Wednesday, September 22, 2004
You can't fight City Hall? A mini-drama brewed in Chicago all summer pitting the Cubs and Tribune Co. against Mayor Daley and Buildings Commissioner Stan Kaderbek. If you missed it earlier this year, there were a series of reports of concrete falling from the upper deck into the terrace section. After much hand-wringing and at least two independent engineering inspections (at two different points in the season), Wrigley has added protective netting to catch any concrete fragments from pelting fans in the terrace seats, but it has also remained open.
The sniping from Andy MacPhail and Richard Daley was entertaining. "We're confident that the city has concluded that no newspaper is being printed at Wrigley Field," MacPhail said. "The Cubs should get a team," said Sox fan Daley. (I must point out that the Cubs have been more successful as of late, and are still in the playoff chase this season.)
The buildings commissioner also shut down WGN-TV's project of replacing a satellite dish because of a technicality in its building permit, and the Tribune Co. filed a Freedom of Information Act request for inspection records of city hall. Obviously both sides say those were coincidental and independent incidents. The city says rules are rules, and they stumbled upon the satellite dish irregularity in the course of business. The Tribune said it acted on a tip from someone about code violations at city hall, and with the deadly fire at the Cook County Building less than a year ago, there is a definite interest in finding out if other public buildings are up to code...
What started this war? Was it John Kass' columns regularly hammering away at Daley's administration? Was it the Tribune's strong opposition to the rebuilding of Soldier Field and the coverage of Mayor Daley's surprise midnight demolition of Meigs Field? Or the Trib's critique of Daley's Milennium Park project? Maybe the city just started paying closer attention to Wrigley Field after the Cubs started negotiating with the city to get approval for some major renovations three years ago.
At any rate, it was a battle of cliches: You can't fight City Hall vs. Don't go to war with someone who buys ink by the barrel (and also owns a 50,000 megawatt AM radio station, a baseball team that attracts nearly 3 million to Chicago every summer and a TV station that has a worldwide reach). Interesting battle, especially considering Daley has no opponents, especially since the Governor's mansion is Ald. Dick Mell's son-in-law (don't let petty disagreements over casinos in Chicago fool you; they are on the same page on most things). Daley's power might be at its height.
Anyway, now comes the story about Kaderbek's Buildings Department. Apparently, they had a 19-year-old and a 23-year-old in $50K-a-year inspectors' positions. Problem is, you need a minimum 6 years experience as a journeyman carpenter. Now, more people are resigning as it looks like some unions had some say who got inspectors' jobs and who didn't.
So much for acting tough around Wrigley Field. Sorry, Mayor Daley. You lose this round.
