Even Carol Marin Getting Frozen Out By DOR

While I'm a little surprised, I'm not shocked by the DOR's behavior.

In the recent past, even the lowly Parking Ticket Geek was able to get return phone calls and e-mails from DOR spokesperson Ed Walsh. But now, despite sometimes calling several times a week, despite waiting patiently by the phone, I never hear back. In fact, I haven't received a call back or even an e-mail response in months now.

Don't get me wrong, the Geek understands his place in the pecking order of Chicago "media." With the TV stations, radio stations and daily newspapers at the top of the media hierarchy, The Expired Meter probably ranks somewhere below a high school student newspaper. I get it.

But when Carol Marin, one of Chicago's elite news reporters can't get a solid answer out of the DOR, you know something is wrong.

Marin's column focuses on the DOR's reluctance to answer some pretty straight forward questions about an apparent decline in parking ticket revenue. Marin tried to get Revenue Director Bea Reyna-Hickey on camera to answer questions and is rebuffed several times over.

Then, after refusing to comment on camera for the news story, the DOR posted a response to Marin on their website, challenging the facts of her and producer Don Moseley's story that aired on NBC 5 on November 16th.

One would think if Reyna-Hickey had agreed to the interview, any alleged inaccuracies, would have been cleared up before the piece ran. It seems to me the DOR wants to have it both ways. They don't want to talk to the media, but have a hissy fit if they feel the information is wrong.

Marin seems to think spokesperson Walsh, is just playing information gatekeeper on the direct orders of Reyna-Hickey, because she's adverse to negative publicity.

But I think Marin is wrong.

I think it goes much further up the ladder than the Ms. Reyna-Hickey.

My guess it's Mayor Daley, repeatedly and mercilessly stung by the fallout from the parking meter lease deal, who has firmly placed the gag over the mouth of the DOR.

To me, it seems this type of paranoia is counter productive. The DOR and the city would be much better served by speaking openly and honestly about all the issues, instead of turning out all the lights and pretending no one's home.

I don't know about other reporters in town, but when I see this type of behavior, I think you're hiding something. And it pushes me to dig even deeper and work even harder to find out what the hell you're trying to keep hidden from the public.

You can read Marin's full Sun-Times column, "City won't face up to parking meter Q&A," right here.