- Brian Jackson/Sun-Times Media
- Alderman Patrick O’Connor
One of the mayoral campaign’s more ironic twists comes in the form of mail from Mayor Emanuel that blasts alderman Bob Fioretti for some of the more boneheaded policies of former mayor Richard Daley.
This is no trivial matter, as O’Connor—an eight-term north-side powerhouse—is facing a spirited challenge from Dianne Daleiden, a public school math and science teacher who promises a new day of 40th Ward independence should she miraculously win.
Remember what I said about nothing ever changing?
Eventually the CME rejected the $15 million because they got an even sweeter handout in the form of a state tax break, which Mayor Emanuel enthusiastically endorsed, I might add.
Instead Mayor Daley spent money that should have gone to pensions on other things. And Alderman O’Connor never said peep.
In those days, Alderman O’Connor was a loyal member of a band of white alderman—led by Eddie Vrdolyak—who essentially sabotaged Mayor Harold Washington’s administration by opposing much of what the mayor tried to do.
