Forrest Claypool on “Public Affairs.” Better than Monday night Football.
Jeff Berkowitz: [Hired Truck] Hired Tow, Hired Thief, the whole thing. Okay. If that’s ten percent of ten billion dollars, that’s a billion dollars [for a corruption tax]. You could do a lot on schools and libraries and parks that … isn’t being done. You could do a lot with that billion dollars. Do you think there’s been a corruption tax for the past sixteen years in the City of Chicago?
Forrest Claypool: Well, I don’t know about the past sixteen years but, I think, obviously, when you have a scandal like Hired Truck there is a cost to the taxpayers. There’s no question about it. There’s no question that when you have these scandals and there’s lots of money involved, that’s not good for the taxpayers, that’s not good for the city, that’s not good for the …
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Tonight’s City of Chicago edition of “Public Affairs,” features Forrest Claypool, Cook County Commissioner and candidate in the Democratic Primary for Cook County Board President, debating and discussing the issues with show host Jeff Berkowitz. The show airs throughout the City of Chicago [in the regular “Public Affairs,” City of Chicago time slot] tonight at 8:30 pm on CANTV, Cable Ch. 21.
[See here] for an additional partial transcript of tonight’s show and for links to more about Forrest Claypool, his March, 2006 Democratic primary opponents, the Republican candidate for County Board President and the current dynamic on the Cook County Board.
*********************************************
A partial transcript of tonight’s show is included directly, below:
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Jeff Berkowitz: … the budget is about five billon dollars for the city of Chicago. That doesn’t even count the Chicago Public School[s] budget, which is another five billion dollars. That’s about 10 billion dollars [of Chicago governmental spending].
Forrest Claypool: Umhmm.
Berkowitz: People have talked about a corruption tax, which we’re referring to here and this kind of corruption going on--In Hired Truck.
Forrest Claypool: Umhmm.
Berkowitz: [Hired Truck] Hired Tow, Hired Thief, the whole thing. Okay. If that’s ten percent of ten billion dollars, that’s a billion dollars [for a corruption tax]. You could do a lot on schools and libraries and parks that … isn’t being done. You could do a lot with that billion dollars [per year]. Do you think there’s been a corruption tax for the past sixteen years in the city of Chicago?
Forrest Claypool: Well, I don’t know about the past sixteen years but, I think, obviously, when you have a scandal like Hired Truck there is a cost to the taxpayers. There’s no question about it. There’s no question that when you have these scandals and there’s lots of money involved, that’s not good for the taxpayers, that’s not good for the city, that’s not good for the perception of the city around the world and here. And, it tarnishes a lot of the good that’s been done.
Berkowitz: Thirty years ago there was an agreement about patronage [in the City of Chicago], right? What was the name of that Agreement?
Forrest Claypool: Shakman [The Shakman federal Consent Decree]
Berkowitz: Shakman.
Forrest Claypool: Right.
Berkowitz: Now, that was supposed to control the way things are done [regarding City of Chicago hiring]-
Forrest Claypool: Right.
Berkowitz: That hasn’t been done. Basically the judges have concluded that-- the federal judge [has] taken hiring completely away from this mayor-
Forrest Claypool: Right.
Berkowitz: He’s got a monitor [to oversee City of Chicago hiring]. If you want to hire [even] a low-level clerk, basically, you’re going to run it by this person, right? That’s essentially what’s going to happen, now-- right?
Forrest Claypool: Yeah, Shakman is supposed to protect the-
Berkowitz: No, I’m talking about what’s happened now. The judge has said he’s been fooled, or the federal courts have been fooled, for thirty years. Daley’s been fooling them
Forrest Claypool: Yeah. That’s what he said.
Berkowitz: Daley’s been fooling them. Okay. That’s the conclusion. You were there as chief of staff. Were you a part of that? Were you a part of what Daley was doing, fooling the federal courts?
Forrest Claypool: No.
Berkowitz: And that, using, you know, you know what’s been going on. They don’t even interview people. They do interview people, but they are not real interviews.
