This problem at O'Hare, the mayor's announcement about the waste...
Should we be concerned?
I believe it's all as it seems.
Miller: What's going on that we're not supposed to see?
Blood test and biopsy found high red cell count, almost seven million per micro-liter,
And traces of T.C.E. In his liver and kidneys.
- T.C.E., that's trichloral... - Trichloroethylene, yeah.
Don't know where the exposure came from.
The area in question was used by the previous administration
for the disposal of toxic waste.
You don't know whether something is the lead of a lifetime,
or just pure chump bait.
There's a different view of the world from the one you have.
If you want to see it,
there's a certain group of people in Chicago I'd like you to meet.
You talking you and me leading the charge?
I'm talking you simply joining a groundswell already in motion.
I came to say
that if you really want to make this work, we should try.
- Is there something else I should know? - No.
I know he's been to see you. Why does he want to speak to you?
Listen, these are expensive.
Are you sure it isn't a problem?
Darius: My guy said it's some pretty powerful shit.
Who's it for?
♪ Satan, your kingdom must come down ♪
♪ I heard the voice of Jesus Christ ♪
♪ Satan, your kingdom must come down. ♪
Emma: Slow down. Slow down.
Slow down.
Stop. Stop.
You okay?
Yeah. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
No, it's okay. It's all right.
What?
It's just
I can't imagine you.
Before this moment right now.
Well, you... you don't know me.
I want to.
Why?
I don't know.
I'm sorry.
I've sat through a lot of talking.
A lot of searching,
A lot picking and needling.
And people with diplomas listening to me.
And asking me to share.
And bare myself.
For deliberate humiliation,
looking for some moment of catharsis.
There's nothing there.
There's no way to explain.
It's just surrender to what's up there.
Or to everything else.
What?
That's you.
Trying to explain you.
And I have no idea what you're talking about.
It's... it's difficult
to make it make sense.
Pain plays a game with you.
Until you run out of whatever it is.
You're using to fight it with,
because there is no stopping point.
You don't care who you hurt,
what you break.
what you take.
You don't care. You don't care.
This time,
If I cry out, don't slow down.
Don't stop.
It hit the blogs last night.
And above the fold this morning on "The Sentinel" and "The Sun Times."
You can never stay far enough ahead.
No.
Who's fucking me?
- The circle was small. - Who?
Someone with knowledge, access.
The files are 20 years old.
It had to be someone close.
We need to make it to Friday... three days.
We spin the story right and we hope it fades over the weekend.
mr. Mayor! Mr. Mayor!
Mr. Mayor, do you have anything to say to the people of Chicago?
Sir, what do you have to say to the citizens of Bensenville?
Were you aware of the potential medical fallout, sir?
Female anchor: For more on the story.
We go to Kendra Simmons, live at City Hall.
Thank you, Dana. The document that shows.
Then sanitation director Thomas Kane
authorized the dump of trichloroethylene
at a site near O'Hare airport.
Was made public by a blogger
who goes by the name chump bait.
Though there are concerns.
about the effect the scandal will have
on the O'Hare expansion project,
the mayor's office insists the project will continue as planned.
Started getting calls about your '89 tax returns early this morning.
I assume they're fine to release?
- Yes. - Give 'em hard copies. Nothing gets to the internet.
This mayor and his minions
have proven themselves again and again
to be purveyors of lies and deceit.
- All right, first things first.
I want to keep the fifth floor cleared, no press.
- I need to breathe up here. - Yes, sir.
Now...
Ideas.
We make it all about mayor Rutledge.
His administration... his problem. You were just following orders.
Won't be hard to get them chasing that.
I can plant it in a nepotism angle at the next gaggle.
That's fine, but that by itself doesn't get us to Friday.
Okay, then we push harder, make it so Rutledge bears all the blame.
We have five networks to manage.
They're not all gonna chase the same angle for more than a day.
We need to give them something more to work with.
What about the document itself? We raise doubts it's even real.
No. Stay away from the document.
We need to fan the flames and then control the burn.
Fan the flames?
There's a piece of paper with a signature on it.
