But the real big clout name in this game hasn’t come up yet.
Ever heard of the Hynes family?
Cook County Democratic Party Boss and DePaul lobbyist Thomas Hynes
In my opinion, if anyone is the major mover and shaker behind this crooked deal it is Cook County Democratic Party Boss Thomas Hynes. DePaul University pays him $80,000 a year to lobby for them in Chicago and Springfield. Hynes’ son, Matthew, also used to lobby City Hall for DePaul. Now he is Mayor Emanuel’s toady under the title of Director of Chicago’s Office of Legislative Counsel and Government Affairs. Thomas’ other son, Gubernatorial bust-out Dan Hynes, sits on the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (McPier) Board – the same board that has no problem doing deals with associates of organized crime.
Now the Mayor’s office swears up and down that the Hynes family is not involved in the multi-million dollar stadium boondoggle, despite the fact that making these sorts of deals is exactly what father and sons are paid to do by their respective organizations. You can be sure that Thomas Hynes will fight as hard to keep this deal on track as he did to tear down Harold Washington, Chicago’s first African-American mayor, because it means more money for the Chicago Machine.
So the Machine will get richer, and we get the bill. DePaul will continue to play everywhere but on their own campus, trading convenience and freedom for dependence on the whims of politicians. The Blue Demons will put up a lot of green (and may even make some of it back), but in the end they will lose a bit more of their school’s soul. In the end, this Faustian deal with the Windy City Hall Devils will result in an overtime loss for the good citizens of Chicago. And, as usual with any sports franchise, the only ones that make the real money will be the Bosses.
5 Comments
Dear Frank,
Here are a couple of links to some very interesting articles
about the Hynes Family:
http://americannewspost.com/joseph-fosco/655/a-practical-joke-on-the-people-of-illinois-hynes-hires-anthrax-hoaxer/
http://americannewspost.com/frank-coconate/6169/millionaire-gets-his-way-with-benignos-office/
Dear Frank,
I noticed that you revised this article to include a member
of the infamous Daddono Family. Great work! J
After years of doing nothing with my life, I got serious and was ‘made’ a probation officer (some may not think that was serious) by some local politicians. The O’Brien family was very close to me before their older son died and he referred me to another pol who got me a job as a probe land officer. Despite my arrests and no convictions, I was shot to the top of the list and became a law enforcement officer of sorts; which was strange considering my checkered past that I will not go into.
I didn’t like the job, hated sending anyone to jail and thought probation was more of a violation of a persons life than prison but that is another story. While at Probe-land central 26th and Cal, I knew more people coming in to see their Probe-Land officers than I knew in the office. That was strange. Then I began to notice that a lot of other officers had names I had heard before in books like Captive City. It seems there were an awful lot of probation officers with relatives in organized crime. One was even caught selling keys of cocaine to the DEA. Of course, we were all cheering for him to get off. I am glad I had this experience and now know more Oufit guys than ever before.
The glory days are gone guys, we had our day, and now the Outfit has gone the way of Billy the Kid as piece of American mythology. After all you can’t plan a Brinks job when the Feds have wires up your ass and drones disguised as dragon flies zipping past your windshield. Any dinosaur-style heist like an out and out crash or takeover needs to be done by unknowns because it is just too easy to keep who ever is left on the Federal radar screen.
One other thing, the guys who robbed Purolater weren’t the brightest bulbs in the box. They took six when they could have taken it all, all but one had enough brains to get the money to the Caymans fast, and finally, it doesn’t take much to realize a fire will go out if deprived of oxygen.
Happy New Year, Joe, and keep up the great stories of old…they are sure helping me complete my book.
Good luck to you and your book Mr. Zake. I’m looking forward to reading it! 😉
THANKS