MORGAN PARK — Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday took no sides in the conflict between Ald. Joe Moore (49th) and the City Council's inspector general — and added he didn't have the "time or interest" to read the watchdog's report detailing the allegations against Moore and other aldermen.
Last month, Legislative Inspector General Faisal Khan issued a report that, in part, accused Ald. Joe Moore (49th) of overpaying $22,000 in severance to two employees who left his office. The report also leveled allegations against a handful of other aldermen.
Moore went on the offensive after the report came out, saying Khan had never given him a chance to address the charges before they were made public and charging the Office of the Legislative Inspector General had "run amok with lack of professionalism."
Moore suggested his support for a single inspector general with the power to probe all branches of government, thus eliminating Kahn's post, played a role in Kahn's "political payback."
Just this week, however, one of Moore's former employees said Moore is lying and "Joe's been lying all along."
Emanuel, when asked about the report Tuesday at an unrelated event, threw it to Rogers Park voters, saying, "Joe Moore has served for 20 years and has a full record that he presents to his constituents."
And he added he didn't have the "time or interest" to read the report, instead saying he had been studying a report showing a 51 percent drop in arrests for violent crime among youth involved in the One Summer Plus job and mentoring program, the reason for the news conference at Phalanx Family Services in the Morgan Park neighborhood.
Khan chief of staff Kelly Tarrant brushed off the apparent slight, pointing out how the mayor isn't even under the jurisdiction of the OLIG. "It's his schedule if he wants to read it or not," she said. "I'm sure he'll get around to it."
