Payoff for a building permit

A payoff scheme was brazenly included in a Chicago ordinance. After a building permit had been approved, the holder of that permit had to wait ten days to begin work, unless the Alderman of the ward signed a waiver allowing work to begin right away. 

Some City Council members might have defended the ten-day waiting period by claiming they needed time to investigate the permit and make sure the work was legitimate and appropriate for the ward. But they were wrong.

Every Alderman received a list of all the building permits applied for in the city. They could have easily checked out the ones in their wards immediately and questioned those that concerned them.

The ordinance was a shake down. There was no other way to describe it.

Exerpted from “An Inside Job: A Frank Recollection of 48th Ward Happenings” at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/992452