Patrick Daley Thompson

Members of the Chicago City Council Hall of Shame: Top, from left: Edward Burke (14th); Sandi Jackson (7th); William Beavers (7th); Willie Cochran (20th). Middle row, from left: Arenda Troutman (20th); William Carothers (28th); Ambrosio Medrano (25th); Edward R. Vrdolyak (10th). Bottom row, from left: James Laski (23rd); Thomas E. Keane (31st); Ricardo Muñoz (22nd); Patrick Daley Thompson (11th).

Chicago City Council Hall of Shame: Ed Burke becomes 38th member convicted in half a century

That averages out to one council member convicted every 16 months. Burke is the first since former Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson less than two years ago.

By Sun-Times staff

Patrick Daley Thompson walks in to the Dirksen Federal Courthouse at the start of his trial in 2022. “One of the requirements is: You had to work. I worked as a custodian,” Thompson testified Wednesday.

The Watchdogs

Patrick Daley Thompson on prison life: ‘It was horrible, absolutely horrible’

The former Chicago City Council member from Bridgeport offered a glimpse Wednesday of his life behind bars as he fought to keep from having his license to practice law suspended for three years.

By Robert Herguth and Tim Novak

Patrick Daley Thompson arrives at the Laborers International Union Hall, 3841 S. Halsted St., on April 7, 2015.

Columnists

Patrick Daley Thompson’s long rise and hard fall

Sneed: Former alderman, now imprisoned, for his whole life stuck to his ward, his roots and — most of all — his family.

By Michael Sneed

Patrick Daley Thompson

Patrick Daley Thompson sentenced to 4 months in federal prison

The sentencing capped a stunning, mad-dash of a federal court case that in 14 months cost Thompson his 11th Ward seat on the City Council, his law license and his freedom. It likely ended his political career and marred not only his reputation, but his famous family’s.

By Jon Seidel

Patrick Daley Thompson

Patrick Daley Thompson’s sentencing Wednesday could see member of Daley dynasty face prison

“Everything we have worked for our entire lives has been depleted — financially, reputationally and even what we thought were solid friendships,” Thompson’s wife, Katie, wrote to the judge.

By Jon Seidel

Patrick Daley Thompson

Prison for member of Daley dynasty? Feds ask judge to sentence ex-Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson to two years behind bars

Thompson asked the judge to give him probation instead. The two sides made their recommendations Monday ahead of Thompson’s sentencing before U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama, which is set for July 6.

By Jon Seidel

Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson (11th) leaving the Dirksen Federal Courthouse on Monday, Feb. 14, 2022 after his guilty verdict.

News

Patrick Daley Thompson’s law license suspended by Illinois Supreme Court

Thompson was convicted by a federal jury in February. The court’s disciplinary action comes three days after Thompson’s attorney asked a judge to either overturn that verdict or order a new trial,

By Tim Novak

Patrick Daley Thompson

Patrick Daley Thompson asks for new trial, says feds ‘littered’ arguments with innuendos

Thompson’s request is not unexpected. A jury found him guilty of cheating on his taxes and lying to regulators. The verdict cost him his seat on the City Council.

By Jon Seidel

Jane Tran Iriondo walks inside the Dirksen Federal Building on March 4, 2021, when she and nine others were arraigned in a case involving Bridgeport’s failed Washington Federal Bank for Savings.

Washington Federal Bank investigation

Another ex-Bridgeport bank worker pleads guilty, suggested fudging docs ‘with scissors and copier’

Jane Iriondo is now the fourth person to plead guilty in connection with the $66 million embezzlement scheme at Washington Federal Bank for Savings. The bank was central to the trial of Patrick Daley Thompson.

By Jon Seidel and Tim Novak

Former Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson was the first Daley family member to face trial and the first sitting Chicago Council member to do so in more than two decades. He was convicted on all counts Feb. 14 in his trial for income tax fraud and lying to federal regulators about money he got from a failed Bridgeport bank, Washington Federal Bank for Savings.

