Emanuel’s First Political Scandal: Hires Ethics Challenged Team Member

by Warner Todd Huston | February 27, 2011 12:16 pm

Rahm Emanuel hasn’t even officially set his first foot in the Mayor’s Office and he’s already had his first political misstep: He hired a transition team member that has ethics problems.

Last year Judy Erwin was forced to resign as director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education because she was caught using state offices and money to do campaign work for Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Erwin was also found to have engaged in campaign fundraising for Obama while she was on the clock for her state job.

The inspector general investigation found that Erwin repeatedly violated the state prohibition on political activity between July 2008 and February 2009 and “co-opted” her staff by involving them in her activities.

The Chicago Tribune reports[1] that Erwin cooperated fully with the investigation into her actions and later resigned agreeing to a $4,000 fine for her actions.

Erwin claims that she never informed Emanuel of her past ethics violations.

In any case, Emanuel has already associated his nascent administration with a woman that readily and repeatedly broke the law.

Nice start, isn’t it?

Endnotes:
  1. reports: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/elections/ct-met-rahm-emanuel-transition-20110226,0,5545430.story

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