ALD. SANTIAGO SORRY FOR HER TIRADE OVER CUBS TICKETS
After infuriating constituents and embarrassing her City Council colleagues, Ald. Milly Santiago ( 31st) is now apologizing for her public tirade against a Board of Ethics ruling that forced the Cubs to yank a lucrative offer to let aldermen purchase World Series tickets at face value.
“I never intended to offend anybody and, if I did offend somebody, I apologize,” Santiago, whose annual salary is $ 116,208, told Fox- 32 Chicago during an interview recorded Thursday.
“When I said ` poor alderman,’ — I’m very grateful for my salary and my position. What I meant to say was, you know, compared to so many people, the scalpers and all these brokers and all these people who have access to all these tickets to the highest price, of course I’m poor compared to them. Because my salary doesn’t makeme rich.”
Santiago described her whiny rant as a “moment of passion and excitement” for a die- hard Cubs fan.
“I’m a loyal fan and that was a moment I was waiting for along with millions of people. In a moment of passion and the excitement, I probably said the wrong thing. It came out bad. And I apologize for that.”
On Friday, Santiago could not be reached for comment. She also boycotted the final day of City Council budget hearings — and it’s a good thing. If looks could kill, Santiago might be dead.
Aldermen have been shooting daggers at Santiago, ever since she opened her mouth and dared to say what some of her colleagues have been thinking about the Ethics Board ruling that forced the Cubs to yank a lucrative ticket offer they had extended to aldermen for at least a decade.
Santiago said then she was just a “poor alderman” who can’t afford to pay thousands of dollars to purchase World Series tickets on the secondary market.”
After reading a Chicago Sun- Times story about her tirade, Santiago walked past the CityHall press room and gave the reporter who wrote it a thumbs- up. The rookie alderman was that proud of the stand she had taken.
But that was before colleagues privately accused her of embarrassing them. It was also before Santiago was buried in emails from angry constituents and before columnists, cartoonists and editorial writers had a field day lampooning her.
Sources said Santiago is now aware of the mistake she made and she has apologized to selected colleagues for putting them on the spot.