Aldermen Demand Search-Free Entry
Claim to be 'offended' by the policy
By MATT BARTOSIK
Updated 7:57 AM CST, Tue, Nov 3, 2009
Chicago alderman get plenty of perks, both legal and not so legal. But according to the aldermen themselves, they're still not being treated with the respect they think they deserve.
Several aldermen are annoyed because they have to step through metal detectors and pass the same security procedures as everyone else who enters 400 W. Superior, the city's central headquarters for administrative hearings.
"Why am I searched as an alderman and as an attorney?" said Ald. Howard Brookins (21st), the Sun-Times reports. "I don't want to be searched going through a city building."
It's not a particularly enjoyable experience for the rest of us either, Mr. Brookins, but we endure quite a bit in the name of safety.
Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th) sounded like a spoiled, manipulative child, who explains to one of her separated parents how she receives more "love" from the other household.
"If I present my attorney identification card and the sheriff's ID, I don't get searched [in the Daley Center or the State of Illinois building] as an officer of the court," Lyle pouted.
Budget Committee Chair Carrie Austin (34th) went so far as to suggest that the department's budget could take a hit if aldermen weren't treated better.
"[W]e are the ones who set your budget," Austin said. "[M]aybe we'll take an adjustment ..."
Wow. No one can accuse them of beating around the bush.
Now if only they were that aggressive in their duties to their wards.
Matt Bartosik, a "between blogs" blogger, gets patted down frequently.
Copyright NBC Local Media / NBC Chicago
First Published: Nov 2, 2009 12:48 AM CST
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