Two days after the University of Illinois basketball team lost to the University of North Carolina in the national championship game, Ald. Joe Moore (49th) raised eyebrows when he showed up at a Chicago City Council meeting wearing a powder blue Carolina T-shirt.
A turncoat? Never, Moore assured his colleagues.
“The reason I am wearing this jersey has nothing to do with my loyalty or allegiance to the state,” Moore said. “I was on the losing side of a bet.”
Had Illinois been victorious, Susan Burgess, a friend of Moore’s and member of the Charlotte, N.C., City Council, would have had to parade around in an Abraham Lincoln get-up.
“I appreciate the opportunity to clarify the record and salvage my political career,” the alderman declared.
“I rise on a point of order,” responded Ald. Edward Burke (14th). “Rule 50 of our rules provides for censure and expulsion of members acting or appearing in a lewd or disgraceful manner. He can be expelled by a two-thirds vote. There is a vacancy.”
On second thought, Burke said, mercy was in order.
“If we can absolve Mrs. O’Leary of responsibility for the Chicago Fire, we can forgive Ald. Moore for his opprobrious conduct this morning.”