Third corruption squad added here

From an exhaustive Hired Truck investigation to a probe into patronage hiring at City Hall, there's so much corruption to investigate in the Chicago area, the FBI is adding manpower.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Grant told the Sun-Times he has reorganized the bureau to add a third public corruption squad by Sept. 6, giving Chicago the largest public corruption unit in the country.

Even New York and Los Angeles only have two squads, said Washington-based FBI spokesman Steve Kodak. It is the second time in two years the FBI in Chicago has expanded its public corruption force.

"Sometimes you create a new squad and tell agents to go out and find the work," Grant said. "Right now, we've got enough work that will keep everybody busy."

In 2004, former Chicago FBI chief Thomas Kneir added a second public corruption squad, citing the growing Hired Truck scandal. The FBI would not release the exact number of agents investigating public corruption, but each of the three squads has eight to 15 agents.

Grant also cited Hired Truck, saying that despite 32 people already charged and 23 guilty pleas, there's more to come. "We're not finished with it," Grant said.

'Not easy cases'

Grant said the feds continue to build new cases as more and more defendants cooperate -- either before they're publicly charged or after they strike a plea deal.

"Somebody opens up to us or to the U.S. attorney's office and it opens up a new area for us to explore," he said.

Grant said an aggressive U.S. attorney's office led by Patrick Fitzgerald has kept the pace steady. Grant said Fitzgerald doesn't shy away from prosecuting anyone -- unlike some U.S. attorneys he's worked with.

"These are not easy cases to work; oftentimes there's political sensibilities. But Pat is apolitical. He doesn't care if they're Democrats, Republicans or what they are."

Though Grant said Mayor Daley is not a target in the growing probe, federal investigators took their investigation up another notch Friday when they questioned the mayor for the first time about alleged City Hall corruption.

In addition to Hired Truck, the mayor's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs is under fire, with prosecutors alleging job interviews were rigged in many cases so only those backed by clout landed jobs.

The U.S. attorney's office has brought public corruption charges in a number of areas outside of City Hall. Recent investigations include an ongoing probe into the Teachers Retirement System's pension fund; campaign practices by Michael Tristano, the onetime chief of staff to former House Republican leader Lee Daniels; a bribe probe into a former high-level Chicago Park District official, and smaller probes in towns like Aurora and Berwyn.

"A lot of retired FBI employees who have been here for years stop me and say the same thing: 'It's about time,' " said Grant.