Robert “Bob” Swiech Union Teamster Passed Away

Dear Robert “Bob” Swiech Family. We at Chicago Clout are sad at the passing of your wonderful husband and father and Union Man and Teamster and Chicago Employee, and Harley Man and an American, and a Carpenter, and all American badass. When I first met Robert, he would be in his truck at work, always on time, always professional, and always safe. Robert stayed away from the nonsense and took pride in his work. After we worked together more, he told me about his daughter Stephanie and her acting ability. Robert and his wife Jill went to the CAN-TV studios and his daughter recited a long-acting part from a play. What a memory! Robert and Jill were so proud!! I was really surprised when Robert told me at work, “The F-ing FA-6 and stone is killing me”. Robert would be on job sites and at the Sunnyside Yard and kept breathing the limestone. He told me he is coughing up a white paste and I saw it in his hand. As more time passed, Robert had a more difficult time breathing and he left the Chicago Department of Water Managment. Robert told the folks at work and Alderman Burke and the Committee on Finance said his illness is not work-related. Robert finally did a video on Youtube called “Robert Swiech calls out Alderman Burke and the Committee on Finance”. Please watch. Prior to that video and past that time Robert wanted to warn his fellow city workers about this deadly backfill. Robert could hardly breathe and suffered for years. He did so bravely, I am certain he never wanted his wonderful family to watch his slow demise. Robert has a set of pipes on him and could crush anyone. Robert was born on August 27, 1955. Robert is the beloved husband of Jill, father of four, Crystal (late) Jennifer, Robert, and Stephanie. He has three grandkids, Neal Jr, Carter, and faith. I can attest, no man ever loved a wife more than Robert. Robert will always be in the hearts of every City of Chicago Department of Water Managment employee. Rest in peace brother, you are the best. Love Patrick McDonough. Thanks for your time.

Alderman “el pañal” Burke’s power pals. Sun-Times gets Gold Star.


Ald. Edward M. Burke on the first day of the filing period for the February 2019 election. | James Foster / Sun-Times

A state senator. A City Hall lobbyist. A banned former city contractor. And a smattering of city workers.

They’re all part of Ald. Edward M. Burke’s political army, which gathered 7,193 signatures on the nominating petitions he submitted to election officials last month to secure a spot on the February ballot.

It’s the toughest election fight the 74-year-old power broker has faced since replacing his late father on the Chicago City Council in 1969.

Burke is in the crosshairs of an investigation that saw FBI agents raid his City Hall and 14th Ward offices over the past few weeks as he’s battling four Hispanic opponents who say it’s time for voters in the predominantly Hispanic ward to end the 50-year reign of the longest-serving alderman in Chicago history.

His fate could be in the hands of his longtime political operative Peter Andrews Jr., a retired Chicago Park District plumber, who found federal agents on the porch of his house shortly before they raided the alderman’s offices.

Andrews, who moved out of Burke’s Southwest Side ward about two decades ago, headed the volunteer army that collected far more signatures for Burke than the 473 that aldermanic candidates needed to be on the ballot for the Feb. 26 election.

Like Andrews, who has declined interview requests, 80 percent of the 73 volunteers who collected signatures for Burke’s re-election bid can’t vote for him because they don’t live in his ward. Ten of them live in the suburbs, from Park Ridge to Lemont.

Burke’s volunteers included 23 who, in addition to helping to get him on the ballot, collected 1,351 signatures for Gery Chico, a longtime Burke ally who is among the 21 candidates vying to succeed Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Chico spokeswoman Kelley Quinn says Burke “was one of many dozens of people across the city to help Gery circulate petitions and collect signatures.”

Twenty-three of Ald. Edward M. Burke’s volunteers also collected 1,351 signatures for Gery Chico, a longtime Burke ally running for mayor. Another Burke volunteer, Michael J. Synowiecki, gathered 121 signatures for mayoral candidate Susana Mendoza, who was married by Burke’s wife at the Burkes’ home.

Another Burke volunteer, Michael J. Synowiecki, gathered 121 signatures for mayoral candidate Susana Mendoza, who was recently won re-election as Illinois’ state comptroller. In a ceremony performed by Burke’s wife, Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke, Mendoza and her husband were married at the Burkes’ home in December 2011, a week before they were married by a priest in Joliet.

Synowiecki, 32, who lives in Burke’s ward, was one of the alderman’s top volunteers, getting nearly 400 signatures for him. Synowiecki once worked as an attorney for the City Council Committee on Finance that the alderman has run for decades.

Now a lawyer with the law firm of Daley & Georges, headed by mayoral candidate William Daley’s brother Michael Daley, Synowiecki is a registered lobbyist at City Hall. One of his clients, Utility Transport Services, has been awarded three contracts totaling more than $144 million to provide rock and other materials to the city’s water department for construction projects. Utility Transport’s owner, James Bracken, has another company, Brackenbox, that has a $60 million contract to provide roll-off dumpsters at city work sites.

Synowiecki’s wife Meaghan Cleary Synowiecki works for the city council finance committee. She notarized 173 nominating petitions for Burke and 293 for Chico.

State Sen. Martin A. Sandoval, D-Chicago, whose district includes part of Burke’s ward, collected 60 signatures for the alderman.

Burke turned in 20 signatures gathered by Anthony McMahon, a Park Ridge resident who got caught up in a scandal involving Windy City Electric, a company owned by his wife and sister in law. The company was barred from getting any city work after the city’s inspector general determined that McMahon and his brother controlled the company as it was landing contracts set aside for businesses owned by women.

