No More! Not That I Need It...

The ongoing Hired Truck Scandal that continues to fester at Chicago's City Hall has finally cause Mayor Daley to make some big pronouncements.

"I would sooner give up this office or lose the allegiance of other politicians than protect contractors or employees who would defraud the city of Chicago and cloud all the good we've accomplished over these 15 years" as mayor, Daley said.

"While it is impossible to guarantee the integrity of every single employee or contractor, when abuses show up repeatedly within a program or agency, it's a failure of the system and of my administration.

"For one who takes pride in his record as a manager, this is a painful and embarrassing failure to acknowledge. But I'm determined to ensure that, with all our successes, these failures are not my legacy as mayor."

Daley then took the unusual, and welcome, step of saying that he will no longer accept contributions to his campaign fund by companies with city contracts, their owners and the owners' spouses.

This is praised by the Trib as a gutsy move.

His decision to reject campaign contributions from those who make money off the city is a bold move. This page usually opposes laws that put broad restrictions on campaign contributions. That is, fundamentally, a free speech issue. But a unilateral declaration by the mayor--he won't take the money--is different, and welcome.

I'm not sure it's that bold. I mean, isn't all the speculation that this is going to be Daley's last term as mayor? If so, what would he need campaign contributions for?

I'm glad Daley realized that these scandals have a good chance to drag his legacy down. Daley has been, for the most part, an excellent mayor. That he allowed these scandals in the first place is a huge black mark against him. But no longer accepting campaign contributions is no big deal if you aren't running again.

Sports Desert

Pitchers and catchers report next week. All the free agents are signed. The NFL is over. The NBA continues to meander through their meaningless regular season. College Hoops is starting to wind down their exhibition season as the Regular Season (aka March Madness) approaches. And hockey is dead.

What's a sports fan to do? There's nothing to watch / read / talk about!