RFI on former mayor’s conflict of interest
In 2022, Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot awarded a casino contract to Bally’s Chicago in River North. Today, Lightfoot is representing Bally’s through her law firm in a legal pursuit against the Chicago City Council to stop the legalization of video gambling at bars and restaurants. RFI Executive Director Alisa Kaplan weighs in, highlighting not only the violation of potential ethics rules, but an erosion of public trust in city government:
“Even if this arrangement doesn’t violate the city’s ethics law, it could still raise concerns under other ethics rules, like state rules governing the conduct of lawyers who move from public service to private practice,” said Alisa Kaplan, executive director of Reform for Illinois.
“And regardless of whether it complies with the letter of the law, at the very least it creates the appearance of a serious conflict of interest. That undermines public confidence in a city where trust is already in short supply. Mayor Lightfoot was elected as a reformer who promised to clean up city government. This is difficult to reconcile with that promise,” Kaplan said.
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