One of Burke’s staff assistants on the finance committee, David Espinoza, collected 121 signatures to help his boss seek re-election. Espinoza also notarized nominating petitions with 4,081 signatures for Burke and 126 signatures for Chico.

Raul Reyes, an employee in the Chicago city clerk’s office who once worked with Burke’s brother, outgoing state Rep. Dan Burke, gathered 61 signatures for the alderman. Reyes has also filed a challenge to the petitions circulated by one of Burke’s opponents, Tanya Patino, in the aldermanic election.

Burke himself circulated seven petitions, collecting 67 signatures towards his re-election bid. The alderman, his wife and their son Travis Burke signed a petition on Nov. 3, a few weeks before federal investigators raided his offices.

Andrews had circulated that petition, which was notarized by Synowiecki’s wife, one of the employees on the alderman’s city council payroll.

Will Alderman Burke give up Emanuel?

Many folks are wondering what the F.B.I. has on Alderman Burke. I have been asked what I know. I do know if I spill the beans on the good stuff, I can help Burke prepare for court. I do know, people like Jay Stone, have spent years preparing for the Burke F.B.I. raid. That I do know. I do know Burke has bent and broken every rule to benefit himself and his crooked friends. Burke has looked at the City of Chicago as an open piggy bank and paid him in more envelopes than campaign contributions.

For several years, Chicago Clout has posted information on Alderman Burke. Prior to my injuries and dealing with the Committee on Finance and the Finance Department, I have had many calls from injured City Workers getting jammed up by COF employees scamming cripples to benefit the city. People were forced touse their own insurance, and the Insurance companies were not paid back. This is called insurance fraud. Alderman Burke was a regular at St. Peters in downtown Chicago going to the back room to cut deals with Mercy Works. Many people will never know the extent this rat had his teeth sunk into.

Alderman Burke is the king of organized crime in Chicago. Burke had a loyal army of people that tied up campaigns, filed bullshit complaints against possible challengersin campaigns. Burke ran the judge’s races involving Plumbers’ Local 130 and the“Judge makers”. Burke got away with this because they were ducking Federal taxes by paying campaign workers and signature gathers with cash. Judge’s campaign consultants and insiders worked out of P.O. Boxes. Again, no 1099 for anyone. Many of these workers were given city, county, and state jobs instead.

Burke controlled all lawsuits against the City of Chicago. Many Workers Compensation lawsuits are not settled because of the fraud at the Illinois Workers Compensation Commission. Arbitrators allow Chicago to stop paying injured workers and starving them into minor settlements.  Many high-profile Law firms put up with Burke, so they would be paid, and their cases would not be dragged on for years and years.

Right now, Burke is asking Alderman Austin to tie up a proposal to relieve him of his Chairs. Burke like being called Chairman Burke. Burke has one option to save himself and that is to give up Rahm Emanuel. Emanuel and Burke have carved up lots of contracts and payments. Funny how Emanuel is upset that high-ranking members of his staff refuse to blow the whistle on corruption. Nothing changes, and Emanuel will always take revenge on the Whistleblower. Please review years and years of post on Chicago Clout. Thank you Chicago F.B.I.

Alderman Burke Fundraiser at Sheraton Grand Hotel attracts the fleas

Alderman Edwarts “The Diaper” Burke has been covered in Doo Doo since he continues his selfish grab for power and money. Burke lives in a million-dollar house in the 14th Ward like a slave master. Most the homes and apartment are for working class people that make Chicago run. Burke has kept an iron grip on Chicago money and doles it out when he pleases. Burke has made people wait for years on lawsuits just to screw with them. Burke has caused suffering to many Chicago residents since their lawyers refuse to pay tribute to Burke at settlement time. Ed Burke is called “The Diaper” now due to his rotten smelling diapers from his bowel and prostate cancer. Time to go Ed.

 

Last night, Thomas Powers, the former Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Water Management was at the bar prior to the fundraiser. With him was, Luci Pope Cozzi and her newest husband Andy Anderson. All three are terminated from their gray jobs at the Chicago Water Department. Rumor says Powers is angling for a job at the MWRD and Luci and Andy are attempting to get DOWM business through contracts. More on this later.

 

Luci’s family will need to again ask Burke for favors. Will Burke look the other way after Luci lost her job from the Paull Hansen email scandal? Ole man Pope showed up to pay homage as did sneaky Joe Moore alderman of the 49th Ward. Joe Moore got his expenses paid by Ed Burke when he travels to Washington D.C.  Taxpayers got screwed again. Ald. Laurino paid the outfit tribute to Burke. I saw Sun-times Mark Brown looking very dapper. I also saw some Chicago mob figures, Union goons, cops, thugs, and a few circulators for Burke.

 

One figure was Mara Georges, a once striking figure Rich Daley enjoyed, that now looks like an old scrubwoman. I also talked to Mary Ann Ahern, an NBC reporter that is so attractive I was left speechless. I also saw WTTW Star and handsome Paris Schutz. Paris was the original reporter that started asking questions into Alderman Burke and his Committee on Finance and handling of workers compensation claims.

 

I interviewed several attendees and they said Burke did some nice things and favors in the past, so they wanted to show their respect. Some also said their politician careers and falling off, so they hoped for some attention. Many also were part of the Chicago inside law system, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, and contractors that got millions in business from Chairman Burke and his committees. Burke and his reckless spending has ruined Chicago. Many the FEDS can straighten out the mess in Burkes depends.