It's damning. It links us to fucking cancer.
That is not going away. We've got three days till the weekend,
Three cycles in which something has to play out.
And as long as it's about Kane or Chicago, we lose.
Okay, so what do we do?
Three prongs: One... your Rutledge angle.
It needs to become fact that it was the old man who started this whole thing.
- Prong two? - This current shit show...
We move it to Bensenville.
Because we don't have voters in Bensenville?
No, because one way or another.
A story needs to be told.
We make it so it's not about us... who ordered what.
We make it so it's about how a small town.
Chicagoans drive by to get to the airport.
Deals with the end of the world.
People will watch because it's fucking horrifying.
Come Friday, every one of those chyrons will read "Bensenville."
We'll have to tear the place apart to pull it off.
And come Monday, if I'm still alive...
Prong three...
You step in to help a neighbor in need.
Good.
Let's move.
Bensenville.
Mayor Gregg, sir.
Yeah.
I should get on the phone with him.
As a courtesy.
Chumpbait? Tell me that isn't you.
It's a damn shame where we've ended up.
I mean, these guys, these bloggers...
Where the fuck is journalism? Am I right? Fuck
I mean, this issue's, some real unstoppable,
no-time-to-fact-check, truth-be-damned,
eyeball-getting cowboy bullshit, is it not?
What're you worried about?
Because if we're about to chat about circulation,
I'm not interested.
Get out.
Just get out.
Go.
Beat press at 11:00, full briefing at 3:00.
What?
You can direct that
to the commissioner's office.
As I understand it,
we are in search for such documentation.
But that was long before my tenure,
So I can't speak to its existence.
We absolutely are releasing them.
You'll get them at 3:00.
Look, we're talking 1989 here. I don't know what to tell you.
They're 20-year-old tax returns.
It's not like I can just email them over.
I'm trying to do you a favor here.
You'll get them at 3:00 with everyone else, Dan,
'cause that's where the story is.
Doesn't matter how many times you ask.
Has the groundwater in Bensenville been tested?
Have wells been contaminated? Why is no one asking these questions?
Why does it matter what it helps me?
Email that to me. I need to get it out now.
We go after the union on a cost of living increase. We table a freeze.
Gary: A couple hundred baggage handlers out of work in the process.
Does the federal authority know about this?
I don't know. This is one of those things. I need you to trust me.
- But the deal is all but done. - I'm just asking for us to take another look at it.
How long will that take? One day?
No, you're pushing for a strike as a diversion. That's what this is.
- One day, maybe two. - Mayor Gregg, Bensenville, on the phone.
This is crazy even for you guys.
We both know this has nothing to do with our contracts,
and everything to do with what's on the goddamn tv.
Gary, I gotta call you back.
Tom: Myself, my team and the entire city of Chicago.
Will stand behind you and the village of Bensenville.
Whatever resources you
or your administration may need, just ask.
I appreciate it, Tom. This is all rather unpleasant,
But I'm confident that we've got the situation under control.
I've been here before, Chuck.
It's going to get worse before it gets better. How can I help you?
You're incredibly generous, but there's just no immediate need for help.
You know, we've been discussing the optics here.
Of a joint press conference.
That could be a real help to you, weathering this.
A press conference? Yeah, well, I'm just not sure...
- The least I can do. - Well, I thank you, sir.
I would, but I've got a very full day here.
And I really believe we can ride this out on our own.
But please know how grateful I am for the offer.
And that the offer will stand,
should you ever need it later.
I'll sleep better knowing that, thank you.
- Take care, Chuck. - You too, Tom.
Feig.
- Yeah? - He's on his way in.
- What's he saying? - What we already know.
Says he has no idea where the document came from.
He shredded everything after he finished the job.
What do you think?
He's out of the game. His kids are set.
He was never proud.
He's got no reason to lie.
I was the only one who knew what was on those trucks.
You told me to keep it tight. I did.
It was, what, 18, 19 years ago?
22.
It was sparse over there back then,
Open fields.
No one saw us go in. No one saw us come out.
I hired a small crew, all of them well compensated.
