It’s been quite a ride for Robert Racky. Armed only with a few lawn chairs, the now 77-year-old businessman literally invented the Wrigleyville rooftop business that lets Cubs fans watch home games from the rooftops of homes along Waveland and Sheffield Avenues. Born eleven days after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Racky has a squeaky clean criminal record, too. Well, he did until Monday. That’s when he finally decided to plead guilty after fighting a charge of felony disorderly conduct-false report for eight months. A judge sentenced him to two days in jail that he had already served. So—unlike TV star Jussie Smollett, who was charged with exactly the same felony as the rooftop king—Racky will be wrapping up his life with a criminal record in Chicago.
Racky called 911 around 8:15 a.m. on Aug. 10th last year, and told an operator that he had been carjacked, his wallet had been taken, and that he was lying on the ground in the 1000 block of West Byron, according to court records. When officers arrived, Racky was lying on the hood of a 2005 Chevy Cobalt that had a Chicago Department of Revenue boot on the front driver’s side tire, police said. The car was registered to his company.
Racky immediately admitted that he had not been carjacked, explaining, “That’s what I told [911] to get you guys over here.” Racky was immediately arrested.
There were some clear differences between Smollett’s allegedly fake hate crime claim and Racky’s case. Racky immediately admitted to police that his report was false.
The police investigation of Racky’s claim lasted less than ten minutes. The Smollett investigation took weeks and cost the city over $130,000 in police overtime alone.
Practically no one ever heard of Racky’s false claim. Smollett and his “close associates” leaked his purported attack story to the Hollywood media and then fanned the flames of hate while the national spotlight shined on Chicago.
On the other hand, Smollett had a criminal history of providing false information to police in California, while Racky had never been convicted of any crime.