U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber said he wasn’t feeling well last week, and put off until February the sentencing of the “ComEd Four,” caught up in the investigation of Michael Madigan and convicted of bribery last May.
Reminding me of something I’ve been meaning to do: put in a good word for one of the guilty parties, Jay Doherty. I’ve known Jay for 25 years, since I started attending the Friday lunches at Gene and Georgetti that our ace political columnist, Steve Neal, held in an upstairs room. The meals were well-lubricated, hours-long affairs, with politicians and power brokers. I always tried to sit next to the former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Dan Rostenkowski, and listen fascinated to his tales of backroom deals in Congress. He had a way of giving your forearm a squeeze — I liked to think of that squeeze as passing from Lyndon B. Johnson to Dan to me.
Rostenkowski went to prison over trifles. Misuse of postage stamps. Crystal. Some chairs he took home. Petty stuff. What I call “lone trombonist” crimes. The marching band executes a crisp 90-degree turn, but one guy misses his cue and keeps going straight. His friends wince.
Jay isn’t a friend — I haven’t spoken to him in years — though I did send him a supportive note when his legal woes began. Because I know how lonely it can get when trouble comes knocking. Rather, he was what we in the news biz call “a source.” When the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District was feuding with a Gold Coast condo over use of an alley, the story reached me through Jay, who “dropped a dime” on them, as we old timers say.
“Let’s have some fun,” he’d said. And fun it was. I was a better informed journalist because of Jay Doherty, and a plugged-in reporter is a happy reporter.
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Makes one wonder about those folks harmed or shamed by these players. I can't stop thinking about Anne Burke, a judge, devout Catholic, dedicated to DCFS kids and other good causes. To get to that age and then have your world implode. The heart breaks for them.
ReplyDeleteMy heart doesn't break for Anne Burke. She knew her husband was a crook & an arrogant one at that, from Day 1.
DeleteIf nothing else former Supreme Cout Justice Ann Burke had to wonder where all the extra money not being reported on the income tax came from. The only family members I might feel bad for is their children assuming they have some. Otherwise, no not at all.
DeleteTo quote Don Henley : a man with a brief case can steal more money than any man with a gun.
ReplyDeleteIt seems Mr. Doherty stole money. Sounds like extortion . White collar crime. His good works should be in the record. He's fortunate to be remembered by someone with some juice.
You are good man to step up for him in this small way.
Some of that money was stole from me, and you for that matter. im sorry your acquaintance made bad decisions but judge Leinenwebber who I have met is an excellent jurist and I'm sure he will reach the proper decision based on the law and not a steak dinner.
I have written and submitted testimonials for friends facing sentencing from being convicted of cocaine distribution to murder so I understand the process. I found housing and jobs for people to qualify for parole. These people committed crimes and served time. Some are still incarcerated. A 17 year old developmentally disabled girl tried as an adult. Want to write a story about her? Probably not
This was a thoughtful column, rooted in compassion. In response you pat yourself on the back, then try to diminish the author with a mean spirited logical fallacy. My hunch is that you are better than this.
DeleteThanks Dennis. At the risk of disagreeing, remember that FME's comments are all rooted in self-love and vindictiveness, so I imagine your hunch is overly-kind. For instance, his last false offer of the developmentally disabled girl tried as an adult, and immediate shrugging assumption that I wouldn't want to write about her — because that's the kind of guy he thinks I am, apparently — is utter bullshit, considering how I leap to write about such subjects. Honestly, I didn't realize there was more comment after the first line, or I wouldn't have published it at all. FME is one of the trolls who live under my bridge and occasionally bellow out their disappointment. But now that it's up and you've reacted to it, I'll keep it up.
DeleteAt the risk of this not being published, I'm going to stand up for FME.
DeleteI'd just point out that your own publisher described you as "acerbic," NS, and when I suggested that was unfair you seemingly shrugged and replied that you've been called worse. The point of that is that it's no surprise that you draw an intelligent, opinionated readership, among whom some may occasionally be acerbic themselves. Fools do not tread lightly here.
