2 days ago
Chicago alderwoman threatens legal action against colleague amid war of words over Israeli embassy shooting
Chicago Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez (33rd) is threatening legal action against fellow Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), amid a war of words tied to last week's deadly shooting of two Israeli Embassy workers in Washington, D.C.
Lopez is standing behind comments and social media posts related to the shooting, but Rodriguez Sanchez has said they are inaccurate, dangerous, and violate the public trust. Her attorney has sent Lopez a cease and desist order, and has threatened legal action if he doesn't comply.
In the hours after it was revealed the accused gunman in last week's deadly shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C. is from Chicago, some Chicago leaders began to weigh in.
Among them was Lopez, who shared a post on his aldermanic X account, writing "birds of a feather" and circling faces in a group shot of United Working Families, a group that helps promote Black and Brown political candidates.
Those faces included Rodriguez Sanchez, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, Mayor Brandon Johnson, and U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez. The photo had lines drawn on it pointing to an individual in the middle, who was later proven not to be the D.C. shooting suspect. Instead it was a former aide to Rodriguez Sanchez, Chris Poulos.
"It was really nerve-wracking to see Chris in that picture, his face circled, and the sort of insinuation that this person was a murderer," Rodriguez Sanchez said.
United Working Families asked Lopez to take that post down, but he has refused.
Instead, the next day he posed, "Happy Friday Chicago - let's make it a great one, unless you stand with radicalized terrorists and the politicians that enable, uplift & defend them."
On Tuesday, in a cease and desist letter, lawyers for Rodriguez Sanchez said his comments and decision to not remove them have "caused direct harm, including endangering her and her staff's safety. It also constitutes defamation in violation of Illinois law."
And about the gunman, her attorney said: "He has no known connection to the Alderwoman and has never been a member or volunteer of 33d Ward Working Families."
Rodriguez Sanchez's attorney has demanded Lopez immediately take down any social media posts falsely linking the alderwoman to the accused gunman, "and immediately cease making similar false statements."
"You have shamefully and carelessly continued to put a private citizen in harms way by misidentifying him as an alleged murderer. You have recklessly exploited the tragic murders of Ms. Millgram and Mr. Lischinsky by using them as a platform to repeat falsehoods about Ald. Rodriguez Sanchez, endangering her and her staff," attorney Caryn Lederer wrote. "As a public servant, your deliberate spread of misinformation is a violation of public trust and the responsibilities of your office. It also constitutes defamation under Illinois law."
But Lopez insists he has nothing to apologize for. He said, while others made the leap that the photo connected politicians to the shooter, he insisted he never did.
"I simply said that those individuals were birds of a feather. If you and I are part of a same group and we take a picture, we are birds of a feather. It is not my fault people don't understand what the meaning of that is," Lopez said.
In the hours after the shooting, Lopez also went on AM 560 and said, "There's some back and forth as to whether or not the individual was actually the terrorist, or if that was just Rossana's former campaign chairman/chief of staff taking one for the team to say that it's not him and that they're not sitting with the terrorist."
Lopez said he has consulted with his lawyers, and he feels he has no reason to take down any of his social media posts.
To be clear, the person in the photo Lopez shared on X is not the accused D.C. shooter, and there is no evidence that suspect has any ties to Rodriguez Sanchez.
