Too Little Too Late From Aldermen On Rahm S Depaul Deal

The first time the City Council had a chance to vote on funding the Marriott/DePaul boondoggle, Mayor Emanuel gaveled the deal so fast that most aldermen didn’t even know what happened.

                                At last Monday’s finance committee hearing, the mayor had to pull a request to appropriate about $5 million for the project in the face of heated opposition from even some of his most loyal rubber-stampers.

              Thanks a lot for nothing, aldermen.

             Mayor Emanuel said, “Any objections?”

But don’t feel too bad for Suarez. In November the mayor appointed him to a $20,000-a-year position on the board of the International Port Authority, which oversees the city’s port on the southeast side.

Alderman Margaret Laurino—who was running the meeting while Mayor Emanuel was out of the room—denied his request. So Arena wound up having to write a letter to the city clerk to officially change his vote.