Mayor expects proof of Cub fixes
He says safety is only issue

By Gary Washburn
Tribune staff reporter

August 10, 2004, 10:59 PM CDT

Mayor Richard Daley said Tuesday that he expects Chicago Cubs officials to lay proof on the table that they performed the Wrigley Field repairs they say they did.

Daley's comments came a day after the city announced that a permit application for past work at Wrigley was rejected because it was not accompanied by proper back-up documentation.

Asked if he doubted whether the team has performed the millions of dollars of repairs at the 90-year-old ballpark over the last few years that team executives have claimed, Daley replied, "I don't know. Don't ask me. 'I doubt?' Then, 'The mayor doubts the Tribune.' That's the headline you want, and I will get another editorial. They will get mad and they will write an editorial."

Wrigley Field and the Cubs are owned by Tribune Co., which also owns the Chicago Tribune.

Daley said his stand on the Cubs and Wrigley has nothing to do with stories by the newspaper about questionable contracting deals by his administration.

The mayor, who talked to reporters after a ceremony marking the renovation of a Ford assembly plant on the Southeast Side, asserted that the issue "is all about safety."

"It's not about Mayor Daley," he said. "It is not about the Chicago Tribune. You would criticize this plant if it had a problem dealing with safety. You would be out here with investigative reporters [asking], 'Where is Ford management? Where is the UAW?'"

Later Tuesday, Buildings Commissioner Stan Kaderbek said the Cubs are expected to provide more details on ballpark ramp repairs by Friday. Information is expected to include details about the types of repairs made, materials used, specifications and proof of payment for completed work.

"The city is not singling out the Cubs or holding them to a different or higher standard," Kaderbek said. "The city expects the Cubs to pull proper permits and to make necessary repairs to their ballpark like any responsible building owner."

In a statement, Cubs President Andy MacPhail said that "we are in the process of providing the city with additional information and, as always, we will continue to work collaboratively with their representatives."

Team officials declined to comment further.

Kaderbek said a structural engineering company hired by the Cubs has certified to the city that repairs were made and that problems outlined in a 2001 engineering report commissioned by the team have been addressed.

He said he personally believes the work was done.

"I have been there, and the repairs have been made to the ramps," Kaderbek said. "I have no doubts."

A permit issued Monday authorizes new work at the park, specifically repairs to a concrete "brow" over a bleachers concession area. Meanwhile, engineers have been assessing the condition of the upper deck and mezzanine areas where three chunks of concrete have fallen since June.

Also Tuesday, Daley said officials running the city's revamped Hired Truck Program have done a good job so far in checking the credentials of participating companies despite the temporary removal of one firm.

KJ Inc. was put on the inactive list after the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the company had been linked in 1995 to a $5,000 payment to then-Ald. Jesse Evans (21st). Evans was convicted of corruption in the federal Operation Silver Shovel investigation.

Richard Kinczyk, head of the Hired Truck Program, said the company's current owners were not listed as owners in 1995, though Kimberly Rivera, one of KJ's current co-owners, is the daughter of Victor Hydel. The KJ check to Evans came from Hydel.

Hydel was not charged with any wrongdoing.

"Information about the current company owners did not, nor would it ever, surface in our review," Kinczyk said. "The information you found was in federal court transcripts. I would need a staff of probably 50,000 people to go through every federal, state and county court transcript" to check out all Hired Truck applicants.

Nevertheless, the information about the 1995 payment "is serious enough to warrant putting the company on an inactive list until we review it further," he said.

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