Alderman Claims Intimidation by Emanuel Administration

First Ward Alderman "Proco" Joe Moreno says Rahm Emanuel's director of Intergovernmental Affairs tried to bully him from talking about an ethics issues.

Moreno asked that Soo Choi, Emanuel's now-Deputy Inspector General, have her name withdrawn from contention for the job because she had donated $4,800 to former Inspector General David Hoffman's Senate campaign, a violation of ethics rules.

The alderman planned to raise the issue during the June 7 confirmation hearing, but minutes before it began, Hynes approached Moreno and allegedly threatened to cut off access to the mayor unless he kept his mouth shut, according to a report in the Sun-Times

“The hearing was about to start. An underling [of Hynes] told me Matt wanted to talk to me. They handed me the phone and, verbatim, he said, ‘If you raise these questions, you will not have another private meeting with the mayor,’ ” said Moreno, who had raised the issue privately with Choi and Hynes days before.

The Mayor's office denies the event occurred, and Emanuel has reached out to Moreno on multiple occasions. Before the incident occured, Emanuel had agreed to chair a June 30 fund raiser for Moreno. Choi also received a legal opinion clearing her to donate. 

But Moreno insists the strong arm move did indeed occur, and felt strongly enough to speak to the media about the event.

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