Better Government Association

Tale of the trail: Money leads to unexpected places

Editorial- Chicago Sun-Times
May 23, 2006

As Jay Stewart, executive director of the Better Government Association, says, the first rule of investigative journalism is "to follow the money," and that's exactly what his organization did, sniffing out political contributions sent to the 17th Ward Democratic Organization by public housing contractors. The contributions would have made sense if the 17th Ward was home to Chicago Housing Association developments, but there is no CHA building anywhere in the ward.

What was the connection then? The only link appears to be Terry Peterson, the former alderman of the 17th Ward who is now head of the CHA. Hmmmm. Why would contractors -- some from out of state, want to send cash to the 17th Ward, now represented by Peterson's former chief of staff, Latasha Thomas? Although the ward took in fewer total contributions last year than it did in 2004, a greater percentage came from CHA contractors -- 61 percent vs. 37 percent in 2004. And almost two-thirds of the contributions from CHA contractors went to the 17th Ward, with the $27,595 left over sent to other wards. "Does it raise a red flag?" asks Stewart. "Does it concern us? Absolutely . . . I can't think of a logical reason why CHA contractors are so interested in a region where none of those CHA facilities are located." Neither can we. And no one is answering the questions posed either by Stewart or our reporter Eric Herman.

The revelations by the BGA add to the concern about general City Hall corruption and the way aldermen operate within their wards. Aldermen protest they do not want the city's inspector general looking into their business, and they want federal monitor Nicole Brennan out of their way. But it's obvious they really do need someone to keep an eye on them.

Back to CHA and 17th Ward Investigation

Back to BGA Investigations