“Don’t Go Crooked, Go Straight to Roy’s!”
Billboard advertisement for a former garage which specialized in wheel alignment jobs.

The late George Murray, who cut his journalistic teeth working for the Hearst newspapers in Chicago, once contemplated the irony that significant portions of the Appian Way are still serviceable long after the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, but the Little Caesars of the asphalt and road paving companies operating in Illinois cannot construct a road surface that will last for more than a few years at most under optimal conditions.

If you need any evidence of the perpetual motion machine that is “the political combine,” to use the term popularized by Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass, look no farther than the road construction industry. The paving contractors make substantial political contributions to whatever politicians are in power, the politicians award public works contracts to favored firms to build and maintain the roads, the substandard roads buckle under the hot sun or crumble on account of harsh winters, and the cycle repeats itself. The practice of donating campaign cash is legal if properly disclosed.

Mark Brown of The Chicago Sun-Times pointed out that one of the powers behind “The Good Government Council,” an influential political action committee that lobbies lawmakers on behalf of asphalt contractors, is none other than William Cellini, of Springfield, Illinois. Cellini is a long time power broker and insider who first came to prominence during the administration of Republican Governor Richard B. Olgivie nearly forty years ago. A Cellini relative once served as patronage chief for former Secretary of State Jim Edgar. More recently, Cellini’s name appeared in the news in connection with the default on a multimillion dollar state loan to the owners of the Abraham Lincoln Hotel, which is adjacent to the Prairie Capital Convention Center. Former State Treasurer and class clown Judy Baar Topinka was criticized for promoting a plan for Cellini’s group to settle its nearly $40 million dollar debt for about twenty-five cents on the dollar. The plan was derailed when the public cried foul and the Attorney General, Jim Ryan, objected that the sweetheart deal was overly generous. Bill Cellini is considered to be an unindicted co -conspirator, along with Governor Rod Blagojevich, in ongoing trial of Antonin “Tony” Rezko. Clearly, Cellini is a man capable of working both sides of the aisle in order to maintain his clout and his longevity as the consumate political insider in the state capital.

Can you connect the dots and complete the picture? If my wallet could speak, it would cry, “Ouch!”

George Orwell, the British essayist and novelist, warned his readers of the danger of polite euphemisms.
“The Good Government Council” continually urges politicians to continue paving with the admixture of silly putty and peanut butter that passes for asphalt locally rather than using more durable concrete. Naturally enough, corrosive rock salt is used to treat the decaying road surfaces in the winter months. It contributes to the freeze and thaw cycle of expansion and contraction that produces so many potholes in asphalt roads. There was a shortage of salt this past winter. In former years, when the weather was milder, former Streets and Sanitation chief Al Sanchez had the streets of Chicago caked with salt when there was event a hint of snow. When the roads cracked, it was time to award more paving contracts. Sanchez looks to be the next City Hall figure to be tried in the Federal courts on corruption charges.

Years ago, I represented a client who was an employee of a major paving company. The matter was unrelated to his work, but we had some opportunities to engage in casual conversations about his work and the poor state of roads and highways in the Prairie State. He made a casual observation that Chicago road engineers would routinely approve paving work that would be rejected by other Illinois municipalities. In other places, the roads that were not approved would have to be graded again and repaved until the work was deemed satisfactory. This was seldom, if ever, an issue in Chicago.

The US Attorney’s Office successfully prosecuted one major paving firm, Palumbo Brothers, during the last decade. The principals were easily able to pay the court imposed fines for
falsifying weight receipts and overcharging for construction materials that were
never delivered nor used in road projects. Core samples indicated that amount of asphalt used did not meet specifications. The prosecution seemed to be something of a novelty at the time, but it is a well established routine by now.

Motorists can forgive a variety of political sins, provided that the roads are serviceable. Former Governor Lennington Small, whose title as the most celebrated crooked politician ever to hail from Kankakee, Illinois may be threatened by the currently imprisoned George H. Ryan, was able to overcome the taint of a lengthy public corruption trial for embezzlement and was returned to office for a second term largely on the strength of being “The Hard Roads Governor” who paved much of the state’s highways and byways.

With soaring gasoline prices producing a windfall of tax revenues for the state, county and local governments, one has to ask, “Why are the roads in such serious disrepair?” Illinois charges both a per gallon tax and a sales tax on gasoline purchases. For a gallon of gasoline, the federal and state taxes may amount to thirty-five cents before you begin to add in the county and local taxes. Where does the money all go to if the roads are not being repaired with these same revenues? Under Mayor Richard M. Daley, Chicago has systematized its collection of parking and traffic ticket fines. The current administration has collected millions of dollars that were largely unavailable to prior mayoral administrations, but the additional cash seems to be misspent almost as soon as it is received. When one considers the mismanagement of toll revenues collected by the Illinois Tollway Authority, it is enough to make you want to scream.

Roy’s Garage was torn down and a condo development now occupies the site on Lawrence and Manor Avenues. Apparently, the realty was worth more than a wheel alignment repair shop. Too many motorists may have given up on aligning their front ends. This being the pothole kingdom of Chicago, what would be the point of aligning your tires regularly? The wheels are bound to become misaligned within the next few hours anyway.

**

Daniel J. Kelley is a frustrated Chicago motorist and a contributor to The Chicago Daily Observer.