After the Chicago City Council voted Tuesday to remove a street sign honoring Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s downtown skyscraper, attention shifted to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who accepted a $50,000 campaign contribution from Trump in 2010.
When we was asked Tuesday about returning the donation, Emanuel said he would “look into it,” according to the Chicago Tribune. However, later in the day, the mayor’s campaign spokesman Pete Giangreco explained the money wouldn’t be returned.
“We’re not going to put money from a 5-year-old donation back into Donald Trump’s pocket today, and we’re not going to stop denouncing everything he says,” Giancreco said in a statement acquired by the Tribune.
Ald. Brendan Reilly, who led the push to remove the sign, received a $500 contribution from Trump Hotel & Casino Resorts Holdings in 2008 and $5,000 from Trump in 2010. Reilly has promised to return any contributions he received from Trump after the November election, so the Republican can’t use the money for his own campaign.
According to the Tribune, Reilly said he expects the honorary Trump Plaza street sign to be taken down “within the next several days.”
The alderman also noted that he hasn’t talked to Emanuel about what will be done with the sign, but said it will likely be repurposed “for somebody who deserves an honor."
