Editing Richard M. Daley (section)

==== Daley patronage chief among officials convicted of fraud ====
On July 5, 2006, Robert Sorich, formally, director of the Mayor's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and, informally, Daley's [[patronage]] chief, and Timothy McCarthy, Sorich's aide, were each convicted on two counts of mail fraud connected to rigging blue-collar city jobs and promotions. Sorich's best friend, former Streets and Sanitation official Patrick Slattery was convicted of one count of mail fraud. A former Streets and Sanitation managing deputy commissioner was found guilty of lying to federal agents about political hiring.<ref>{{cite news |title=Daley jobs chief guilty; Jury convicts 4 in city hiring fraud; feds say, 'Stay tuned' |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2006/07/07/daley-jobs-chief-guilty/ |first1=Rudolph |last1=Bush |first2=Dan |last2=Mihalopoulos |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=July 6, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/07/us/07chicago.html | title=Chicago Officials Convicted in Patronage Arrangement | date=July 7, 2006 | access-date=December 1, 2012 | author=Ruethling, Gretchen | newspaper=[[New York Times]]}}</ref> Sorich, McCarthy and Slattery lived in the Bridgeport neighborhood in 11th Ward, the Daley family's home neighborhood and ward. "I've never known them to be anything but hard working, and I feel for them at this difficult time," Daley said.<ref>{{cite news |title=In terms of clout, city's 11th Ward towers above rest |date=July 19, 2005 |first1=Mickey |last1=Ciokajlo |first2=Robert |last2=Becker |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2005/07/19/in-terms-of-clout-citys-11th-ward-towers-above-rest/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/06/AR2006070601563.html | title=Favoritism Trial Hurts Chicago Mayor | date=July 7, 2006 | access-date=December 1, 2012 | author=Slevin, Peter | newspaper=[[Washington Post]]}}</ref> "It is fair criticism to say I should have exercised greater oversight to ensure that every worker the city hired, regardless of who recommended them, was qualified and that proper procedures were always followed," Daley admitted a few days later.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2006/07/11/daley-i-could-have-done-more-2/ |title=Daley says 'should have exercised greater oversight' |first=Gary |last=Washburn |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=July 10, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Daley Says He Should Have Exercised More Hiring Oversight |first=Ben |last=Calhoun |date=July 11, 2006 |publisher=[[WBEZ]] |url=http://www.wbez.org/story/news/local/daley-says-he-should-have-exercised-more-hiring-oversight |access-date=January 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029200523/http://www.wbez.org/story/news/local/daley-says-he-should-have-exercised-more-hiring-oversight |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Weeks later, [[David Axelrod (political consultant)|David Axelrod]], a Democratic political consultant whose clients included Daley, defended patronage in an [[op-ed]] in the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=A Well-oiled Machine; A system that works? Political debts contribute to better city services |date=August 21, 2005 |first=David |last=Axelrod |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2005/08/21/a-well-oiled-machine/ |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=An Axelrod to Grind |first=Steve |last=Rhodes |date=January 7, 2010 |url=http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/politics/An_Axelrod_to_Grind.html |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=January 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330171614/http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/politics/An_Axelrod_to_Grind.html |archive-date=March 30, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>