Angry Ald. Stone Lashes Opponent, Mayor-Elect Emanuel
CHICAGO (WBBM) -- Ald. Bernard Stone lashed out Friday at both incoming mayor Rahm Emanuel, and his own runoff opponent Debra Silverstein.
He said that Emanuel's support for Silverstein in the 50th Ward runoff means he wants a puppet in the City Council, and a "two-fer" referring to support from Silverstein's husband: Illinois State Sen. Ira Silverstein.
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Stone's ire comes from a Silverstein campaign brochure, which accuses Stone of ignoring the needs of veterans in a 2008 vote against free CTA rides for retired and active duty military personnel.
Stone said he voted against the measure because it was buried in bill that proposed using real estate taxes to bail out the CTA--money he said wouldn't be there because the real estate market was about to collapse.
Stone was joined by retired Army, Navy, and Marine Corp veterans who attested to his concern for veterans. And he spoke in a Jewish Senior Citizens complex, which he helped bring to the ward at 6840 N Sacramento.
Along the way, he swiped at Emanuel statement that "he'd be a mayor who is Jewish, not a Jewish Mayor." Stone said: "I'm a Jewish alderman."
Clearly angry, Stone said he thought he should run for another term in City Council where he's already spent 37 years because he believes he has financial insights he could offer the incoming mayor.
He said for him to leave now would be like a rat deserting a sinking ship. That's how the sees the City of Chicago's financial situation.
