Burke's Security Detail Being Reduced

The security detail for Ald. Ed Burke (14th) will be reduced, police Supt. Garry McCarthy announced Friday in a statement:

"After completing a review, it has been determined that the officials who have security paid for by the City require less or no protection.  Most of the police officers will go back on the street at a savings of more than $650,000 to the taxpayers." 

McCarthy said the detail for Mayor Rahm Emanuel has already been reduced and that Treasurer Stephanie Neely's will also be reduced.

Security details for Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez and the Chicago Housing Authority CEO, a position previously held by Lewis Jordan, have been eliminated, he said.

Burke has had a security detail since receiving threats during the Council Wars of the mid-1980s, when he challenged the city's first black mayor, Harold Washington.

Even recently, Burke insisted he needed the detail after a man, Timothy Hercog, left him a threatening message.

"It just points out that there are some very troubled people in our society," Burke said back in February.

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