More Koschman Fallout

There is now a timeline of the behind-the-scenes actions of the Department and who was calling/texting/e-mailing whom:

• After the Chicago Sun-Times began the investigation that led to former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s nephew pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, Daley’s administration began scrambling to write a police report that falsely concluded Richard J. “R.J.” Vanecko was defending himself when he threw the punch that killed David Koschman.
  
  City Hall’s 59-day investigation involved 16 police officials — from top brass to detectives — as well as Daley’s law department and the mayor’s press office, including one of Daley’s closest confidantes, Jacquelyn Heard.
  
  Daley’s press office released the findings only after police officials met with Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s chief of staff, who apparently agreed Vanecko shouldn’t be charged.

So the mayor's people were kept in the loop pretty deeply. Webb says there's no evidence that Shortshanks participated in these exchanges, but when everyone involved was either hired by, worked for, or was promoted at the behest of one guy, one political Machine, well...let's not kid each other. This is still Chicago.

Also, the ASA who "threw away" the files from the case resigned - six weeks ago:

• The prosecutor who declined to charge former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s nephew in the killing of David Koschman — and apparently “threw away” the case file — has left the Cook County state’s attorney’s office, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
  
  “Darren O’Brien no longer works in the [state’s attorney’s office]. The state’s attorney accepted his resignation letter approximately six weeks ago,” said Sally Daly, a spokeswoman for Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.
  
  According to county records, O’Brien, 56, retired on Dec. 30, as Daley nephew Richard J. “R.J.” Vanecko was awaiting trial for causing Koschman’s death. O’Brien had worked in the state’s attorney’s office since 1984, when he was hired under Daley, who was state’s attorney before he became mayor.

For the naive, Daley used to be the State's Attorney for Cook County, and when he moved up, he put his deputy Dick Devine in charge and kept a tight hold of the leash. But remember, there's no evidence that Daley knew anything. Ever. At any time. But when you control all the levers of power, and everyone knows what's expected of them before they're even appointed to a spot (elections being a mere formality), well then, you have insulated yourself from ever having to actually having to engage in something as sundry as covering up a homicide.

Down the memory hole everything goes, with only the police taking any heat in the media. As predicted, this case is going to be the new Burge or Abbate hammer with which to beat the Department.