More City Hall Coverups

This is 2010, right? Workplace harassment is supposed to be a thing of the past, isn't it?

• Chicago's top Fire Department official will take vacation time until the conclusion of an investigation into sexual harassment allegations that were made against him, the mayor's office said today.

  The announcement by Fire Commissioner John Brooks is expected to come in the form of a written statement, said Jacquelyn Heard, press secretary to Mayor Richard Daley. She did not know how long it would take to complete the probe, to be done by the beleaguered Office of Compliance.

And what's with aldercreature Carrie Austin?

• But Ald. Carrie Austin (34th) took a different stance. She defended Brooks as a “single man” who’s free to pursue any woman he wants and condemned the African-American underling’s charges as “the biggest farce I’ve ever heard.”

We guess it isn't 2010 after all. Must be about 1975 or so with attitudes like these. But hey, how about that Office of Compliance? How many millions are they wasting in salaries and how much more in payouts will they be responsible for covering up stuff?