Forrest Claypool: I’m aware of the allegations, but the chief of staff-
Berkowitz: They’re more than allegations--
Forrest Claypool: Well, let me finish. As chief of staff, I was not involved in personnel. The chiefs of staff, traditionally, and throughout-- from beginning to end, have never been involved in personnel. That’s not what we do. My job was to push through the Mayor’s policy objectives, whether it was chairing the McCormick Place task force to try to get work rules changed, to keep some of these trade shows here, which I did. You know, day care standards, to make basically higher levels of day care standards for kids. There was a series of things I worked on in 1998-the year I was chief of staff for the Mayor. But, personnel was not part of my operational responsibility. Making sure the snow plows- making sure enough snow plows were in place for the blizzard of 1998- making sure the snow got off the street, yeah, but not personnel. It was not part of my--
Berkowitz: Did you outsource politics with the Mayor? Did you say IGA–Intergovernmental Affairs... those folks, Vic Reyes, you know those folks-
Forrest Claypool: Sure.
Berkowitz: They can do whatever they want. Basically. Were you in agreement with them, saying, I understand what you’re saying, You and Daley wanted to do substance-
Forrest Claypool: If anyone was-
Berkowitz: Who was doing the politics?
Forrest Claypool: Just like every chief of staff, all ten chiefs of staff that the mayor’s had, all six corporation counsels, the lead attorney for the city that’s been there, if any of us, all ten chiefs of staff, all six corporation counsels, if any of us had had information brought to us indicating that there was anything improper or illegal, or in violation of the [Shakman] consent decree, or anything else like Hired Truck that-- we would have obviously reported that. Unfortunately, that information never came to anybody in that realm. At least, that I’m aware of-
Berkowitz: When did it first come to somebody in the city of Chicago?
Forrest Claypool: I don’t know. This, all this has happened in the last year. These reports…
*************************************************
Forrest Claypool, Cook County Commissioner and candidate in the Democratic Primary for Cook County Board President,recorded on September 11, 2005, and as the program will air on the City of Chicago edition of “Public Affairs,” tonight, September 26 at 8:30 pm on CANTV, Cable Ch. 21.
*******************************
Transcript draft prepared by Amy Allen, who also does research for “Public Affairs,” and has her own political blog [See here].
******************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Host and Producer of Public Affairs and an Executive Recruiter doing Legal Search, can be reached at JBCG@aol.com
*******************************
Forrest Claypool: Well, I don’t know about the past sixteen years but, I think, obviously, when you have a scandal like Hired Truck there is a cost to the taxpayers. There’s no question about it. There’s no question that when you have these scandals and there’s lots of money involved, that’s not good for the taxpayers, that’s not good for the city, that’s not good for the …
*********************************************************
Tonight’s City of Chicago edition of “Public Affairs,” features Forrest Claypool, Cook County Commissioner and candidate in the Democratic Primary for Cook County Board President, debating and discussing the issues with show host Jeff Berkowitz. The show airs throughout the City of Chicago [in the regular “Public Affairs,” City of Chicago time slot] tonight at 8:30 pm on CANTV, Cable Ch. 21.
[See here] for an additional partial transcript of tonight’s show and for links to more about Forrest Claypool, his March, 2006 Democratic primary opponents, the Republican candidate for County Board President and the current dynamic on the Cook County Board.
*********************************************
A partial transcript of tonight’s show is included directly, below:
*************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz: … the budget is about five billon dollars for the city of Chicago. That doesn’t even count the Chicago Public School[s] budget, which is another five billion dollars. That’s about 10 billion dollars [of Chicago governmental spending].
Forrest Claypool: Umhmm.
Berkowitz: People have talked about a corruption tax, which we’re referring to here and this kind of corruption going on--In Hired Truck.
Forrest Claypool: Umhmm.
Berkowitz: [Hired Truck] Hired Tow, Hired Thief, the whole thing. Okay. If that’s ten percent of ten billion dollars, that’s a billion dollars [for a corruption tax]. You could do a lot on schools and libraries and parks that … isn’t being done. You could do a lot with that billion dollars [per year]. Do you think there’s been a corruption tax for the past sixteen years in the city of Chicago?
