Chicago Sun-Times: 'Outrage' at city hall over Billy Goat deal

[Tweed]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-gov18.html

Mayor Daley's purchasing chief threatened Monday to fire the city official who told Billy Goat tavern owner Sam Sianis to scratch out his own name and leave his wife's name on an O'Hare Airport liquor license to cash in on the city's minority set-aside program.

''I'm outraged. That's something that should not occur. This is a legitimate program and people should not be taking advantage of it,'' said chief procurement officer Eric Griggs.

''If I find out that someone in my department assisted someone in taking advantage of the program, they'll be terminated immediately. . . . If Sam thinks that someone told him to mislead the city, he should let the city know who it is. Sam needs to come forward. He needs to let the city who told him to do it.''

Last week, Sianis told the Chicago Sun-Times that City Hall instructed him to cross his name off the O'Hare liquor license and remove it from other lease documents because, ''It have to be minority I'm not minority.''

Ah Chicago politics...

[DrGonzoLives]

1. The Monday S-T

had a short editorial, basically calling the city government idiots for thinking that Sianis didn't run the place, given the publicity that Royko and SNL gave it.