Federal investigators have launched an inquiry into Ald. Jim Gardiner’s conduct in office, including whether he retaliated against constituents for political purposes, sources told the Tribune.
FBI agents recently spoke to a variety of individuals with knowledge of Gardiner’s conduct, and approached Gardiner himself last week, sources said.
The probe is just the latest controversy facing the first-term alderman, who has been under scrutiny in recent weeks after text messages he apparently sent were made public by an anonymous Northwest Side group, The People’s Fabric, showing he referred to one City Council colleague as “a bitch” and the top aide of another council member as “his bitch,” and also used the term to describe a political communications consultant.
Block Club Chicago also published a story containing allegations that Gardiner sought to withhold services to constituents of his 45th Ward who have been critical of him and similarly used derogatory language to refer to constituents in texts that were later leaked.
Gardiner has not returned Tribune messages seeking comment about the probe. The U.S. attorney’s office and the FBI declined to comment.
Ald. Jim Gardiner, 45th, attends a City Council meeting in 2019. (José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
In response to revelations about Gardiner’s language in the texts, two dozen aldermen were joined by City Clerk Anna Valencia and City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin earlier this month in calling for Gardiner to issue “a sincere, in-person apology” and to “demonstrate through his actions — not just his words — that he understands the effect of his behavior in creating a toxic environment for those around him.”
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Gardiner is facing two federal lawsuits, including one filed by a man who claimed the alderman had him wrongfully arrested in 2019 after he picked up a cellphone that Gardiner’s ward superintendent had inadvertently left at a 7-Eleven in Jefferson Park.
That suit, filed by construction worker Benjamin George, claimed that Gardiner told his ward boss, Charles Sikanich, to report the phone stolen. Police officers were sent to George’s home, where they “profanely” harassed his roommate, according to the suit.
Later, both Gardiner and Sikanich paid a visit to George’s home, where they “used disparaging language” and demanded to know why the roommate let George live there, according to the suit.
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When George brought the cellphone to the 16th District police station after he got off work that night, he was arrested and charged with theft of mislaid property, even though he explained to officers what had occurred, according to the suit. George alleged in the suit that one of the arresting officers told him, “I believe you. I wasn’t going to arrest you, but this person has power and I have bosses.”
The charge was dismissed at the first court date, records show.
Gardiner has denied the allegations.
The second suit filed in U.S. District Court in August alleged that Gardiner violated the First Amendment rights of ward residents who were critical of him on social media by deleting their comments from his official Facebook page and blocking them from posting in the future.
The suit, which names Gardiner an the city and seeks class-action status for alleged victims, said Gardiner created the Facebook profile as part of his role as an elected officials and is therefore beholden to free speech protections.
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Gardiner has denied that the Facebook profile constitutes a public forum and has asked a judge to dismiss the suit.
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
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