Just one day after she criticized the city of Chicago’s budget over concerns that funding was inadequate for the Community Office of Police Accountability, Illinois Attorney General candidate Sharon Fairley is in a war of words with Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office.
Fairley, one of eight Democrats running for the position that will be vacated by Attorney General Lisa Madigan in 2019, took issue with a lack of funding for the program, which she ran for two years.
“I’m not trying to pick a fight here,” she said. “In my professional opinion, after spending two years running the agencies, I feel this budget is inadequate.”
The mayor’s office criticized Fairley for her statements, saying she didn’t express concerns while she was in charge of COPA.
“As a candidate for office, she is now taking issue with the budget process,” a spokesman for the mayor said.
Fairley says that she isn’t interested in continuing a public battle with the mayor’s office, saying that she was just trying to express her opinion on a topic that she had experience on.
“I’m not going to be baited by him,” she said. “I’m just trying to give the benefit of my professional experience to the citizens of Chicago.”
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The back-and-forth between Emanuel and Fairley is adding fuel to what will already be a fascinating attorney general’s race, as candidates will begin officially filing their campaign petitions on Monday morning.
