Ald. Moore To Head Up Illinois EPA?
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Gov. Pat Quinn's office says it's just a rumor at this point, but talk is circulating that Ald. Joe Moore (49th) might be going off to Springfield as the new head of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
CBS 2 Political Producer Ed Marshall reports Moore is being talked about as a candidate for director of the state's EPA.
In February, Quinn moved EPA director Doug Scott to the Illinois Commerce Commission. Deputy director Lisa Bonnett served as interim director until a few weeks ago, when she was replaced by chief legal counsel and ethics officer John Kim.
Moore would only say it is premature to discuss the idea.
Moore is a liberal Democrat who represents Rogers Park in the City Council. His ward extends along the lakefront from the Evanston boundary to Granville Avenue, and as far west as Western Avenue.
Moore has served in the City Council since 1991. He ran for the seat after it was vacated by his political mentor, David Orr, who had been elected Cook County Clerk.
He has been lauded as one of the few progressives on the City Council, and for his Participatory Budgeting program in which constituents get to choose how $1 million in tax funds will be spent in the ward.
But critics have complained about some of the legislation Moore has sponsored, particularly the ordinance banning the sale of foie gras. The City Council approved the ban in 2006, only repeal it two years later, and see Mayor Richard M. Daley mock it as the "silliest law they've ever passed."
Moore's wife, Barbara, is currently running for a seat on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board.
There is a report that Moore would pick his wife to take over his seat in City Council, but the alderman refused to discuss that with CBS 2.
CBS 2 Political Producer Ed Marshall contributed to this report.
