Ex-patronage chief, 3 others guilty

And Thursday, a federal jury decided four of the fixers had to pay.

A jury of 10 men and two women stripped the gears of Mayor Daley's political machine as they convicted Daley's former patronage chief of secretly doling out city jobs and promotions to reward Daley's political workers, while giving the shaft to candidates without clout -- all at taxpayer expense.

And prosecutors suggested that they were only just getting started, with one top fed telling reporters to "stay tuned."

Former patronage chief Robert Sorich and Sorich's chief lieutenant, Tim McCarthy, were each convicted of two counts of mail fraud for working the scheme while at the mayor's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

Their high-ranking colleagues in the city's Streets and Sanitation Department were convicted as well: Patrick Slattery of one count of mail fraud and John Sullivan of one count of lying to the FBI.

"As we listened to the testimony, as we came together as a single voice, it became evident to all of us that what we saw was wrong. There were fundamental problems in the hiring process in the city of Chicago for many, many years," said jury foreman S. Jay Olshansky, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Honest applicants 'real victims'

Olshansky said he was "appalled" by the massive fraud he and other jurors saw in city hiring.

Sorich and his colleagues were accused of forging hiring evaluations, conducting meaningless interviews and shredding documents and computer records or lying to cover up the scheme.

Critics of the mayor said the jury's decision held extreme significance for the Daley administration -- well beyond a garden-variety political corruption trial.

"It's especially sad and especially serious when you think about the fact these men were convicted of stealing jobs from honest citizens and awarding them on a basis of political clout," said Michael Shakman, the attorney who successfully fought in federal court for a decree that bans city officials from taking politics into account when hiring for the vast majority of city jobs. All four men on trial were accused of routinely violating the so-called Shakman decree.

"The real victims of Sorich and the others were honest job applicants who thought they were participating in an honest merit-based selection process. . . . They were deprived of a right of a fair shake at jobs," Shakman said.

The case marks the first time defendants in the Hired Truck investigation have gone to trial -- as well as the first time a violation of the Shakman decree was found to be criminal.

'I think it's an abortion of justice'

Family members of the men on trial, who often attended court, let out sighs of sadness as the verdicts were read.

All four men were acquitted on a mail fraud charge even before the case went to the jury because of a technical deficiency in the prosecution's case on that count.

And while Sorich was found not guilty of two other charges and Sullivan of one count, the acquittals will have no effect on their sentences and gave little relief to their families.

"I think it's an abortion of justice," said Sorich's wife, Michelle, as she left the courtroom.

Thomas Durkin, Sorich's attorney, said: "I still don't think it's a crime. I think most people on the street think we had the case."

The men could face two to four years in prison, with Sorich facing the most potential time.

Prosecutors praised the jury's verdict, which promises to energize an already ramped-up investigation into improper political hiring and other activities at City Hall and a similar investigation into hiring in Gov. Blagojevich's administration.

The case -- prosecuted by Patrick Collins, Philip Guentert, Barry Miller and Julie Ruder -- was unusual. While only the four men were on trial, prosecutors and witnesses frequently suggested that the defendants' bosses -- such as former Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Al Sanchez and Victor Reyes, the former head of IGA -- were participants in the scheme. Neither those men or others have been charged, but the feds suggest there is more to come.

"I really can't say anything more than stay tuned," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Shapiro at a news conference.

After the jury spoke volumes on the city's hiring system Thursday, Mayor Daley spoke for less than two minutes at a news conference.

Reading from a statement, he did not directly address the jury's finding that there was massive hiring fraud in his administration.

'Mayor Daley was not on trial'

"While I accept the jury's decision, I am saddened by the verdict for these men and their families because I've never known them to be anything but hardworking, and I feel for them at this difficult time," Daley began.

"As for the city, from the time we first heard about these problems, we have worked to reform our hiring processes to prevent any abuses or gaming of the system," Daley continued, laying out such reforms as imposing a hiring freeze and hiring a new inspector general.

Daley said in a sworn statement to investigators last year that any names from his Office of Intergovernmental Affairs were recommendations for hires -- not orders. That was also a defense argument that the jury soundly rejected.

Daley took no questions and flashed a quick smile to the reporters as he shot out the door for a dinner with President Bush.

Jurors said the trial wasn't about Daley, despite attempts by Sorich's attorney, Durkin, to repeatedly inject the mayor into the trial.

"Mayor Daley was not on trial," said juror Jerry Kuykendall, 68, of Chicago. "We focused our attention on these four guys."

'Fair shot' was jurors' goal

During deliberations, jurors debated and argued. Sometimes voices were raised. But they said there was no screaming or yelling as they took a methodical approach, getting organized from the start, considering the evidence count by count. They weren't interested in sending a message. They didn't talk about politics or reforming the system.

"We wanted to give these guys a fair shot," Kuykendall said. "We did not want them to be put in jail because we were taking the law into our own hands and straightening the city out."

When they didn't find enough evidence to directly link the defendants to the crimes charged, they voted to acquit.

And when the jurors left the jury room, they did so with handshakes and hugs.

Jurors rejected key defense arguments.

Defense attorneys argued that the men were good guys simply following orders from higher-ups and were part of a system long in place before they got there.

And the defense argued that the men shouldn't be convicted of any crimes because prosecutors couldn't show that the men ever pocketed any money for doling out city jobs or promotions.

"The notion that we have to look the other way because they didn't put a dollar in their pocket is absurd," prosecutor Collins said.

Before the trial started, Sorich's mother, a slight, gray-haired woman who attended court nearly every day, told her son's attorney, Durkin, that he was in her prayers.

"We don't need prayers," Durkin said softly. "We need witnesses."

In the end, Sorich called no one in his defense.

Contributing: Frank Main, Monifa Thomas