Chicago cop, turned fixer lawyer, turned mob-wrecking government witness, Bob Cooley is about to make another big splash. Cooley’s book, WHEN CORRUPTION WAS KING got picked up on a feature film option deal last week in Hollywood. It was never a question of if, but rather than when the persona of many of Chicago’s incredibly sleazy public officials would grace your local cinema houses. The rich marriage of characters left over from Al Capone’s mob, Chicago’s politicians, bureaucrats and cops were laid out in this continuing Cooley soap opera that make television’s Sopranos seem lackluster and tame.
As someone who knew the majority of the players in Cooley’s book it was always evident to me that these headliners played by a unique set of unwritten rules. Most honest Chicago cops, prosecutors and judges learned early on to put their blinders on or face getting framed, disgraced and fired if they interfered with any of the Windy City power.
I’m not sure what the film producer’s plans are but there is enough material available for a bunch of sequels creating a powerful film franchise.
It remains to be seen how a certain Chicago cop turned alderman with his fixer lawyer wife who is a sitting Illinois Supreme Court Judge escaped prosecution for the deeds alleged in Cooley’s book. It remains to be seen if their Teflon coating can protect them until the undertakers wheel them away.
My personal dilemma is figuring out whose unforgettable part I’m going want to play in this film.
The website for Cooley's book is here.
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>>>>It remains to be seen how a certain Chicago cop turned alderman with his fixer lawyer wife who is a sitting Illinois Supreme Court Judge escaped prosecution for the deeds alleged in Cooley’s book. It remains to be seen if their Teflon coating can protect them until the undertakers wheel them away.<<<<<
Looks like one of them has been in the news w/Bobby Rush lately!!
I know of at least 100 or more CPD officers who took the 2006 test and are dying to bailout to CFD.
Judge's ruling stalls firefighter hiring
(http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/413965,CST-NWS-firemen05.article)
June 5, 2007
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com
Chicago Fire Commissioner Ray Orozco wants to hire up to 500 new firefighters from the list generated by the city's first firefighters entrance exam in more than a decade.
But a legal battle that has raged since the last test, in 1995, could stop Orozco in his tracks.
His department has asked the city's Human Resources Department for the new list of qualified applicants, with the aim of hiring hundreds of new -- and younger -- faces.
But that hiring could be derailed by an April 20 ruling by U.S. District Judge Joan Gotschall, who entered an injunction requiring the city to hire 132 African-American firefighters. They sued over the 1995 exam, claiming discrimination.
The '95 exam was drafted by an African American with an eye toward diversifying the Fire Department.
When results for minorities were disappointing, the city established a cut-off score of 89 and hired randomly from the top 1,800 "well-qualified" candidates.
Two years ago, Gotschall ruled that the city's handling of the exam had the effect of perpetuating the predominantly white status quo, since 78 percent of those "well-qualified" candidates were white. She has now wrapped up the damage phase of that case.
If the Daley administration agrees to hiring the 132 black candidates, Chicago taxpayers will be on the hook for roughly $27 million in damages. If the "hiring remedy" is ignored, the tab could approach $100 million, said Joshua Karsh, an attorney representing plaintiffs.
City Law Department spokeswoman Jennifer Hoyle called those estimates high and said the city plans to appeal Gotschall's ruling.
The Fire Department "can go ahead and get the names" off the new list from the 2006 test, Hoyle said. "But, in terms of doing further processing and actually hiring these people, they would have to wait until the judge rules."
Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said it's important to hire from the newest list, because the candidates from the 1995 list are "too old."
"The average age exceeded 38," he said. "We want younger people."