From today’s print edition:
Daley’s nephew appears on schools VIP list
Mayor’s relative made admissions requests on behalf of longtime
political supporter
By Azam Ahmed and Todd Lighty, Tribune reporters
A VIP list maintained by Chicago Public Schools included admissions
requests by Patrick Daley Thompson, Mayor Richard Daley’s nephew, on
behalf of a longtime supporter of the family’s political organization,
the Tribune has confirmed.
At least two other attorneys from Thompson’s powerful law firm also
lobbied to get students into the city’s best schools. The CPS inspector
general is investigating one of those cases, a source said.
On Tuesday, Mayor Richard Daley denied any role in the VIP lists, which
were kept by orders of then-schools chief Arne Duncan, who is now U.S.
education secretary. However, the Tribune has verified six instances in
which the mayor’s staff or his nephew intervened for students.
Daley spokeswoman Jacqueline Heard said Wednesday the mayor never would
have denied involvement if he knew about the lobbying efforts.
"Do you really believe the mayor would say that unequivocally if he
didn’t believe it was true?" said Heard. "That leads you to believe that
the mayor didn’t have knowledge that any of these people were making
calls."
Logs indicate Thompson contacted then-CPS schools chief Duncan in April
2008 in the hopes of securing two spots at Whitney Young Magnet High
School for the daughters of a ward loyalist. The girls’ father, a
high-ranking city supervisor, has donated about $2,500 to the Daley
family’s 11th Ward Democratic Organization in the past decade.
The father’s name also appears on another once-secret government log. He
was listed as the sponsor of three people who sought city jobs for
their political work, according to a clout list once kept in the mayor’s
office that was entered into evidence during the 2006 federal trial of
Daley’s former patronage chief, Robert Sorich.
The man has worked as a voter registrar in the ward and lives on the
same street as Thompson, who now owns the Bridgeport bungalow where
his grandfather, Mayor Richard J. Daley, once lived.
Heard denied Thompson intervened because he wanted to reward an 11th
Ward foot soldier, and noted the children were not accepted into their
top choice.
"It had nothing to do with the political connections," she said. "It was
because he was a longtime friend."
The logs obtained by the Tribune indicate the students were denied a
place at Whitney Young because their scores were too low. Instead they
were enrolled at Lincoln Park High School, which is not a
selective-enrollment school but has several highly regarded magnet
programs.
The Tribune revealed Monday that Duncan ordered his office to track
admissions requests over several years. The lists, used mostly in
appeals cases, include politicians and influential business people but
also show inquiries from unconnected parents looking to place their
children.
There is no evidence that principals were forced to admit unqualified
students. Indeed, many students were rejected even after Duncan’s office
intervened.
In the Thompson case, Lincoln Park principal Bessie Karvelas said she
was never pressured by the district’s central office to accept anyone.
On the log, Lincoln Park often serves as a landing spot for politically
connected children who have been rejected by selective-enrollment
schools.
"Nobody said, ‘I want you to take this student,’" she said.
Thompson did not return calls seeking comment.
The names of at least two other zoning lawyers at Thompson’s firm, DLA
Piper, appear on the list, as well.
In 2006, one lawyer requested a child’s admission to a program that was
full. The student was later placed into a coveted magnet school after
CPS officials encouraged the Piper attorney to write a letter to the
principal, according to the logs. The attorney has worked on several
major civic endeavors in Chicago and also represented the Chicago Cubs
when they were owned by Tribune Co., which owns the Chicago Tribune.
Two years later, Daley education aide Tawa Jogunosimi made a request on
behalf of another Piper attorney who was seeking a child’s admission to
Augustus H. Burley School, a magnet elementary that focuses on writing
and literature. The student was No. 5 on the wait list at the time and
was later accepted.
The case is being reviewed by the CPS inspector general, a source said.
A spokesperson for DLA Piper declined comment on lobbying by the firm’s
lawyers, calling it a "family matter."
Jogunosimi also made requests on behalf of a new city hire, according to
the 2008 list. The employee’s two children were placed in highly
desirable schools.
The lists also indicate that in 2008, John Dunn, then Daley’s chief
lobbyist, requested help for the child of one of his employees.
The student wanted to attend either Lane Technical High School or
Prosser Career Academy. The student didn’t get into either school.
According to the log, the Prosser principal was contacted and said the
school already was "60 students over" and that an alderman already had
five students on the waiting list.
"He would love to help but there is not much he can do," according to
the log.
Dunn, who left his job as director of Daley’s Office of
Intergovernmental Affairs last year and is now a private attorney, could
not be reached for comment.
Officials highlighted Dunn’s case as an example of how the system did
not exert undue influence or help politically connected people land
students at top schools.
"For every person who has the affiliations with City Hall who is on the
list, I can name you 10 with deeper affiliations who are not," Heard
said.
Tribune reporters Stacy St. Clair and Jodi S. Cohen contributed to
this report.