It looks like Chicago residents won’t get a chance to see which of their neighbors were under consideration for two vacant alderman spots before Mayor Richard M. Daley gives his recommendations to the City Council tomorrow.
Jennifer Hoyle, spokeswoman for the city’s law department, said information about the candidates would likely be available by the end of the week.
After the mayor invited applications from the general public, the Chicago Current and other news organizations requested the list of candidates under the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
Late last month, the city denied the requests, arguing it could jeopardize applicants' jobs by revealing their names. But lawyers in Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office said it was in the public interest to see who were among the mayor's choices.
The city has seven working days to comply with the decision, handed down on March 5.
Terry Pastika, executive director of the watchdog Citizen Advocacy Center, says the city's decision not to release the names immediately is disappointing.
"The public had a right to see the information from the get-go, and it would appear that they’re just trying to take advantage of the full legal term limit to circumvent disclosure," she says.
She praised the mayor's move to solicit members of the general public for consideration, but said the lack of total transparency is "inconsistent" with his initial overture.
Andy Shaw, executive director of the Better Government Association, agrees.
"The whole purpose of this exercise is to open up a process and follow that old saw that sunlight is the best disinfectant," he says. "The beauty of this whole exercise was that the mayor seemed to understand (the benefit) of going outside the political culture."
Despite the city's delay in releasing the names, Shaw says he expects Daley to recommend candidates who participated in the application process.
"(Daley) talked the talk with this process," Shaw says. "Now he has to walk the walk."
Both seats became vacant after longtime aldermen left the council.
The 29th Ward's Isaac "Ike" Carothers pled guilty to corruption charges in February and resigned. Manny Flores, of the 1st Ward, went to work for Gov. Pat Quinn's administration last year.
The City Council is expected to vote on the candidates' confirmation tomorrow morning, following the rules committee meeting where the recommendations will be announced.
Alderman Joe Moore (49th) said the swift confirmation process is concerning.
"Quite frankly, it's kind of ironic when he's supposedly doing this big public process where people are applying for the job ... (and then) he rolls out these announcements at the last minute," he says.
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