$12M deal in Chicago hiring scandal

An attorney who has fought City Hall's political patronage hiring for nearly 40 years says a $12 million settlement could finally drive a stake in "Chicago-style politics."

"At some point, all things have to come an end," the attorney, Michael Shakman, said after a judge on Wednesday preliminarily approved the settlement.

The agreement reduces the number of city payroll jobs the mayor's office gets to fill. It also calls for the city to establish a fund with the money that will be paid out to individuals who claim they were discriminated against in the hiring process since 2000. The maximum award would be $100,000.

Plaintiffs alleged the city violated a 1983 court-ordered ban on hiring based on political clout. The order resulted from a 1969 lawsuit filed by Shakman, who has feuded with City Hall over patronage abuses ever since.

In 2005, U.S. District Judge Wayne Andersen appointed a federal monitor to keep an eye on city hiring after Mayor Richard M. Daley's former patronage chief was arrested on charges that he and others conspired to rig the city's hiring process. They were convicted last summer by a federal jury.

It is unclear how many people would be eligible for payments under the settlement, but a court-appointed monitor, attorney Noelle Brennan, said in December that she was investigating 175 cases and that there have been more than 400 complaints about the practice.

About 1,200 of the city's 38,000 employees still will be exempt from the decree banning political hiring, but the number of positions the mayor's office can fill will be reduced to about 600 from about 830, said Jennifer Hoyle, spokeswoman for the city's law department.

The city's top attorney, Mara Georges, said the settlement shows the Daley administration is committed to reform.

Andersen asked both sides to return to court May 31 for a hearing on whether to give final approval to the deal, which would also require approval from the City Council.

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Associated Press Writer Deanna Bellandi contributed to this report.