Lori Lightfoot Faces an Ethics Probe

Democrat corruption and chicanery know no bounds. About the time you think that you have heard it all, such as Joe Biden keeping classified documents next to his “Little Green Corvette” (sorry, Prince), you realize that the Dems have yet to find the bottom of the Mariana Trench of bad morals.

While Robert Hur is getting ready to dig into the Biden Boxes (like a loot crate, but without the fun toys, gadgets, socks, or cologne) Chicago Public Schools Inspector General Will Fletcher is starting an investigation into none other than Chi-town mayor Lori Lightfoot. Democrat corruption in the Windy City? Who would have ever thought?

As Lightfoot begins her re-election bid, her current stint on the hot seat is due to an email she sent to Chicago Public Schools teachers. According to NBC 5 News in Chicago, Lightfoot encouraged teachers to have their students volunteer as externs on her campaign for course credit. The email read in part:

As the race heats up, we’re looking to enrich our office through what we call our externship program. Lightfoot for Chicago is seeking resumes from any volunteer interested in campaign politics and eager to gain experience in the field.

In exchange for 12 hours of work each week, students would be eligible for academic credit. Lightfoot’s campaign maintains that it did nothing wrong but has rescinded the offer in the wake of criticism from some unlikely places. And not just her opponents. Stacy Davis Gates, who is the president of the Chicago Teachers Union, called the move unethical and feared that the teachers who refused the offer could face retaliation.

The union went so far as to send out a letter to members accusing Lightfoot of a shakedown. Even the Illinois ACLU weighed in, calling the letter a possible campaign violation. You see, the mayor of Chicago appoints not only the superintendent but also the members of the Chicago Board of Education. Illinois ACLU executive director Colleen K. Connell said that Lightfoot’s email:

…is inappropriately coercive and raises First Amendment concerns. The Supreme Court has made clear that government officials cannot use their office or power to coerce participation or to punish for lack of participation in political campaigns. Because the mayor has the ultimate authority over the Chicago schools, teachers may feel coercion in this ask from the mayor’s campaign or fear negative consequences for lack of participation… It is striking that Mayor Lightfoot presented herself four years ago as a candidate who would eschew the old corrupt patronage ways of Chicago politics. Now her campaign employs practices that harken back to the worst days of the Chicago political machine.

CBS Chicago said that, in addition to the probe by Fletcher, Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg’s office is looking into the matter, along with the Chicago Board of Ethics.

The amazing thing is that Lightfoot probably believed she was not doing anything wrong. After all, the teachers’ emails are available to the public, and why wouldn’t anyone want to campaign for her? In Lightfoot’s mind, not only is she entitled to the job as mayor, she is entitled to free labor. The Chicago authorities might have better luck looking for Lightfoot’s ethics next to Joe Biden’s Corvette. Chicago has a long history of corruption, so Lightfoot is carrying on with a time-tested tradition. But at least with Al Capone, there was cheap booze.