When the hard-boiled types in City Hall got wind of Pat Quinn’s latest gig as director of the city’s Revenue Department, they all agreed that something flashy was going to happen. And you can’t blame them, really. The standard reaction to Pat Quinn is skepticism. It’s practically contagious.
No, it just doesn’t make sense. No sane reformer would invade that hornet’s nest, unless he had some trick up his sleeve. And sure enough, two months or so into his job, here comes Pat Quinn, brass and drums booming louder than ever. He’s been everywhere, or so it seems, TV, radio, newspapers, you name it, talking big about his hotshot idea for collecting parking fines. He called it an amnesty, a parking ticket amnesty. Call a phone number, (580-3400, that’s 580-3400), and you got all your parking tickets at half cost. That’s right, folks, you heard it right. Half off. The deal ended April 16.
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“This guy Quinn, man, he’s unbelievable,” exclaims one slightly envious press aide for the city. “He’s like Celozzi and Ettleson rolled into one. Wind him up and he does 20 minutes on parking tickets. It’s too much.” So, all right, Pat Quinn, confess. What’s your real motive? No one really cares about parking tickets. What’s in it for you?
He was 22 years old and fresh out of Georgetown University by way of west-suburban Hinsdale when he signed on as a field organizer in Walker’s 1972 gubernatorial campaign. He took a job with the newly elected governor, but soon longed for another crusade. So he and his brother, Tom, organized the Coalition for Political Honesty. They pledged to lead citizens in a charge to reform state government. The leaders of the political establishment rolled their eyes in disbelief over that one.
But the question made the ballot and the voters passed it by a two-to-one margin, and that ended that.
However, during the spirited bidding process to see who got the ticket-collection contract, Raymond was able to infiltrate an inner circle of Washington’s aides, aldermanic allies, and advisers. Apparently, Raymond talked a big game, and dished out lots of cash in hopes of landing the contract for Systematic Recovery Service Inc., the New York-based firm he allegedly represented.
The city received 137,000 pledges, Quinn says, worth about $6 million in fines. The department got at least one phone call every second. As for cash in hand, so far they’ve rolled up about $750,000.
