Mayor Daley`s appointment of his brother William to the committee that will select the site for a third Chicago-area airport brought cries of outrage from his political foes.
”It`s the same kind of nepotism we`ve seen for years,” scolded former Mayor Jane Byrne. ”He`s there to espouse his brother`s plans and sway the vote. . . . ”
Sure he is. Did she think Daley would fill one of his three slots on the board with someone who hates his idea of an airport on the city`s Southeast Side?
Generally, nepotism is defined as favoritism to relatives, especially giving them cushy jobs. Chicago`s aldermen, committeemen and mayors have provided abundant examples over the decades. The current mayor isn`t so innocent, either. He`s given several good positions to relatives of top aides and associates.
But a non-salaried seat on a committee that will make most people in this area mad no matter what it does hardly qualifies as a soft, cushy job. And naturally Daley would want his appointees to represent what he believes are the city`s best interests. His brother Bill, a lawyer and new president of Amalgamated Trust and Savings Bank, has been the mayor`s closest adviser for many years. If he weren`t the mayor`s brother, there could be no quarreling with Bill Daley`s appointment.
The mayor`s brother and his other two choices, Chicago Federation of Labor President Robert Healey and Chicago Urban League President James Compton, will serve with four people named by Illinois Gov. Thompson and four by Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh. The three political leaders jointly will appoint the chairman.
Gov. Bayh may have been right when he said through a spokesman that he presumes all of the mayor`s trio will ”start with a bias toward Lake Calumet.” But they will be only three voices out of 12. Picking a site for a major new airport involves complicated financial, environmental, transportation and urban-development issues that are not going to be settled by one side shouting down the other. Intelligence, sound strategic planning and political savvy are essential to the process, and William Daley will provide those very well.