Forrest Claypool: Well, I don’t know about the past sixteen years but, I think, obviously, when you have a scandal like Hired Truck there is a cost to the taxpayers. There’s no question about it. There’s no question that when you have these scandals and there’s lots of money involved, that’s not good for the taxpayers, that’s not good for the city, that’s not good for the perception of the city around the world and here. And, it tarnishes a lot of the good that’s been done.
Berkowitz: Thirty years ago there was an agreement about patronage [in the City of Chicago], right? What was the name of that Agreement?
Forrest Claypool: Shakman [The Shakman federal Consent Decree]
Berkowitz: Shakman.
Forrest Claypool: Right.
Berkowitz: Now, that was supposed to control the way things are done [regarding City of Chicago hiring]-
Forrest Claypool: Right.
Berkowitz: That hasn’t been done. Basically the judges have concluded that-- the federal judge [has] taken hiring completely away from this mayor-
Forrest Claypool: Right.
Berkowitz: He’s got a monitor [to oversee City of Chicago hiring]. If you want to hire [even] a low-level clerk, basically, you’re going to run it by this person, right? That’s essentially what’s going to happen, now-- right?
Forrest Claypool: Yeah, Shakman is supposed to protect the-
Berkowitz: No, I’m talking about what’s happened now. The judge has said he’s been fooled, or the federal courts have been fooled, for thirty years. Daley’s been fooling them
Forrest Claypool: Yeah. That’s what he said.
Berkowitz: Daley’s been fooling them. Okay. That’s the conclusion. You were there as chief of staff. Were you a part of that? Were you a part of what Daley was doing, fooling the federal courts?
Forrest Claypool: No.
Berkowitz: And that, using, you know, you know what’s been going on. They don’t even interview people. They do interview people, but they are not real interviews.
Forrest Claypool: I’m aware of the allegations, but the chief of staff-
Berkowitz: They’re more than allegations--
Forrest Claypool: Well, let me finish. As chief of staff, I was not involved in personnel. The chiefs of staff, traditionally, and throughout-- from beginning to end, have never been involved in personnel. That’s not what we do. My job was to push through the Mayor’s policy objectives, whether it was chairing the McCormick Place task force to try to get work rules changed, to keep some of these trade shows here, which I did. You know, day care standards, to make basically higher levels of day care standards for kids. There was a series of things I worked on in 1998-the year I was chief of staff for the Mayor. But, personnel was not part of my operational responsibility. Making sure the snow plows- making sure enough snow plows were in place for the blizzard of 1998- making sure the snow got off the street, yeah, but not personnel. It was not part of my--
Berkowitz: Did you outsource politics with the Mayor? Did you say IGA–Intergovernmental Affairs... those folks, Vic Reyes, you know those folks-
Forrest Claypool: Sure.
Berkowitz: They can do whatever they want. Basically. Were you in agreement with them, saying, I understand what you’re saying, You and Daley wanted to do substance-
Forrest Claypool: If anyone was-
Berkowitz: Who was doing the politics?
Forrest Claypool: Just like every chief of staff, all ten chiefs of staff that the mayor’s had, all six corporation counsels, the lead attorney for the city that’s been there, if any of us, all ten chiefs of staff, all six corporation counsels, if any of us had had information brought to us indicating that there was anything improper or illegal, or in violation of the [Shakman] consent decree, or anything else like Hired Truck that-- we would have obviously reported that. Unfortunately, that information never came to anybody in that realm. At least, that I’m aware of-
Berkowitz: When did it first come to somebody in the city of Chicago?
Forrest Claypool: I don’t know. This, all this has happened in the last year. These reports…
*************************************************
Forrest Claypool, Cook County Commissioner and candidate in the Democratic Primary for Cook County Board President,recorded on September 11, 2005, and as the program will air on the City of Chicago edition of “Public Affairs,” tonight, September 26 at 8:30 pm on CANTV, Cable Ch. 21.
*******************************
Transcript draft prepared by Amy Allen, who also does research for “Public Affairs,” and has her own political blog [See here].
******************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Host and Producer of Public Affairs and an Executive Recruiter doing Legal Search, can be reached at JBCG@aol.com
*******************************
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