Daley Defends Budget Director Against O'Hare Opponents' "Complete Lie"

Daley Defends Budget Director Against O'Hare
Opponents' "Complete Lie"  
WBBM, IL   
    
Tuesday, February 17, 2004

(Chicago) -- Mayor Richard M. Daley on Tuesday
defended his new budget director, John Harris, against
"a complete lie" alleging Harris steered millions of
dollars in insurance and bond business at O'Hare
International Airport to the mayor's brothers.

Speaking at an unrelated news conference, Daley
brushed off claims from the Aviation Integrity Project
-- which is funded by four suburbs that oppose the
proposed $6.6 billion expansion of O'Hare -- that
Harris directed insurance and bond business to clients
of the mayor's brothers, John and Michael Daley. 

In a phone interview Tuesday, AIP director J. Terrence
Brunner claimed that while Harris served as first
deputy aviation commissioner, he steered millions of
dollars in insurance business to firms represented by
John Daley's insurance agency and hundreds of millions
of dollars in bond business to clients represented by
Michael Daley's law firm. 

"No, he didn't. It's just a complete lie," Daley said.
"(Brunner is) a paid lobbyist. He's paid by the
opponents of O'Hare. He's going to say everything
personally about me, my family, my wife, my children,
anything to do with me personally, any people that
support me." 

"He's a 100 percent paid lobbyist. He'll say anything
and do anything against O'Hare Field, simple as that,"
Daley added. 
 
 

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