HYDE PARK — The first item on President Barack Obama’s agenda in Chicago on Thursday was to give 4th Ward Ald. Will Burns a gentle ribbing.
Obama took the opportunity at the announcement of the Pullman District being named a national monument to call up his own alderman, who cut his teeth working on early Obama campaigns, to complain about getting his trees trimmed.
“I would expect that he’s going to do fine in my ward, because he’s my own — and I hope my trees are being trimmed,” Obama said. “Although not right now, I guess. It's a little cold.”
Burns worked his way up from a job as community outreach coordinator for Obama’s state Senate and congressional campaigns to become a state representative and now alderman.
“Our office was a little smaller than this, and things were a little more raggedy and less organized,” Obama said. “But when you see somebody who worked with you as a young person, and then coming up and doing great things now as an alderman, we could not be prouder.”
The comments from the president couldn’t hurt as the Tuesday election quickly approaches and Burns is vying to keep his aldermanic seat against two challengers, Norman Bolden and Tracey Bey.
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