CHICAGO — A federal judge on Monday lifted federal oversight of municipal hiring in Chicago, agreeing that the nation’s third largest city has put effective mechanisms in place to stamp out illegal patronage.
‘‘I’m speaking to the people of Chicago that this is a big day for you,’’ Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in court, telling the judge it was one of his priorities to fix Chicago’s hiring system.
The decision comes nearly a half-century after crusading attorney Michael Shakman launched his attack on Chicago’s age-old practice of hiring based on who you know.
Shakman took on the practice during the reign of Richard J. Daley. The legendary Chicago mayor used his patronage to help cement his unrivaled power.
But in a motion last month asking US District Judge Sidney Schenkier to end the federal oversight, Shakman praised Emanuel’s administration for complying with bans on doling out jobs based on political connections.
Shakman’s civil litigation led to orders for the city to halt the politically driven hiring.
In 2005, however, a federal judge went further after finding the city administration under then-Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley appeared to be flouting the prohibitions, and the court ordered the federal monitor.