Corruption must be so endemic in Chicago that city employees and those who must interact with the bureaucracy figure that law enforcement officials can’t possibly have enough manpower to get around to their own corrupt practices.

They are undoubtedly correct.

But 15 miscreants, alleged miscreants, that is, found out that assumption was incorrect for them yesterday.

The following press release just arrived from the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

PRESS CONFERENCE ADVISORY

CHICAGO – Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Thomas P. Brady, Postal Inspector-in-Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and David Hoffman, Inspector General for the City of Chicago, will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. today, Thursday May 22, 2008,

to announce federal public corruption charges against 15 defendants, including developers, contractors and seven City of Chicago inspectors or other employees, who were arrested yesterday and today for allegedly receiving and paying bribes regarding City building, zoning and construction permits.

The press conference will be held in the U.S. Attorney’s Press Conference Room on the 11th floor, north end, of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, 219 South Dearborn St., Chicago.

The defendants will appear 3 p.m. today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin Ashman in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

River North buildings used only for illustrative purposes.