Ald. Derrick Curtis (18th) said Tuesday he’s having second thoughts about his support for Mayor Lori Lightfoot — and his role as her “No. 1 cheerleader” — because of the mayor’s “coldness,” including her failure to reach out to him after he accidentally shot himself.
A former Chicago Housing Authority police officer, Curtis suffered a gunshot wound to his wrist last fall while cleaning a gun in the 8200 block of South Christiana.
He said the accident that required him to undergo minor hand surgery happened while he was helping a neighbor with a firearm that had been “malfunctioning at the gun range.”
What angers Curtis — and now has him thinking twice about supporting Lightfoot — is the mayor’s failure to reach out to him after the accidental shooting and her failure to call him more recently when he was hospitalized for a blood count that was, as he put it, “super low.”
“If we were in a relationship, she should have contacted me. I deserved some type of call or conversation just to see how I was doing. Just checking in on me. That’s what friends do,” Curtis said.
“I felt myself being a very, very close friend and ally to her. I really was a No. 1 cheerleader. But, she never called when I shot myself. … I wouldn’t treat my friends that way.”
In a statement issued in response to Curtis’ complaints, Lightfoot campaign spokesperson Christina Freundlich said the mayor “considers Ald. Curtis a friend and ally” and “looks forward to continuing their work together” to make Chicago “safer, fairer and more equitable for all.”
“They most recently exchanged Christmas greetings in which he sent her a picture of his deep-fried turkey as they often swap pictures of their grilling exploits,” the statement said.
After the Sun-Times reached out to the mayor’s campaign about the alderperson’s remarks, Curtis sent the Sun-Times a text message that read, “I’m hearing that you’re running the story that I’m pulling away from the mayor. I said we needed to talk.”
Last summer, the Chicago Board of Ethics slapped Curtis with a $1,000 fine for using his official city email account to advertise an event that launched Lightfoot’s reelection campaign.
The fine stemmed from a June 2 email that Curtis wrote inviting his constituents to the mayor’s reelection kickoff at Starlight Restaurant on June 8. About 100 residents were urged to reserve a spot at the “supporter” breakfast by contacting Curtis’ ward office.
After a citizen complaint, that board determined there was probable cause to conclude that Curtis had violated the city’s ethics ordinance by including “campaign-related content in official ward newsletter emails from a cityofchicago.org email address, contrary to clear board guidance on the improper mixing of political and official content.”
Curtis has insisted that the invitation was sent from his personal email account. He said he closed his ward office for a few hours on the morning of Lightfoot’s announcement so his staff would be free to attend. Many members of Curtis’ staff did just that, wearing T-shirts with the 18th Ward logo.
On Tuesday, Curtis complained that, ever since the campaign launch and the ethics investigation that it triggered, Lightfoot has neither reached out to him nor…
Read More: Ald. Curtis upset Lightfoot didn’t reach out after he accidentally shot himself