New truck boss' ties raise doubts

Mayor Daley's choice to clean up the scandal-plagued Hired Truck Program is a "social acquaintance" and fishing buddy of Victor Reyes -- whose shadowy political group once held sway over Daley's troubled trucking initiative.

John Harris confirmed last week, through a spokeswoman, that he and Reyes socialize and even went on a fishing trip together in 2003.

Another official also confirmed that Harris sat on a city panel several years ago that recommended a $1 billion O'Hare Airport terminal construction contract -- the largest of its kind in history -- go to a private venture led by Bechtel Infrastructure Corp., whose chief lobbyist was Reyes.

"I know there's a fairly tight relationship there," one person familiar with both Harris and Reyes said.

That relationship raises new questions about the mayor's pledge to clean up the trucking program and the influence wielded by Reyes.

Harris refused to speak to a reporter, but through spokeswoman Lisa Schrader, he said: "My first obligation is to the taxpayer to ensure they get the best value for each dollar, and to no one else."

Earlier this month, Daley appointed Harris, the first deputy aviation commissioner, as the city's budget director. Reyes, a former high-ranking Daley aide and now a high-powered lobbyist with the law firm Greenberg Traurig, runs the Hispanic Democratic Organization.

That's a Daley-backed group that slates Hispanic candidates and, critics say, doles out government jobs and defuses Latino opposition, all with Daley's blessing.

Through the Hired Truck Program, the Daley administration taps private trucking firms for municipal projects. It's a $40 million-a-year effort that, according to city officials, is a bargain because the city doesn't have to hire municipal workers and buy equipment.

But as the Chicago Sun-Times has detailed, the program has been rife with corruption, cronyism and mob influence. Many trucks did little or no work, the newspaper found.

An HDO operative, former gang member Angelo Torres, was running the effort at the time the Sun-Times started its examination. He later was transferred, temporarily replaced with another HDO member and charged by federal authorities with soliciting bribes from a trucking firm owner who wanted city business.

Torres' boss, then-Budget Director Bill Abolt, resigned amid the scandal. Daley appointed city auditor Robert Benson to restructure the trucking program, which now is under Harris' authority.

How Torres came to run things remains a mystery. Daley has said he does not know and has no interest in finding out. He also has said he has no plans to discuss the issue with Reyes.

Reyes did not return phone calls, but in a recent letter to the Sun-Times, he denied playing any role in Torres' hiring and said that "attempts to link me to this individual -- seemingly because we share the same heritage and have both been active politically -- are offensive."

As for the relationship between Harris and Reyes, Daley's press secretary, Jacquelyn Heard, didn't know if one existed but said many current and former government employees "hang out together," and because the mayor is "driven and determined" to reform the truck enterprise, "I'm certain he would not have named someone who undermined the process."

As for Harris' membership on the O'Hare contract panel, city officials noted that there were many people on that committee. (The Bechtel deal ultimately was shelved because of a sudden downturn in the aviation industry, although tens of millions of dollars was paid out.)

Meanwhile, Harris relayed he "absolutely" paid for his portion of the fishing trip, but he declined to provide documentation. Through Schrader, Harris called Reyes "a professional colleague" and "a social acquaintance, as well."

Contributing: Chris Fusco