Ald. Carrie Austin's Grandson Charged With Louisville Murder

Ald. Carrie Austin’s grandson Kenneth Austin has been taken into custody on murder charges in Chicago in connection with a fatal shooting in Louisville, Kentucky, last month.

The Chicago Sun-Times confirmed with Chicago Police that Kenneth Austin, 28, was taken into custody on Feb. 8 on the South Side based on an out-of-state warrant from Louisville. Police could not provide information on the charges for which the warrant was issued.

A spokesman for the alderman, one of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s most powerful City Council allies, confirmed Kenneth Austin is Carrie Austin’s grandson, but had no further comment on Monday. Carrie Austin will issue a statement on the matter on Tuesday, the spokesman said.

Kenneth Austin has been indicted on charges of first-degree murder, robbery, tampering with evidence and possession of a handgun by a felon in connection to the fatal shooting on a 25-year-old man during a robbery on Jan. 30 in Louisville, according to Jefferson County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jeffrey Cooke.

Kenneth Austin is being held at the Cook County Jail, the Cook County sheriff’s office confirmed Sunday.

He is the son of Kenny Austin; his father, the son of the alderman, resigned from a $72,384-a-year city laborer’s job in 2015 after an internal investigation concluded he crashed a city vehicle while driving on a suspended license in 2012, then had a co-worker cover for him to avoid taking a mandatory drug test.