on the wink and nod?
The feds aren’t always able to connect those dots, but that doesn’t mean the rancid smell of graft isn’t present.
It has been six years since the last Chicago alderman was convicted. But between 1972 and 1999, 26 former or presiding aldermen were convicted of some infraction–nearly one a year.
Now it’s Troutman who is at the center of a federal investigation. On Friday, the FBI released documents that showed agents allegedly found suspected drugs, drug paraphernalia and a handgun during a search of her home. She’ll have her day in court, and if she has breached the public’s trust, she certainly deserves whatever follows.
But for now, the Feb. 27 city election is just around the corner. Chicagoans–many of them feeling reform-minded–are vying for the mayoral and aldermanic seats. If history is any indicator, on the day after Election Day, we’ll probably see the same incumbents in office, with the same clouds of corruption hovering over their heads.
As long as the streets continue to get swept; new trees are planted; the garbage picked up; the snow removed promptly; and people get to keep their patronage jobs, there doesn’t seem to be an outcry from the electorate for real reform.
So here’s the lesson for someone considering a future in politics today:
If you’re the kid standing before the mirror with the fist microphone, practicing the acceptance speech, you would do well also to role-play being carted off in handcuffs. That is, if you’re not savvy enough not to get caught.
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