Fired chief blames firm for piling's placement

The new protective bridge piling that crushed the side of afreight tunnel and led to the flooding of Chicago's Loop was"illegally installed," the city's fired transportation chief chargedWednesday.

John LaPlante, who was cashiered by Mayor Daley on Tuesdaybecause of the flooding, told the Chicago Sun-Times the company thatput in the piling, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. of Oak Brook,changed the location of the 55-foot pilings without the requiredapproval from the city.

Meanwhile, city reports filed with the state show that cityengineers falsely claimed that old pilings at the site, which the newones were to replace, had been removed by Great Lakes, as the …