No one at the company today
even knows that field was a dump site.
How are the kids?
Who cares about them?
- It's the grand kids now. - Yeah.
Ally's off to northwestern in the fall.
And Jack has a couple more years at st. Catherine's.
Smart kids.
That's a good thing there, Alan.
I hope you know how thankful I am, Tom,
for everything that you've done for us.
You look after that family.
If you need anything,
anything at all, I'm here for you,
Always been,
always will be.
Okay, everybody, listen up.
Listen up. Listen up.
Before I take any questions,
I want to address something upfront.
Now many have insinuated
that mayor Kane received his position as sanitation director.
As some sort of family favor.
And I want to state unequivocally
that those assertions are misguided.
He received the appointment because he was eminently qualified.
Mayor Kane has been and will continue to be.
A faithful servant of the city of Chicago.
When he has been asked to lead, he has led.
And when he has been asked to follow, he has done that as well.
You're still trying to lay all this off on mayor Rutledge?
Look, I'm only saying.
Tom Kane was an employee working for the city like any other.
Suggestions that he received his first government appointment
because he was married to the mayor's daughter
are completely false.
All right, I'll take your questions.
I just want to assure you that the entire 30th and I are behind you 100%.
100%.
Considering past events, I felt it inherently my responsibility
to come to you without being asked,
To reassure you, after making all the appropriate inquiries,
That no one on my staff nor anyone else that I have contracted.
Has anything to do with this latest mishap at O'Hare.
Mishap?
Scandal.
Leak.
Considering past events...
Ruiz and the Pottawatomie problem.
I...
Yeah, I'm listening.
I just want to assure you that my house is in order.
Well, I know that you're a busy man.
I'll let you get on with your business.
Yeah, thanks, Lalo.
It's good to know that I can count on you.
Tom.
Anything else?
No, that's it.
If you'll excuse me...
I know this was unexpected, but times are tough.
Everybody's got to take a haircut, including the baggage handlers' union.
Union rep: I don't understand how O'Hare thinks this is gonna fly.
Rescinding a standard cost-of-living increase
after we already agreed on it? Have they lost their minds?
It's about their bottom line. They've run the numbers and here we are.
Ezra, this is a guaranteed strike. You know that, right?
Everyone's clear on that.
There has to be something you can do. The mayor, I mean...
Look, why don't we all try to get on the phone,
See if there isn't a last-minute compromise to be made?
I hope we can. My men want to work,
But they're not just gonna bend over like this.
I hear you. We'll set it up.
But what about the areas
that have already been contaminated?
Mayor Kane's administration.
Has been removing the hazardous waste
late at night and in secret.
Cost of removal and reclamation
is estimated to be in the millions of dollars.
Three autonomous environmental agencies,
arranged citywide forums
to answer questions about the cleanup efforts.
Chicagoans arrived in droves to express outrage.
During the three town hall sessions.
There are growing fears tonight
about groundwater in Bensenville,
where researchers' findings thus far
have unleashed a stream of speculation from scientists.
Take a look at WLOZ's exclusive graphic.
As you can see, rainwater mixes
with the buried toxic chemicals
and seeps into the groundwater
that acts as Bensenville's main water supply.
Contaminated water is then pumped up into Bensenville homes.
We go now to Kendra Simmons in Bensenville.
For as long as they can remember,
the Robinsons say.
there's been a strange tang to the water.
The village of Bensenville assured them
that all chemicals detected
were within the levels deemed safe by the EPA.
The Robinsons trusted this assessment,
but now wonder, really what are they drinking?
Anchor: EPA levels for water...
WBSK channel 3.
- Dan Pratt, please. - Just one moment.
Pratt: Hello. This is Dan.
Dan, hey. It's Kitty.
Oh yeah, you saw that?
I thought it was a nice touch doing it from the kitchen.
Yeah, no kidding. If I lived in that neighborhood,
I'd be stocking up on Poland springs.
Listen, this is off the record,
But mayor Gregg's been in the loop
on the cleanup efforts from the get-go.
He's been warned about the potential dangers
of gases rising up from the water table and into homes.
