Chicago's corruption-fighting Inspector General David Hoffman has resigned to enter the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, removing a giant thorn from Mayor Daley's side.
A former federal prosecutor who specialized in breaking up street gangs, Hoffman was hired away from the U.S. attorney's office in 2005 at a time when Daley was besieged by the Hired Truck, city hiring and minority contracting scandals.
It wasn't long before an office that had concentrated on low-level corruption and almost never conducted criminal investigations was working hand-in-glove with the federal government.
Operation Crooked Code - targeting corruption in the Departments of Buildings and Zoning - has already netted 23 arrests, including 15 city employees, on charges that cash bribes and lucrative gifts were paid to ignore building code violations or speed up paperwork.
Another joint investigation centers around the hidden interest that the mayor's son Patrick Daley and nephew Robert Vanecko had in a sewer inspection company whose city business rose sharply while they were owners.
Hoffman has had a long history of animosity with Mayor Daley that the Sun-Times piece details at great length. While he should be considered a decidedly second-tier opponent, his candidacy as the corruption-busting public servant does set up a potentially awkward contrast with front-runner Alexi Giannoulias, who is bringing some baggage to the table in the form of his family's bank loans to convicted felons. Hoffman's candidacy will be worth watching closely.
