The Watchdogs: A homeless man collected more than 7,000 signatures for two supposedly rival candidates for Chicago mayor -- state Sen. James Meeks and Rob Halpin, the tenant who continues to be a burr in the side of his landlord, Rahm Emanuel, yet another mayoral candidate.
Chicago's taxicab king, Russian businessman Symon Garber, is facing millions of dollars in fines for illegally putting old wrecks back on the street as cabs. Garber and his business partners together face $9 million in fines for operating 180 wrecked cop cars as cabs, a Chicago Sun-Times review of hundreds of complaints filed by City Hall shows.
The same homeless man was used to gather thousands of signatures to help two supposedly rival mayoral hopefuls — state Sen. James Meeks and Rob Halpin, who continues to be a burr in the side of his landlord, Rahm Emanuel, yet another mayoral candidate.
City Hall is seeking about $17 million in fines from taxicab medallion owners and their managers who used wrecked police cars and other salvaged vehicles as cabs in violation of city regulations. The largest offender is the city’s largest cab fleet — Chicago Carriage Cab/Royal 3 CCC Cab Co., owned and operated by Symon Garber, a Russian-born businessman.
The Watchdogs: When Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart dropped out of the race to succeed Mayor Daley, he made clear he was motivated by family reasons. He has five young children, and the mayor's race, he decided, would keep him away from them more than he was willing to accept. Another family member benefitted, too -- Dart's younger brother Tim Dart.
Attorneys Tim Dart and John Nicolay’s law firm helps clients get business from governments including the city of Chicago, Cook County and the state of Illinois.
The Watchdogs: At Latino's Hand Car Wash, 3117 S. Archer, they'll clean and vacuum your car for six bucks. It's one of the cheapest hand car washes you'll find in Chicago. Helping to make that possible: Latino's pays little for water compared with other car washes -- even less than what some Chicago homeowners pay.
The Watchdogs: Convicted political fixer Tony Rezko gave U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez free upgrades on a riverfront town house after the congressman asked for them, Gutierrez told the FBI, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned. Gutierrez's comments to federal agents in a previously undisclosed 2008 interview contradict what the congressman told the Sun-Times in 2006 about the purchase.
