Daley: 'It wasn't all a sham'

But the mayor categorically denied the portrait painted by federal prosecutors that produced last week's conviction of Daley's former patronage chief and three others: that there was wholesale rigging of hiring and promotions to reward pro-Daley armies of political workers.

"It wasn't all a sham. It was not all a sham. There were some mistakes. But it was not a sham," he said.

Four days after the verdict, Daley said he was "absolutely comfortable that every action I've taken in this office has been lawful and appropriate."

But, he said, "Many have said that, as someone who prides himself on knowing the details of government, I should have been aware of these hiring problems. I agree ... It is fair criticism to say that I should have exercised greater oversight to ensure that every worker the city hired, regardless of who recommended them, was qualified, and that proper procedures were always followed."

The mayor repeated that mantra when asked whether he believes federal prosecutors are after him.

"Well, I've acted very openly, honestly and lawfully at all times [in] my role as mayor, state's attorney and state senator. I'm very, very proud of my role as a public official. I have no qualms about that," he said.

Pressed further on whether he believes he is the ultimate target of a continuing investigation, the mayor said, "I don't know. I don't know. I'm telling you how I've acted -- personally."

Last week, former Daley patronage chief Robert Sorich and three others were convicted of engineering what federal prosecutors described as a massive fraud in city hiring, complete with sham interviews, rigged test scores and color-coded charts to track political sponsors.

In documents unsealed on judgment day, U.S. District Judge David Coar ridiculed as "incredible" testimony from Corporation Counsel Mara Georges.

Testifying for the government, Georges said she was unaware of City Hall's worst-kept secret: that hiring was directed by the Mayor's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, where Sorich worked.

'Put on the blinders'

"With respect to ... the corporation counsel's office especially, there seems to be -- the attitude seems to be -- put on the blinders and don't look left or right," the judge said during a private discussion with attorneys out of the jury's earshot.

On Monday, Daley defended Georges, said he retains full confidence in her and hopes she stays on as the city's No. 1 lawyer. Georges could not be reached for comment.

He described the role of the Mayor's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs at the center of the city hiring scandal as dealing with "every public official. They deal with citizens organizations... . They dealt with everyone.... And they've expanded their operation... . [But] they're not doing hiring."

The mayor was asked how he could possibly not have known about IGA's role in hiring when the office maintained a clout list with 5,700 names of job applicants and their political sponsors.

"I'm not going to comment on all the details. They're from citizens. There are unions. There's everybody who comments in regards to recommending people [for jobs]. I get 'em every day. I walk down the street, I have someone asking me," he said.

Attorney Michael Shakman filed the landmark lawsuit that was supposed to ban political hiring.

On Monday, Shakman noted that Daley used the present tense to deny that IGA plays a role in city hiring -- for good reason.

"Is he talking about right now? Right now they're not doing hiring because it's obvious they have been engaged in serious illegal activity," Shakman said.

"It's like closing the barn door after the horse has left... . The question is what did he know and when did he know it."

Daley has not yet decided whether to seek the sixth term he needs to become Chicago's longest-serving mayor.

If he runs, Daley said he expects to be judged on his entire record -- not on the hiring abuses. And he insisted that the Sorich trial and trials yet to come would have no impact on the political decision he intends to make after the November election.

After the news conference, Chief of staff Ron Huberman said he hopes negotiations with Michael Shakman will produce an out-of-court settlement that makes Daley's controversial effort to vacate the Shakman decree a moot issue.

"What we are in complete agreement with in terms of Shakman is the tenets of what it's trying to accomplish: A fair, open hiring process that is merit-based -- that ensures that the city hires the very best person for the job. The ongoing negotiations.... is trying to deal with how we would set up such a process and how that would work," Huberman said.

Talk of negotiations

Last year, Georges told reporters the city was seeking to more than double -- from 1,200 to 2,850 -- the number of policy-making jobs exempt from the Shakman decree.

On Monday, Huberman reversed field. "We're not looking for a dramatic doubling of Shakman-exempt positions."

Shakman would not comment on the negotiations. "We have an agreement not to talk about it. I'm going to honor that. I'm surprised and disappointed that Huberman didn't do the same," he said.

fspielman@suntimes.com