Article reprinted in its entirety due to brevity and sheer amazement.
CHICAGO -- Lawyers for Cook County have asked a judge to lift a federal court order that restricts political hiring.
The move follows an FBI raid of Cook County offices on Sept. 21, part of a presumed investigation into political patronage hiring, and drew criticism from political foes of Cook County Board President Bobbie Steele.
County attorneys made their argument Friday before U.S. District Judge Wayne Andersen. They claimed that lawyer Michael Shakman lacks legal standing to seek continued enforcement of the 1994 Shakman decree, a court order banning political clout from influencing most county hiring. In August, Shakman asked a federal judge appoint an outside monitor to look for problems in county hiring. County attorneys said an outside monitor is unnecessary because Steele has issued an executive order to end any hiring irregularities.
Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool criticized the county leadership's attempt to dump the Shakman decree . "President Steele's decision to fight the Shakman decree is a little untimely in light of last month's raid by the FBI at the County Building," Claypool said.
Copyright � 2006, The Associated Press
Untimely. Yes. That might be one word for it.
You have to be impressed, in a strange way, at the sheer audacity involved in not withdrawing this petition. Seriously, what sane attorney would not figure that one month after the federal government has accused your client of corruption in hiring is perhaps not the most felicitious time to request that same federal government to withdraw its oversight of your corruption in hiring? What sane person wouldn't draw that conclusion?
Pity the article is so short. It would have been interesting to know what the judge's immediate response was. To be sure, I would imagine that the judge might have maintained judicial decorum, said that they'd take the petition underadvisement, got back to chambers, removed their robes, and then laughed themselves sick. I would probably have been unable to resist the temptation to say, from the bench, "You people are joking, right? Or is it that you've gone completely mental?" Which is probably not the sort of thing that a judge ought to say.
Posted by iain at October 09, 2006 10:34 AM
