Sun-Times Tackles Daley Corruption at Heart of Wrigley Factory Blight

In an investigative report and an editorial, the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper has probed the business dealings behind the now-shuttered Wrigley factory at 35th Street and Ashland Avenue in the McKinley Park neighborhood. Not only a source of neighborhood blight, the factory is also costing Chicago taxpayers triple what they should be paying, and big benefits have gone to firms connected with now-11th Ward Alderman Patrick Daley Thompson, according to Sun-Times reporting.

The editorial notes the "troubling sequence of events:

1. Thompson is hired to represent the property owners;
2. Thompson and a partner in his firm are quite successful in getting property tax reductions from Berrios;
3. Thompson helps the property owners sell a part of the property to ComEd for a nifty increase in price;
4. Thompson now is in a position, as alderman, to help them from the other side of the political divide."

The Sun-Times reporting also delves into the connections between past Daley mayoral and 11th Ward alderman administrations and how they're connected to the site's current state.

Unfortunately, the Sun-Times incorrectly labels this area as being in the Bridgeport neighborhood, a factual error commonplace in reporting about Chicago. The official community area of McKinley Park extends east to the South Branch of the Chicago River.

Click here to read the Sun-Times article.

Click here to read the Sun-Times editorial.