Daley apologizes for Hired Truck scandal: 'I blame myself'
An obviously upset Mayor Daley offered a public apology today for problems in the city’s scandal-plagued Hired Truck Program and promised that those found to be responsible for the troubles will be “held accountable.”
“I’m very disappointed,” Daley said of the problems, brought to light by a three-part Chicago Sun-Times series, “Clout on Wheels.” “The public trust is at stake here. It has been shaken.”
He said he didn’t know about the problem but should have.
“I blame myself,” said Daley, back at work after taking time off for a family trip. “I am embarrassed. This will be handled. I assure you it will be.
“I’m very, very upset . . . This could have been solved at any time and any place.”
The program, which costs the city $40 million a year, is rife with corruption and waste, the Sun-Times series found, reporting that favored trucking firms hire out trucks, mainly dump trucks, to the city typically for $40 an hour or more, but often do little or no work. Some owners have political clout or ties to organized crime. The work is done without bids or contracts. A Sun-Times analysis showed that trucking firms in the program have contributed more than $800,000 to the mayor and other politicians since 1996.
The FBI now is investigating the Hired Truck Program, and federal prosecutors on Monday slapped City Hall with a subpoena for program records.
The city has fired Angelo Torres, the former head of the program, who was charged earlier this week with shaking down a trucking firm owner for cash.
The mayor also said today he has asked city auditor Robert Benson to lead a team that would restructure the Hired Truck Program.
Daley told reporters at a City Hall news conference that, while he has a reputation as a “micro-manager,” he did not know about problems in the program.
Still, Daley said, “As mayor, it’s not for me to make excuses, only to get to the root of the problem.”
Daley ticked off a list of reforms, including tossing out all 165 trucking companies in the program and creating a new certification process, through which the firms will have to reapply.