The ancient Wrigley Field, the 90-year-old religious shrine where the Chicago Cubs play their home games, has recently been the subject of multiple city investigations.

Why? Chunks of concrete have plummeted off the stadium toward the intoxicated Steve Bartman haters who actually believe that this will be our year.

In response to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley’s altruistic demands to fix the stadium or else, Wrigley Field was smothered with a taut black netting designed to withstand the impact of a 350-pound boulder falling from 50 feet.

Don’t make the mistake of viewing Daley’s demands as good-natured, orderly ways of saying he loves you. Instead, let’s pull the mask off Daley’s face and reveal him for the power-hungry, vengeful person that he is in this case.

Daley isn’t worried about your safety. He’s simply using his power as mayor to advance his personal grudges and agendas. It’s no secret that Daley has a deep-rooted hatred of the Tribune Company. Coincidently, Daley is also a Chicago White Sox fan.

When the city checked into Wrigley Field’s unraveling, Daley’s building commissioner said he had found that about $2 million in repairs had been made to the ballpark during the past three years without proper city permits.

After the city became involved, the Chicago Tribune began checking maintenance records at city hall. Soon after, the city shut down construction at a Tribune-owned television station studio.

Clearly, this was an act of retribution aimed at furthering a personal vendetta against the Tribune Company. What this action states is that if the Tribune oversteps its city-tailored boundaries, Daley will flex his political muscles and slap it back into place.

If Daley isn’t careful, he will be brewing a whole new pot of trouble. Who’s to say that the construction at that Tribune-owned television station’s studio wasn’t needed to secure broadcasting? If the shutdown of construction was without just cause, wouldn’t Daley’s actions be a case of prior censorship on the media?

Regardless of Daley’s attempts to package his hatred for the Tribune Company with the glittery wrapping paper of the interest for people’s well-being, the secret is out.

It’s great that the mayor is having a good time in office. Understandably, Daley needs some extracurricular activities to spice up his rather serious lifestyle. Softball? Poker? Who needs them? This is the mayor we’re talking about here. Picking a fight with the city’s largest newspaper is more up to par.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Daley has sparred with the Tribune. The mayor has managed to make a habit of it. He boiled over with rage after the Tribune called the recently renovated Soldier Field the “Monstrosity of the Midway.” Anyone who has ever driven by the “Mistake by the Lake” must concede to the Tribune’s accusations.

The fact of the matter is that a position of power is being used to teach lessons and point fingers. The citizens of Chicago do not need this type of behavior venting from their mayor’s office. Two separate inspections have declared Wrigley Field a safe place to continue playing baseball. Yet, Mayor Daley continues to claim the baseball field as his most recent battleground in his ongoing war with the Tribune Company

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.