Can Daley face criminal charges?

[bart]

I know that Daley and the City of Chicago are facing a spate of civil actions with regard to Meigs. Is it possible that he could face Federal criminal charges? Is there possibly a criminal case to be made under interstate commerce laws or unlawful destruction of public property? Boy, I wish the local US Attorney was a GA pilot and had the kahunas to bring a criminal case. Maybe if Daley goes down in handcuffs, other local officials would think twice before screwing with airports.

 

[A Squared]

Ummm,

What exactly are the charges? I hear a lot of cries to go after Daley, but there's really no grounds.

Don't get me wrong, I'm as disgusted by this as the rest of you, and nothing would make me happier than to see Daley in jail. The thing is, Daley is not stupid, and you'd better believe that he did his homework before he did this.

First, it was not a federally funded airport. Daley has made sure all the federal funding has been paid back, this was done a long time ago, remember he's been trying to close Meigs for years and paying back the federal funding was one of the steps to eliminate valid objections to closing it.
The only thing that he seens to be in violation of is Part 157 (I think) which requires advance notice before doing something like this. the thing is, this is an administrative violation, not a criminal one. About the only thing The FAA can do is fine the city as there is no pilot certificate or operating certificate to revoke .... so the FAA fines Chicago $100,00 ..... I can assure you that Daley won't lose any sleep over it, he'd consider it a bargain.

 

[ifly4food]

Don't get me wrong, I'm as disgusted by this as the rest of you, and nothing would make me happier than to see Daley in jail. The thing is, Daley is not stupid, and you'd better believe that he did his homework before he did this

Actually...
Daley is quite an idiot. This is the man who went on TV with his top aides in matching Land's End sweaters during the worst snowstorm in 20 years (New Years, 2000) and defended the city's lack of snow clearing equipment by saying (a-la Blues Brothers) "We had storm, a flood, a hurricane, well not a hurricane, but IT WASN'T MY FAULT!!!". Chicagoans know he contstantly makes stupid statements like this in public. The reason Chicago is successful is that much like Dubya, Daley surrounds himself with people who are smarter than himself.

The only reason he stays in power is because of the "political machine". People not from Chicago rarely understand this.
In Chicago, you vote for Daley not because he's qualified or because he's a hard worker, but because HE'S DALEY. Daley throws a bone to all of his supporters. You don't support Daley, you get locked out. Want a construction project at O'Hare? Contribute to Daley's campaign fund and send your men door to door. You get the idea.
Because of this, a rival candidate in an election can't build enough support to challenge him... if they were elected, they wouldn't have the "connections" to hook people up.

Because of this, Daley will be mayor for life... just like his father was before him.

 

[A Squared]

>>>>Actually...Daley is quite an idiot.

OK, I won't argue the point. Perhaps what I should have said is that he's cunning? Like I said, he's been trying to shut down Meigs for years, and I'm sure he's had a team of lawyers advising him, and he appears to have removed all legal obstacles to closing Meigs.

Regards