Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she fired city spokesman over 'professionalism' concerns; administration

Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she fired city spokesman over ‘professionalism’ concerns; administration also acknowledges top lawyer will repay tax breaks

By Gregory Pratt and John Byrne


The city of Chicago’s top attorney under Mayor Lori Lightfoot improperly collected a tax break on his Chicago condo in recent years while living in west suburban Naperville, her administration acknowledged Monday.

Chicago corporation counsel Mark Flessner will be repaying the state about $2,500 for the Chicago tax break he received but should not have, Lightfoot spokeswoman Anel Ruiz said. The disclosure came amid the fallout Monday of Lightfoot’s recent move to fire veteran city spokesman Bill McCaffrey for reasons that remain unclear.

On Monday, Lightfoot denied that Flessner lives in Naperville and defended her decision to fire McCaffrey — a move she said was justified by information “that raised serious questions about his professionalism and his judgment.”

“On the basis of what I was briefed on, there was support for the decision to terminate him for cause,” Lightfoot said at an unrelated Monday morning news conference.

Read more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-lightfoot-mccaffrey-firing-ethics-20191216-em5rxpk6kve6pbqbv4b66ysdy4-story.html