All is Forgiven We Guess

Shortshanks apologizes for the hiring scandals:

• Mayor Daley apologized today for the rampant hiring fraud that culminated in the conviction of his former Streets and Sanitation commissioner, but refused to answer questions about politically damaging trial testimony.
• Twelve times reporters fired specific questions at the mayor. Only once did Daley answer directly — to deny a federal monitor’s claim that hiring abuses continue, including some at Streets and San, and that City Hall continues to thwart her efforts to clean up the mess.

So a so-called "public servant" doesn't have to explain himself to the voters? The people who pay his salary? Evidently, we aren't the only ones unimpressed:

• Attorney Michael Shakman filed the landmark lawsuit that was supposed to ban political hiring.

  On Tuesday, Shakman was unimpressed by the mayor’s apology. He was more concerned about the city’s tepid response to the specific allegations — about personnel problems uncorrected and violators who remain unpunished — in the monitor’s latest report.

  “The most valuable thing the mayor could do would be to direct his considerable influence and prestige toward dealing with those problems. Until he does, we’re gonna have a continued culture of reluctant foot-dragging instead of real reform,” Shakman said.

How about the most valuable thing Daley could do is resign? We can always dream.