Federal Lawsuit Alleges Corruption, Patronage in Chicago's Workers' Compensation Program

It reads like a movie script about the notorious patronage system that's alleged to have been at the heart of Chicago politics for generations.  But instead of city jobs, it's workers' compensation benefits that are now being used as currency, keeping favored workers on disability benefits for years while shutting off benefits for whistle-blowers who won't play the game, says a federal lawsuit filed this week against Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and a powerful city alderman. "It's a system that's blatantly unfair," said plaintiff Jay Stone, a Chi...