{"id":437685,"date":"2010-03-16T23:45:20","date_gmt":"2010-03-17T03:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c60fd53ef0120a945ff42970b"},"modified":"2010-03-16T23:45:20","modified_gmt":"2010-03-17T03:45:20","slug":"mayor-richard-daley-secretly-questioned-by-fbi-in-2008-over-real-estate-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/437685","title":{"rendered":"Mayor Richard Daley secretly questioned by FBI in 2008 over real estate probe"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Wednesday’s print edition<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Daley secretly questioned by FBI in 2008 over real estate controversy<\/h2>\n

Galewood Yards project now at the center of developer Calvin Boender\u2019s federal bribery trial<\/h3>\n

By Todd Lighty and Robert Becker, Tribune reporters<\/p>\n

Mayor Richard Daley was secretly interviewed in 2008 at a downtown
\nhotel by FBI agents who questioned him about the politicians who pushed
\nfor a Chicago real estate project now at the center of a federal
\nbribery trial, the Tribune has learned.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nThe interview focused on the Galewood Yards project, an old industrial
\nrail yard on the West Side that was rezoned for commercial and
\nresidential buildings over the objections of city planning staff.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nDaley had trouble recalling any controversy surrounding Galewood Yards
\nduring the March 2008 interview and could not remember participating in
\nCity Hall meetings about three years earlier with his planning staff,
\nan alderman and a congressman about the project, the Tribune has
\nlearned.\n<\/p>\n

There has been no suggestion that Daley did anything improper.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nThe interview came early in the federal investigation that led to
\nbribery charges last year against then-Ald. Isaac "Ike" Carothers,
\n29th, and developer Calvin Boender. Carothers pleaded guilty to
\naccepting a bribe from Boender, who is now on trial.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\n"The mayor cooperated with a request for an interview during the course
\nof the investigation," said Jennifer Hoyle, spokeswoman for the city’s
\nLaw Department, in an e-mail response to Tribune questions. "There is
\nno indication that he was or is anything other than a witness."
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nHoyle declined to elaborate, saying, "At this time, given the fact that
\na jury continues to hear evidence in the Boender trial, we do not think
\nit would be appropriate to respond with additional details."
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nCarothers, who had been an important Daley loyalist at City Council, is
\ncooperating with the government. The mayor has repeatedly insisted he
\nnever exercised his influence in the development.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nDaley has not previously disclosed his interview with the FBI, which is
\nonly the second time in his tenure it has been revealed he was
\ninterviewed by federal authorities. Daley was accompanied by the same
\nprivate lawyer he used in 2005, when federal authorities interviewed
\nhim amid a hiring investigation that led to corruption convictions of
\nformer aides.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nCarothers resigned in February after pleading guilty to accepting
\n$40,000 in home improvements from Boender in 2004 to support rezoning
\nGalewood Yards. Federal authorities say the improvements included new
\nair conditioners, new doors and windows, and a fresh painting inside
\nand out.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nBoender and his partners developed a 14-screen movie theater and a
\nnearly $60 million residential project of 187 single-family homes, town
\nhouses and condominiums. Prosecutors claim the zoning change meant an
\nextra $3 million in profits for Boender.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nThe Tribune in 2008 chronicled how Boender overrode the opposition of
\ncity planners to Galewood Yards after enlisting the support of
\nCarothers and U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill. Gutierrez, who had just
\nreceived a $200,000 loan from Boender for his own real estate
\ninvestments, personally lobbied Daley.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nDaley’s name surfaced last week during the trial when a former city
\nplanning commissioner testified she attended a meeting with Boender,
\nGutierrez and Daley in the winter of 2004-05 at which Boender brought a
\nmodel of his 50-acre project. Denise Casalino did not testify about
\nwhat Gutierrez said during the meeting but indicated Daley had a short
\nresponse. "He said, \u2018Thank you.’ That was about it," Casalino said.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nThe city’s corporation counsel, Mara Georges, last week issued a
\nstatement in which she characterized Daley’s meeting with Gutierrez and
\nBoender as routine, adding that the mayor meets with thousands of
\npeople throughout the year. Georges disclosed that City Hall earlier
\nhad turned over to federal prosecutors information about Daley’s
\nmeeting schedule.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nGeorges’ statement, however, made no mention of the FBI and other federal authorities interviewing the mayor in 2008.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nThe city opposed efforts by Boender’s lawyers to have Daley testify at
\nthe corruption trial. The lawyers on Monday dropped their requests for
\nhis testimony.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nThe Tribune has previously reported Gutierrez’s unusual role in
\nlobbying Daley for Galewood Yards, which lies outside his congressional
\ndistrict. Gutierrez wrote a letter in July 2004 to Daley on U.S. House
\nstationery backing the plan and vouching for Boender’s character.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nIn his letter, Gutierrez defended Boender from criticism by city
\nplanning staff. "I would ask for any support that you can give him at
\nthis time," the congressman wrote.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nAfter initially telling Daley of their opposition to Boender’s
\nproposal, city planners over more than a year worked out a compromise
\nwith the developer.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nThe congressman previously told the Tribune there was no connection
\nbetween his loan from Boender and his lobbying of Daley. Gutierrez
\ndownplayed his role, saying his involvement was "extremely minimal" and
\n"entirely appropriate."
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nGutierrez, who is seeking re-election this year, has not been charged
\nwith any wrongdoing. He has said he has not been interviewed by federal
\nauthorities.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nThis was not the first time federal authorities have interviewed Daley
\nabout City Hall corruption. He was questioned in August 2005, about a
\nmonth after FBI agents made arrests in a massive hiring fraud scheme
\ncentered in the mayor’s office.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nDaley’s lawyer then \u2014 as well as in the more recent interview \u2014 was
\nJohn Villa, a Washington lawyer whose firm represented former President
\nBill Clinton when he faced an independent counsel investigation and an
\nimpeachment trial.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nDaley held a news conference after his 2005 interview.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\n"When there is wrongdoing in my government, I take responsibility for
\nit," Daley said then. "I am committed to root it out and do everything
\nI can to prevent it."
<\/br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Wednesday’s print edition: Daley secretly questioned by FBI in 2008 over real estate controversy Galewood Yards project now at the center of developer Calvin Boender\u2019s federal bribery trial By Todd Lighty and Robert Becker, Tribune reporters Mayor Richard Daley was secretly interviewed in 2008 at a downtown hotel by FBI agents who questioned him […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3992,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-437685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3992"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437685\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}