Daley decided to renovate a piece of public land whose usage was under his
administrative authority as an elected public official. There are sound
objections to the decision and to his implementation, but the idea that he
committed a crime (such as vandalism) is sheer fantasy.

Well, Gary, we've got a similar situation brewing in Coralville (sister city
to Iowa City).

The Mayor (and his cronies) have their hearts set on building a $60 million
dollar convention center, complete with a giant hotel, etc. The citizens of
Coralville are objecting to this, on the grounds that (a) it costs WAY too
much, (b) if there was a call for it, the Marriott's of the world would be
begging to build it with they own money, and (c) the Gubmint shouldn't be
competing with private business.

In fact, there is now a group of four people running for office (one
mayoral, three city council candidates) solely on the platform of "Stop the
Convention Center". Further, petitions have been submitted to the Mayor,
asking that the issue be put on the ballot as a referendum. (Sadly, I live
in Iowa City, and thus can't vote -- I'm sure you know where I stand on the
issue!)

Thus far, the Mayor has summarily dismissed these concerns, and the
petitions, and is going ahead with land fill, etc. (Is this starting to
sound familiar?)

If the Mayor of Coralville were to now take it upon himself to proceed with
demolition (there are publicly owned buildings on the site) -- especially if
he sent a wrecking company out in the middle of a Sunday night -- I do
believe he would be detained and observed.

But maybe that's just an Iowa thing -- we expect rational behavior from our
elected officials.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"