The Watchdogs

Desperate for loans, Patrick Daley Thompson put hundreds of thousands in campaign cash in crooked Bridgeport bank

Documents subpoenaed by prosecutors and other public records reflect a growing desperation as he tried to quadruple the amount of money he was borrowing from Washington Federal Bank for Savings.

By Tim Novak and Jon Seidel

Patrick Daley Thompson

Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson guilty on all counts

Jurors took about three-and-a-half hours to find Thompson guilty of two counts of lying to regulators and five counts of filing false federal income tax returns. State law requires Thompson to resign his seat on the City Council.

By Jon Seidel, Tim Novak, and 2 more

Columnists

Patrick Daley Thompson singled himself out for federal prosecution

He should have known he shouldn’t be playing in certain sandboxes. Washington Federal Bank for Savings was such a sandbox, a playpen for scoundrels.

By Mark Brown

Patrick Daley Thompson

Patrick Daley Thompson faced other tax trouble before Monday’s conviction

His guilty verdict for claiming deductions for interest he never paid to a failed Bridgeport bank, Washington Federal Bank for Savings, isn’t the only time he’s had trouble with the IRS.

By Tim Novak

Patrick Daley Thompson

Jurors deliberating in trial of Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson

A federal prosecutor told the jury that “no one is so big, no one is so important, that they can’t be held accountable for their criminal conduct.”

By Jon Seidel and Tim Novak

Patrick Daley Thompson

Closings Monday in Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson trial — then jurors have their say

The case revolves around $219,000 Thompson got from the now-shuttered Washington Federal Bank for Savings. His attorneys filed a motion late Thursday hoping to convince the judge to acquit Thompson on two counts, but the judge declined.

By Jon Seidel and Tim Novak

Patrick Daley Thompson

Will Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson testify? Lawyer says he’s ‘leaning against’ it

The final call comes after three days of testimony. Prosecutors laid out their evidence that Thompson lied to regulators about the $219,000 he owed Washington Federal Bank for Savings, and that he knew he improperly claimed mortgage-interest deductions on his tax returns for the years 2013 through 2017.

By Jon Seidel and Tim Novak

Patrick Daley Thompson

Accountant takes center stage at Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson’s trial, gets in trouble himself

Someone overheard Robert Hannigan talking to two upcoming witnesses — in violation of a court order — during a lunch break while Thompson’s friends and family were seen nearby. Hannigan allegedly called his cross-examination “just a game of gotcha.”

By Jon Seidel and Tim Novak

Patrick Daley Thompson

Patrick Daley Thompson picked up checks in Bridgeport bank president’s office, worker testifies

Alicia Mandujano said the bank president told her to let Thompson into the bank before business hours so he could pick up the first payment. She said Thompson also picked up the second and third payment in the president’s office, which was on the second, non-public floor of the bank.

By Jon Seidel and Tim Novak

Patrick Daley Thompson

Jurors picked, opening statements next in the trial of Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson

He’s charged with filing false federal income tax returns for 2013-2017 and lying to regulators about how much he owed Washington Federal Bank for Savings in Bridgeport.

By Jon Seidel and Tim Novak

A Daley goes on trial, writing a new chapter in Chicago history

By Tim Novak and Jon Seidel

Cathy Torres walks out of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse on March 4, 2021.

Washington Federal Bank investigation

Another potential witness against Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson pleads guilty

Cathy Torres’ name appears on a list of potential prosecution witnesses for Thompson’s federal tax trial, which is set for Feb. 4. The feds say Torres communicated with Thompson about his loan at Washington Federal and attempts to refinance there.

By Jon Seidel

Washington Federal Bank investigation

Patrick Daley Thompson can show jurors his amended tax returns, judge rules

U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama made the ruling at a hearing Friday, where it appeared Thompson’s trial is on track to begin Feb. 4.

By Jon Seidel