You haven't?
Well, you'll have to ask him that.
Female reporter: Though Kane was active in his local ward
throughout his youth, many who knew him then say
it was his relationship with Meredith Rutledge
that launched his political career.
His rise through the ranks in City Hall
closely paralleled their relationship.
Shortly after their wedding in May of 19...
Yes?
Chumpbait.com... it's Miller, sir.
Sam Miller from "The Sentinel."
How do you know?
Looks like he wasn't trying too hard to cover it up.
Get Bentley in here.
Yes, sir.
find him, Tom.
Sir?
Take a seat.
All this
predates you.
Yes, sir.
How much did you know about it?
Just what we've worked on... the cleanup.
Yeah.
You had dinner yet?
No, sir. Did you need... ?
A desk boy brought me a muffin a while ago...
The worst thing I've ever tasted,
Some kind of gluten-free something or other.
You know what I want to know?
No, sir.
Why bother with the muffin?
Eat a cracker.
I don't like half-assed.
That's what I'm saying.
If somebody's coming at me,
I'd just as soon get hit all at once.
Yes, sir.
This guy Miller...
Somebody gave him that document.
Yes, sir.
Do you know who?
No, sir.
Yeah?
Man: Stone, sir.
Send him in.
O'Hare's on board with the strike.
I'll get on the phone with everyone tomorrow,
Make it look like we tried to broker a deal.
It's going to work.
They'll be able to keep things moving.
With management and...
- Tom: Find him, Tom. - ...Non-union support staff.
Then they'll put the cost-of-living increase.
Back on the table and settle over the weekend.
We'll approve a few million more in bond money,
Put it in the construction budget.
That'll cover them for any losses
they might take on the weekend.
You've got to find him, Tom.
Tom, are you okay with that?
Yeah.
I'll get on the phone with everyone tomorrow,
Make it look like we tried to broker a deal.
It's going to work.
They'll be able to get by for a couple of days
with management and non-union support staff.
Then they'll put the cost-of-living increase back on the table and...
It's going to work.
They'll be able to get by for a couple of days.
With management and non-union support staff.
Then they'll put the cost-of-living increase
back on the table and settle over the weekend.
Female reporter: As of 9:00 this morning the village of Bensenville
was completely sold out of bottled water.
Reports from Franklin Park and Addison suggest
that they too are low on supplies.
Though store owners are grateful for the business,
Consumers find the extra expense for something most take for granted.
An insult to injury in a community.
Already hit hard by the foreclosure crisis.
Reporting from Bensenville, I'm Jackie Mullens.
We need to get them looking at property values.
Long-term, you mean?
No, today, right now.
Doesn't it take weeks, if not months,
for a decline in the real estate market
to become statistically apparent?
Go get some "for sale" signs and plaster a couple blocks in Bensenville.
Put them right on the edge of each property line.
Make sure you pick nice houses, okay?
Yes, channel 6. Liz Shaw, news desk.
Without cars in the driveway. No cars.
Liz, hey. It's Kitty.
Question:
Have you looked at the relation
of Bensenville's schools to the dump site?
It's a concern.
Fucking socratic symposium in here. Christ.
Tom: Everybody's got a button.
Bentley: He's not going to reveal his source, Tom.
Let me deal with how I get it out of him.
But I need something to go on.
- I didn't hear that. - Yes, you did.
What do you think we've had going here?
I'll give you some words,
since you're in the business of them:
cozy, convenient, mutually understanding.
You've got numbers to hit. I've understood that,
- Helped where I can. - Yes, you have.
And call me nostalgic, but I like having.
An actual paper in this city.
But this where it works its way back to me.
Even if there was a chance Miller would crack,
Which he won't, it doesn't make a difference now.
You've got every network swarming all over this thing round the clock.
It makes a difference.
I'm sorry, Tom.
I can't help you.
Something you should know...
This guy has a real fucking bee in his bonnet for you.
And he has a tendency to take
a real long view on things.
Gary: It's not done until it's done.
Union rep: Well, I've got guys ready to walk.
