Bureau Of National Affairs
No.
170
Page A-11
Thursday, September 2,
1999
ISSN
1522-5968
News
Laborers
Federal
Judge Approves Monitorship
Over Chicago
Laborers District
Council
CHICAGO--A federal judge in Illinois Aug. 31 approved a
plan
proposed two weeks ago by the Department of Justice and
the
Laborers International Union of North America to
release
organized crime's grip on the Chicago Laborers'
District
Council ( U.S. v. Construction & General Laborers'
District
Council of Chicago and Vicinity, N.D. Ill.,No. 99 C
5229,
consent decree approved 8/31/99
).
Judge Robert Gettleman of the U.S. District Court for
the
Northern District of Illinois formally approved a
consent
decree establishing federal supervision over
the
14,500-member CLDC. Gettleman also appointed a
former
federal prosecutor to monitor the union reform process and
a
former Illinois Supreme Court justice to act as
its
adjudications officer. In addition, Gettleman appointed
a
Chicago labor lawyer "trustee/supervisor" of the CLDC
during
the duration of the consent
decree.
The CLDC performs a wide range of services for Chicago's
21
LIUNA locals, including the administration of
employee
benefit funds with more than $1.5 billion in
assets.
Randall Samborn, a Justice Department spokesman, said
Judge
Gettleman made some "technical changes" to the
consent
decree. He noted, however, the function and form of
the
supervision process announced by Scott Lassar, U.S.
Attorney
for the Northern District of Illinois, had not
changed.
"The changes did not change the substance of the
consent
decree," Samborn
said.
Legacy of
Corruption
On Aug. 12, Lassar and LIUNA officials announced they
had
reached a unique agreement aimed at dismantling the
mob's
control over the CLDC for at least three decades (156
DLR
AA-1, 8/13/99). While the district council was placed
under
the control of a trustee in February 1998 through
LIUNA's
internal reform process, Lassar said the consent decree
was
needed to address special problems associated with
the
legacy of corruption within the
organization.
The two-year consent decree establishes a process by
which
wrongdoing and ethical breaches will be
investigated,
prosecuted, and adjudicated. It also addresses
democratic
reforms and membership control of the CLDC through
elections
next year. The consent decree is highly unique in
the
context of the four-year-old effort to erase
organized
crime's influence over LIUNA because it marks the first
time
the government and the union have sought court
supervision
of a LIUNA
body.
Samborn said Gettleman chose Steven Miller to serve as
the
CLDC's monitor. Miller is an 18-year veteran of the
U.S.
Attorney's office in Chicago and acted as chief of
its
special prosecutions division until he left four years
ago.
As monitor, Miller, who is currently a partner in
the
Chicago firm of Sachnoff & Weaver, will investigate
and
prosecute charges of corrupt practices and ethical
breaches.
Miller will be able to seek subpoenas from the court
and
access FBI intelligence to support investigations
and
prosecutions. Samborn said Miller is scheduled to make
his
first quarterly progress report to Gettleman on Nov.
30.
Gettleman chose former Judge Seymour Simon to act as
the
CLDC's adjudications officer, Samborn said. The
84-year-old
Simon is a former Illinois Appellate Court and Supreme
Court
judge and continues to practice law through the Chicago
firm
of Rudnick & Wolfe. Simon also served on the Chicago
City
Council and the Cook County Board of Commissioners. As
the
CLDC's hearing officer, Simon will hear and issue
decisions
on cases brought by Miller and election
matters.
Samborn said Gettleman appointed Chicago labor
attorney
Robert Bloch as the CLDC's trustee/supervisor. In
this
capacity, Bloch will supervise the daily business
functions
of the district council. Bloch has been acting in
this
capacity since February 1998, when the international
union
took over the
CLDC.
Dwight Bostwick, one of LIUNA's internal prosecutors
through
the Office of the General Executive Board Attorney, said
the
process approved through the consent decree continues
the
work his office has been doing for the last four years,
but
focuses new resources on the union's particular problems
in
Chicago. In addition to the original trusteeship imposed
on
the CLDC, the GEB has developed several cases
involving
locals and individuals working under the umbrella of
the
district
council.
"The consent decree is intended to be a mechanism
to
continue the success we've had under the
trusteeship,"
Bostwick said. "It is anticipated that the internal
officers
will work with the monitor to speed the process of reform
so
the district council can get back to self governance as
soon
as
possible."
By Michael Bologna
Copyright c 1999 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., Washington
D.C.