WICKER PARK — A former staffer to Ald. Joe Moreno (1st) who is running against him in next Tuesday's election is facing a citizen-filed complaint that she didn't properly fill out an ethics form and also emailed city employees for campaign purposes.
Filed last week with the city's Office of the Inspector General, the complaint alleges that Ronda Locke violated the city's ethics ordinance because she did not disclose on her election filing form that a company she once worked for does business with the city.
According to documents filed with the Board of Elections, Locke disclosed that she made over $25,000 as a freelance consultant for Christy Webber Landscapes, a company owned by Christy Webber.
But Locke did not note on the form, when asked, that the firm holds city contracts, including a $513,745 contract in 2013 to enhance landscapes along the Kennedy Expressway.
Alisa Hauser breaks down the complaint:
Webber also has a 7-percent stake in an $80 million facilities maintenance contract with Chicago Public Schools that ends in 2017, according to documents.
Locally, Webber's firm, which employs 450 workers, is known for maintaining trees and landscapes in several neighborhoods under contracts with Special Service Area taxpayer districts.
The complaint, by Denise Bradley, a home health worker and South Side resident, also alleges that Locke solicited donations in a Jan. 23 mass email that went to some city employees.
Reached on Friday, Locke, who worked for Moreno's office at 2058 N. Western Ave. as a community liaison until September 2012, denied both allegations.
"I have not worked for Christy Webber since mid-May 2014 and the scope of my work was as a freelance marketer, not having to do with any contracts. It was after my time at the city, no overlap of any kind," Locke said.
Locke said the email list of about 4,000 email addresses was given to her in January by a source who was trying to help out her campaign. Locke said there was no direct donation link in the email, but there was a link to her social media page.
Locked acknowledged "not scrubbing" the list of emails and said that after a quick scan after sending the mail, she noticed a few city addresses as well as some CPS emails.
"It was a one-time email, I haven't touched [the list] since," Locke said.
In an email, Webber said: "I think the issue is that Ronda checked the wrong box. She probably should have checked Yes instead of no on that first question of 'doing business with anyone that works for the city.'"
Webber said she has known Locke for seven years and that Locke was "a natural" for a freelance marketing job to help gain publicity for Christy Webber Farm & Garden, 2200 W. Grand Ave., formerly Grand Street Gardens.
"She helped the store get its feet on the ground. What's so sad is we were all pals until she ran against [Moreno]. I love Ronda as a friend and Joe has been a great alderman. I wish Ronda a lot of luck and it's been stressful since she decided to run. It's like they're going through a divorce," Webber said.
On Friday, a spokeswoman within the Office of the Inspector General said that the office cannot discuss any cases but said if the complaint were to be addressed, it would be referred to the office of the Legislative Inspector General.
Moreno was the source of an investigation related to putting his face on illegal garbage cans in 2012 that did not have permits. Locke, who was working for Moreno at the time, defended her former boss on a neighborhood blog.
Kelly Tarrant, chief of staff for the city's Legislative Inspector General Faisal Khan, said she cannot discuss cases but that, "Hypothetically, there needs to be a clear decision by the Board of Ethics and the Board of Elections on the definition of an email base that comes from a ward office."
"Is an email base that was gathered for a ward office property of a city? Was that database collected in a city of government office and if it was, would that be an issue of political interference? Because social media is such a fast, new thing nothing has been set in stone. It's a very gray area," Tarrant said.
A $1,500 donation that Webber gave Locke's campaign has been Locke's largest donation.
Prior to Webber's Feb. 2 donation, Locke had $22,929 in her campaign coffers at the close of the most recent quarter, Dec. 31 — the bulk from a $20,000 loan from her husband, William Locke, owner of TerraLocke, Inc., according to state documents.
Moreno's campaign has raised $21,500 since Dec. 31, from 19 individual contributors and has $110,301 in his campaign coffers, state documents show.
Other 1st Ward candidates include Andrew Hamilton and Anne Shaw. The election is Feb. 24. If no candidate receives 51 percent of the vote, there will be a runoff election on April 7.
Complaint Against Locke, submitted to the Office of the Inspector General.
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