Court upholds conviction of Daley aides in patronage fraud case

A federal appeals court Tuesday upheld the convictions of four former aides to Mayor Richard M. Daley on charges they were part of a scheme to hide political patronage hiring in city government.

The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals noted the four men "contend that their behavior, while dubious, is not criminal and that the honest services mail fraud statute is unconstitutionally vague."

"We concluded that the defendants actions do constitute mail fraud, and that the statute is not unconstitutionally vague as applied to the facts of the case," the three-judge panel said in its 29-page opinion.

Daley's former patronage chief, 43-year-old Robert Sorich, was convicted of mail fraud sentenced to four years in federal prison for his part in the scheme outlined by federal prosecutors at the trial. He has remained free pending appeal.

Three other former city officials also were convicted in the case.

Witnesses testified at trial that "patronage armies" had been formed in city departments and deployed into the city's wards and precincts on Election Day to round up votes for Daley and candidates he supported.

Testimony indicated Sorich and those under him faked test scores and job interview evaluations to make it appear the rules barring political affiliation as a factor in hiring decisions were being followed -- but that people who took part in the patronage armies would get jobs.

City officials are banned by the long-standing Shakman Decree from hiring most municipal employees based on their political affiliation.

But patronage has been part of Chicago politics since anyone can remember and the decree long went all but ignored.