FME contains multitudes and he offers lots of good comments. He also has a wealth of experience which makes him a valuable contributor. I'm often impressed by how he has personal familiarity with such a variety of different topics that are covered by EGD, some of today's remarks being no exception. Plus, he's made it clear that he's a fan of your writing, despite occasional disagreements.
Alas, he also shoots himself in the foot on the regular, IMO, by being pointlessly provocative when visiting this comment board. I cringed when I read his conclusion to today's comment. The first two paragraphs: solid. The point of his 3rd paragraph seems fair enough, had he left off the cheap shot at the end of it. The personal experience related in the 4th paragraph is worthwhile, but then he had to go off the rails with the misguided final 3 sentences. He should know as well as anyone that you would not shy away from writing about such a situation and that was a preposterous non-sequitur.
But the reason I'm sticking my nose in here where it doesn't belong is because I think his participation on EGD is a net plus. I was going to say he's not a troll. Having checked the definition, I'd have to admit that some of his more pointed shots do qualify for that description, unfortunately. However, there seems to me to be a lot more to him than his more intemperate remarks would imply.
tl;dr Dennis kinda nails it in his last sentence.
I am very sorry that it seemed I was disparaging you in some way by imagining that you didn't want to write about the girl that went into Walmart and stole a machete and hacked up an Uber driver.
DeleteA horribly tragic circumstance for the family whose son was killed.
You would have no way of knowing this is what I was referring to and that she is a long time family friend who had been eating chocolate chip cookies at our kitchen table just a couple days before. I think that people who stand up for accused criminals that are facing having their life destroyed are doing the right thing to try to give context to the court so appropriate mercy might be shown.
I was not trying to be snide. I'm certainly not a troll
Thanks jakash for putting more thought into my comments then I deserve. Grrrr
I would also like to say that I spent the time to read the entire transcript of the charges that Mr. Doherty faces. It's all public record and he had jumped into a sewer still. I agree, far too many people are put in jail and that there should be better punishment, especially for those who have lived otherwise exemplary lives
DeleteNo worries FME. Since today's column is about defending the guilty, I think it's apt that Coey does an admirable job of listing your attributes (plus a reader's note reminded me that none of us know what other people are going through at any given time). I know I get testy — remember there are true psychotics who leave dozens, scores of emails that I delete without the barest glance to ascertain who they're from. It gets. ... dreary, and probably makes me more hairtrigger than I would be without them. I'd shut off the comments and direct people to the gated community of Facebook if they have something to say, but the comments, to me, add a very valuable angle.
DeleteWhile I do believe the truism that we’re not necessarily defined by our worst deeds (or our best, for that matter), I can’t help but wonder if your position is among the aspects of human nature that enable some share of wrong-doing. “I like this person, and I’ve known him to do nice things, so the criminal things he does aren’t so bad; give him a pass. I don’t know (or I dislike) this other criminal; put him in jail.” I know that’s over-simplifying, and I don’t know a single thing about this case, but that’s what occurred to me. I’m confident you’ll enlighten me as to why I may be mistaken!
ReplyDeleteYour confidence is misplaced. I don't think you're mistaken. Even if I didn't know Jay, I wouldn't want him in jail — we jail far too many people as it is.
DeleteI can’t disagree with that. For many non-violent offenses, meaningful community service would be a much better outcome.
DeleteSpeaking of non violence, I immediately thought of the Australian writer who helped murder her friend's mother, She isn't Australian, it turns out, but that description called up several references to Ann Perry that all led off with the crime and offhandedly mentioned her writing (which I consider superb). After several decades of concealing the crime and the 5 years she spent in jail, she was outed much to her consternation and I think the following is pertinent to this discussion: Perry asked a senior figure in the Mormon church if her membership would be affected. "He said 'your calling comes from God and He knows'," Perry recalls. "He also told me I would not lose a single friend over it. It didn't seem possible, but I have learned how decent and compassionate people can be. Not a single friend has gone. That surprised the hell out of me."
ReplyDelete