That's all I'm gonna tell you right now.
Hey. Hey, guys.
Guys, can I just get in here for a second?
Gary, how much are we talking about?
Gary: It's another $12 million a year, give or take.
Union rep: You guys just issued $18 billion
in new bonds for construction.
How are we arguing over $12 million
you already promised us?
We're talking about people's fucking livelihoods.
Gary: It was never a promise. That was something we were talking about.
It was on the table, but it was never a promise.
Union rep: Well, we have to have it.
- The people need...
- How's it looking? - The man's got a point.
- It's Thursday. - Pushing as hard as I can.
Have you got too much on your plate?
No.
Union rep: We put the cost-of-living increase back on the table.
Or as of 12:01 am tonight we're on strike.
You know where to find me.
Sorry about this, Gary.
Liz Shaw: One of the major concerns with trichloroethylene
is the leaking of toxic gasses
up from the water table and into structures above.
Though there is no official confirmation
on whether or not a chemical plume exists
in the groundwater below Bensenville,
Scientists contacted by channel 6 news posit
There could be a potential flow
moving underneath a local elementary school.
There was no comment from mayor Gregg's office.
Bensenville residents have seen trucks.
Driving from the O'Hare expansion site late at night.
They never thought too much of it. They were a trusting community.
With this recent toxic waste scandal, that has changed.
- Woman: Mayor's office. - Yeah, did you get me the numbers.
- For the people at channel 9 and channel 12? - Still working on it.
- Time's up. - Yes, ma'am.
The same roads that they drive every day
to get to work at O'Hare.
So how long are we going to go on like this?
If you wanted to waste my time,
you could have just done it over the phone.
It'll be just another minute.
Yeah, you know, I've counted those.
We're doing good... 27 so far.
I figure we can go in batches of five now.
What do you think?
Anything said in this room is off the record.
In this room?
I want a name.
Okay.
How about dr. Ella Harris?
Your source...
A name.
How about Rosebud?
I need to know where that document came from, mr. Miller.
I am a man you want owing you a favor.
Yeah, I don't know.
Somehow a favor from a disgraced former mayor.
Just doesn't seem that valuable to me.
Is it true you get migraines, sir?
What kind of medication did dr. Harris prescribe?
And have you seen her? I have so many questions.
Yes, I know. Thank you.
Tom? I didn't hear you come in.
What are you looking for?
Tom?
Files from his administration,
'85 to '92. where the fuck are they?
You sent for those already.
Yesterday.
Tom?
Who sent for them?
I don't know.
Somebody who works with you. That's what they said.
They said that you needed them. I thought you knew.
- Who did you talk to? - I... I told you...
- Who? - I just...
Who the fuck did you talk to?
I told you.
Who?
Uh, I appreciate the extra effort,
But how is it conceivable that it ended up here?
They did what they were told, what you said you wanted.
Uh, okay, sir,
If you'll permit me, we asked you to buy up
a truckload of bottled water from Bensenville,
Not to pile it steps from...
And with the microscope we're under right now... jesus.
I don't care. I don't care.
I did you a favor with this.
You don't like the way I'm handling it,
I can easily tell my guys to take it all back to Bensenville.
Wait, you could?
Yes, absolutely.
But I assure you, while this may feel like something more,
it's just a bump in the road.
We've weathered worse.
I'm going into a meeting with him right now.
I will share your concerns.
McGantry just now, Baine, Hofstader...
All day I've been talking to all of them.
You're here again.
Tom, stop.
I'm dealing with it.
Don't talk to me like I'm the rest of them.
- Clearly you're not. - What's happening?
It's on the news.
Who's doing this to you?
I don't know yet.
I don't understand how you're handling this,
How it's playing out there.
It's like a team of five-year-olds mobbing a soccer ball.
I'll be sure to tell the staff you said so.
You're not going to make it, tom.
Come Monday, this is over.
What happens if it is?
What?
What difference does it make?
I don't understand. What do you mean?
Monday.
Four days from now.
This, all of it...
Gone.
What happens?
It can't.
We can't.
Why?
This is what I do, tom...
