The law firm of Katten Muchin Rosenman will now change its name to Daley, Cheatem and Howe.
Former Mayor Richard M. Daley is now entering the most lucrative phase of a politician’s career. Let’s call it "dessert."
After more than 40 years of subsisting on a public servant’s salary, he’s finally getting a chance to "make some real money," as trading political office for a private sector job is called.
As Carol Felsenthal wrote in Chicago magazine, Daley will be working alongside one of his best buddies:
Terry Newman, 64, a partner/rainmaker at the firm…was described to me by insiders as the ultimate Daley insider: a best friend and dining buddy of the Mayor’s. When the mayor attends social/city events, Newman, who is single, is almost always close at hand. I attended an Economic Club farewell tribute to Daley last February and Newman sat on the dais with such stalwarts of corporate Chicago as Lester Crown, John Bryan, Patrick Ryan, Edward Liddy, and Christopher Galvin.
Katten Muchin made a lot of money off the Daley Administration: $663,000 for negotiating the parking meter deal; $160,000 for work on the leases of the Chicago Skyway and parking garages. The firm was also a recipient of $406,000 in municipal bond work, a coveted contract. Newman is just paying Daley back for all that largesse over the years. What else are friends for?
This doesn’t just happen in Illinois:
- Former Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd is now earning $1.5 million as head of the Motion Picture Association of America.
- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is earning $100,000 a speech as part of the “Get Motivated!” seminars, which also star former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
- Speaking of Giuliani, his security consulting business, Giuliani Partners, did $100 million worth of business in the five years after he left politics.
- Former Vice President Al Gore received $30 million is stock options for signing on as an adviser to Google, and $6 million is stock options for joining the board of Apple.
- Another former Vice President, Dan Quayle, joined Cerberus Capital Management, whose executives earn up to $14 million a year.
On the other hand, former Gov. George Ryan earns 12 cents an hour for his prison job.
Life after politics is lucrative, but only if you leave on the right terms.
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