Austin cools off, apologizes to Reboyras after outburst in defense of fire commish
The always outspoken chairman of the City Council’s Budget Committee offered a public apology Friday for lashing out at a colleague who dared to ask newly-appointed Fire Cmsr. Richard Ford II to explain his qualifications for the job.
Ald. Carrie Austin (34th) said she thought better of her outburst after reading a Chicago Sun-Times article about it that included the response from Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30th).
Reboyras said he meant no disrespect to Ford. His intention was merely to “show my colleagues how qualified this individual is to be the next commissioner.”
“I want to publicly apologize for my ranting and raving in regard to what my assumption was of what I thought your intent was regarding Fire Commissioner Ford,” Austin said Friday while chairing City Council budget hearings.
But Austin categorically denied that she was protective of Ford — and furious about a line of questioning never directed at his newly-retired Hispanic predecessor Jose Santiago — simply because the new commissioner is African-American.
Reboyras, chairman of the City Council’s Committee on Public Safety, accepted Austin’s apology without hesitation.
The question that triggered Austin’s outburst during Thursday’s budget hearing seemed harmless enough at the time.
“Can we hear from you a little bit about your career and how you got here to this point today as acting commissioner?” Reboyras said then.
Ford laughed nervously, then launched into a detailed explanation of his rise through the ranks of the Chicago Fire Department.
The acting commissioner said later he was not offended.