I protect us.
I protect you and everything we've built.
From anything that can come in our way.
And I'm protecting you right now when I tell you
I don't understand you when you talk like this.
You have to stop.
Or help me get what's going on with you.
Who leaked that document?
Someone with access, knowledge.
As soon as I know who,
This will all be resolved.
Why now?
I don't know.
You tell me.
You let me know how it turns out.
These... these are nothing.
These are just some... some... some...
It's all right.
I'm here.
Everything's going to be fine.
Meredith,
I'm sick.
Oh.
Come.
Oh. Oh, it's okay.
From what I can tell, this is a copy of the report.
Before the official version went out,
Hence the redactions.
I know it's been a long time.
People are still getting sick.
Dr. Reyes, I can't imagine
what sort of burden you've been carrying around with you all these years,
But if you've ever wanted to lay it down, now is the time.
Female reporter: Mayor Gregg's administration confirmed today
that Bensenville has received a large quantity
of bottled water donated from mayor Tom Kane...
Male reporter: ... Have been overwhelmed with patients
concerned about exposure to trichloroethylene...
Male reporter #2: Parents of students at nearby McGuire elementary
are concerned that the location of the school puts them in great danger.
Male reporter #3: The mayor's office continues to deflect requests.
They produce documentation proving former mayor Rutledge
ordered the disposal of the toxic waste which...
- We'll get 'em. - How much do the people dumping our waste
really know about its contents and possible toxicity?
We will provide you all the information we can as it becomes available
in what is shaping up to be another long week.
of protracted negotiations.
Between the baggage handlers' union and O'Hare airport,
The sudden announcement today of a strike action by the union.
Means travelers can now expect to wait an average of 33 minutes
longer than usual for their luggage.
We go now to Jane Hayes in Bensenville.
In Bensenville, the suddenness of the strike action
has left many reeling in this one-industry town,
adding additional woe to an already hard-hit populace.
Real shame it had to come to this.
We gave them pretty much everything they asked for,
but sometimes you need to put your foot down, you know?
Well, do you have anything you'd like to say
to the management at O'Hare?
Yeah. We can hold out as long as it takes.
Until we get what we deserve,
- What we were promised. - Wait.
What about the travelers who may be affected by your strike?
Well, I am sorry about that.
I know that can be a real hassle.
But I would like them to think about their own family,
You know, and what it means to be able to provide for 'em.
And really there's nowhere I'd rather be right now.
Than with my kids, you know.
It's like the end of days out here.
You can't drink the water.
There's toxic gas in the schools.
I'm glad I can be home.
To make sure we're safe.
Male reporter: Baggage handlers' union officials will determine...
They'll be back to work on Monday.
How did you know that that guy was going to say that?
I didn't.
But people always remember what they see.
With their hearts and not their heads.
And a guy like that... apply the right kind of pressure,
Nine times out of 10.
He will break your heart
and put a face to this whole thing.
Yeah.
Should I put in a call to Gregg's office?
Kitty and Moretti are there now, working on press availability.
They contact Gregg's people yet?
No need.
Chuck.
Hi, Tom. Thanks for taking my call.
How are you holding up?
Well, I just wanted to call and thank you and the city of Chicago
for those pallets of water you sent over.
Had a hell of a time getting them off my front lawn
and to the folks who need them,
but what's one more adventure in a week like this, right?
Indeed.
Like I said the other day, Chuck,
We are here for you, whatever it takes.
You did say that, yes.
You know, you mentioned some idea
for some sort of joint press event and, well...
Yes, I remember.
Well, Tom, we could use something like that down here,
The sooner the better. My team would take care of the details.
Wouldn't take up much of your time.
I'm sure we can work something out.
Yes, sir.
And listen, while I have you...
You've been so incredibly generous.
I hate to even bring this up.
Speak your mind.
There's still an incredible amount of research and testing to be done...
Determining which wells are contaminated.
And whether or not this supposed plume
the press seems so concerned about even exists,
but at an absolute minimum.
We're gonna have to connect a couple hundred homes
to the municipal water supply.
And, well, I was hoping that maybe...
