As the international and national, not to mention local, media breathlessly cover the latest Illinois pay to play gubernatorial scandal, they overlooked another routine Chicago  incident; a scandal perhaps in other places but a way of doing business in Chicago. 

A city of Chicago building inspector pleaded guilty to accepting a $500 bribe in return for verifying a plumbing inspection.  In exchange he received only two years probation while a second charge of accepting a $1000 bribe was dropped. 

But...the most severe punishment was the loss of the generous city pension the 60 year old  $85,000(!) salaried former (probably; you never know in Chicago though) plumbing  inspector had built up over his 19 year city career.   

This was not an isolated incident.  He  

was among nine defendants charged in March 2007 as part of Operation Crooked Code, an investigation of corruption at the city Buildings and Zoning Departments led by Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman, with an assist from federal law enforcement. All nine have been convicted, and five were sent to prison, Hoffman said.