A top ethics aide to Mayor Richard Daley has resigned in the face of allegations that he and his boss used poor judgment in the handling of a student intern's sexual harassment complaint.
Mark Meaney resigned his $146,940-a-year position as first deputy in the mayor's Office of Compliance. He had joined Anthony Boswell to run the office in 2007, which Daley created to promote a culture of good conduct among city workers.
Gov. Quinn declared victory early today in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, but Comptroller Dan Hynes vowed to fight on and added another layer of uncertainty to one of the most dramatic political nail-biters in recent Illinois history.
With two-thirds of the precincts reporting in suburban Cook County alone, Preckwinkle had 53.91 percent of the vote — a 2-to-1 lead over her closest rival in the race, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District chief Terry O’Brien, who garnered 26.82 percent of the votes, followed by Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court, with 11.22 percent of the vote and Stroger with less than 10 percent.
In the city, it was a similar story. With 84 percent of the precincts reporting, Preckwinkle won 47 percent of the vote, O’Brien, 21 percent, Stroger 16.5 percent and Brown 16 percent.
If history is any judge, Preckwinkle will run the $3.2 billion government that funds the jail and local courts as well as a hospital and health system for the poor and uninsured.
A Republican hasn’t held the job in 40 years, though financial planner and former state Sen. Roger Keats, 61, of Wilmette defeated Chicago Police Lt. John Garrido, 42, in the Republican race, points to Massachusetts voters handing the late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s senate seat to a GOPer.