Ooh, sounds like one hell of an undertaking.
Well, yes, it is. It most certainly is.
I hope you'll be accepting bids from contractors here in Chicago.
Oh, of course. Absolutely.
But unfortunately we don't have
the general funds for this sort of thing and...
Maybe we'd better cross that bridge a little further down the road.
Yes, sir.
Thank you, Chuck.
Mr. Mayor.
You're lucky you got your mother's hands.
Fat fingers,
Can't handle child-proof caps.
Well, I can get you whatever you need.
Thank you.
I'm... I'm sorry.
For what you're going through right now.
Occupational hazard, nothing new.
Dad,
I'm sorry.
Mr. Mayor, I want to thank you for coming here today,
To stand with me in assuring the residents of Bensenville that our community is safe.
It's a pleasure to do it, mr. Mayor.
- Shall we? - Yes.
Ah.
We're all very grateful to mayor Kane's administration.
Now I can't speak to what happened here 20 years ago,
But I do know that Tom Kane has been a great ally of mine
and the citizens of Bensenville.
Our offices have been coordinating for months,
trying to clean up this dump site quietly.
In order to avoid just this sort of unfounded panic.
And when, in the midst of all the mayhem
and hardship, many others lost
their heads and their hearts,
Tom Kane personally stepped up.
To offer help, his compassion, his advice.
And, most importantly, his friendship.
Thank you.
You squint at this right,
You come out looking like a hero.
- The site. - We're nearing the end of the cleanup process, sir.
I'll confirm, but I think we have another week of work out there.
We should probably start talking about.
How to handle it when it's done.
Statement. I will not be taking questions.
12 years ago I led a team of researchers.
At Chicago children's memorial.
We were commissioned to conduct a two-year report.
About the grounds at O'Hare adjunct.
By the city council's committee on health and welfare
our results determined conclusively
That there was a direct link
between elevated levels of trichloroethylene in the soil
and statistically abnormal incidences
of cancer and liver disease
in children at the local municipality.
Shortly before the report was submitted,
I was approached by a member of mayor Kane's staff
and told in no uncertain terms
that any reference to trichloroethylene
was to be redacted from the report.
I could have stood strong, but I did not.
Alongside mayor kane, I did wrong.
I was party to perpetrating a fraud.
I have carried this burden,
but no more.
It is time that we all take responsibility
for the crimes we have committed.
Thank you very much.
Reporters: Dr. Reyes! Dr. Reyes!
Female reporter: What did mayor Kane give you in return?
It's the weakest he's been since he took office.
15 years, I've never seen him this vulnerable.
The chance is now. We can't afford to blow it.
This isn't about the primary.
If Kane stays in office,
the next governor, whoever he or she may be,
will continue to be under his thumb,
business as usual.
The city's run by one man who answers to no one.
The rest of us are too scared to lose our contracts,
or worse... our next election.
The council's a kennel.
And we're left begging for scraps.
And we've been doing it Kane's way for so long now,
Most folks have forgotten there are other options.
But there are options.
And is it betrayal.
To stop him by any means necessary
when he himself has betrayed every covenant
that should hold between a leader and those who elected him?
I'm not gonna tell you a fairy tale.
About speaking to the better angels of this fine city,
Offering them hope, not fear.
All of that is your business with them out there.
But what I can tell you
is that Tom Kane is finished.
We're gonna see to it that he is.
And someone new will come along.
With fresh ideas,
a leader who maybe can find.
better ways to do things.
This is not a story
that can be told from the governor's mansion.
A year from now.
The mayor runs for reelection.
Drop out of the governor's race.
And next year you'll have the organizational support you need
to take him on and take him down.
The men in this room can guarantee you 27 wards.
When the others see which way the wind is blowing,
they'll be right there beside you.
Hey, I thought you two jitterbugs...
- Come here, little man. - Sorry.
- Hey, go on now. - Come on, let's go.
- Let's go. - Hey, I'll tuck you in in a minute now. Go on.
If we're gonna move on this, we have to do it soon.
Timing is everything.
So?
What do you say?