Voter Fraud?

We are shocked, shocked, to find out vote buying and vote stealing is going on in the City of Chicago.

• The Cook County state's attorney's office is investigating whether Ald. Bernie Stone's (50th) political organization improperly steered Indian and Pakistani voters toward absentee ballots, according to sources.

  Those under investigation include city employees. For now, the probe is limited to Stone's North Side ward, the sources said. Subpoenas have been issued for witnesses and documents.

  Stone lashed out Wednesday at a probe he said is being conducted by the city's inspector general, David Hoffman. The investigation is said to involve charges that 50th Ward voters were promised city services in exchange for voting by absentee ballot -- a charge Stone called "absolute crap."

  Stone accused Hoffman of exceeding his authority by investigating aldermen. But Hoffman said earlier this week he has taken pains to stay within the law.

  And sources familiar with the matter say the state's attorney's office -- which is not barred from investigating aldermen -- is equally involved in the probe.

Stone is trying to head off the issue by pointing out that the rules under which Hoffman's office was created forbid him from investigating aldercreatures. Hoffman looks like he's claiming that he isn't investigating aldercreatures per se, just how they are elected. Anyone wonder why a former federal prosecutor would be interested in this?

We guess this is exactly why Daley is working to undercut Hoffman's office as fast as he can. Hoffman isn't an idiot and looking into voter registration and election returns in Chicago has been a slam dunk conviction case for prosecutors of all stripes since the beginning of time.