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Watch a Rat Interrupt a Palmer House Hotel Dinner TV cameras capture rodent during Crime Commission event

Updated 3:35 PM CDT, Thu, Nov 20, 2008

Related Topics: Kevin Price

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www.palmerhousehiltonhotel.com

An awards ceremony was briefly interrupted by a scurrying rodent in the Grand Ballroom of the Palmer House Hotel Wednesday night.

 

Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine speech before Chicago's law enforcement elite was interrupted by a rat that ran through the Grand Ballroom of the Palmer House Hilton Tuesday night. Literally.

Rats! He Wasn't on the Guest List

Watch Video

The Grand Ballroom was filled with guests listening to Cook County State's Attorney Dick Devine when a rodent ran from a hiding spot, right out the do...


 
An NBC5 photojournalist on hand for the event captured the "unauthorized guest" on camera before it left through a side door and Devine continued his keynote address.

 
More than 400 of the top crime fighters from city, county state and federal government were on hand for the Stars of Distinction Awards hosted by the Chicago Crime Commission, a non-profit group focused on improving justice and public safety.

"No denying it, you got it on tape," said Director of Pubic Relations Kevin Price. "But this is the first and last time you will ever see it on tape."

Price said they had more than 20 contractors in the hotel during the recent $175 million renovation and that their record with city health officials is a good one.
 
"The city has given us straight A's on our kitchen and food service area. One of those critters just got in the hotel," said Price.
 
Chicago Department of Public Health spokesman Tim Hadac said they have opened an investigation into the food service operation of the hotel. Inspectors will make a visit today or tomorrow.
 

Comments (48)

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  • Anonymous Wednesday, Dec 3 at 10:37 AM FLAG COMMENT "One of those critters just got in the hotel". Maybe, but you can't deny the symbolism. Just as the rat who scurried across the railing on Matt Damon's fancy condo at the very end of "The Departed" symbolized the corrupt cops in Boston, this Palmer House rat is emblematic of all of the bad cops in the Chicagoland area. Just look at the not one but three items in the "Most Viewed News" and "Top Stories News" columns adjacent ... MORE >
  • wise guy Wednesday, Dec 3 at 12:35 AM FLAG COMMENT That was no rat that a Chicago Alderman.
  • truth teller Wednesday, Dec 3 at 12:31 AM FLAG COMMENT All the Hilton Hotels in Chicago are run by rats.
  • Cristana be real Friday, Nov 28 at 2:08 PM FLAG COMMENT Cristina you stay in that hotel with what appears to be a rat problem. So keep it real and stop kidding yourself with your fake ecosystem theory. Rats belong in alleys and sewers, not in hotels with kitchens!
  • Christina Wednesday, Nov 26 at 12:57 AM FLAG COMMENT Rats. If they didn't have us to live off of, the little critters would die out very quickly. So would roaches and cattle. Get real, we live with animals as a part of an ecosystem. They come, and we kill them off for awhile, then it happens all over again. I understand that there are issues with sanitation, and just plain getting creeped out by the idea of sharing your home with rodents, but it's no reason to get you're pa ... MORE >

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