Lover Boy Suspended

Shortshanks has to look like he's doing something in the face of continuing scandal and falling approval ratings:

• A high-ranking city commissioner was suspended today for three months without pay after the Chicago Sun-Times revealed his department paid more than $11 million to a business owner who had previously pleaded guilty to ripping off the city.

  Fleet Management Commissioner Michael Picardi was called on the carpet in a face-to-face meeting with Mayor Daley today.

But nobody was aware of the fraud conviction? Bullshit. Szybkowski got the contract for keeping his mouth shut, plain and simple. Any student of Chicago history could rattle off numerous instances of people getting caught doing wrong, serving their time in prison, getting a second or third chance to make amends in some city department or another, and being exposed at some point when the media discovered its balls. Daley has even gone on record defending these second chances when confronted - his old man did the same thing.

If you read the Sun Times article closely, it makes no mention of ending the contract. The Tribune only says the mayor will "try to cut ties" with Central Auto Body. we aren't holding our breath on that count - a contract is a contract after all and Szybkowski didn't violate any existing rules.