Waguespack gives away campaign money received from Burke

Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) announced Friday that he has donated all campaign money he’s received through the years from Ald. Edward Burke’s political committees.

The money, about $1,450, has been given to an effort to pay for repairs and back taxes to help save the Montford Point Marine Association chapter house in Englewood.

“Anyone who has watched Ald. Burke and I butt heads over the years knows that I’ve remained fiercely committed to the fight for good, ethical government and reform in City Council,” Waguespack said in a statement. “I’m proud to donate every dollar to the valiant campaign by residents to save Montford Point.”

Burke, 75, faces federal charges that he tried to shakedown a Burger King franchisee for business for his legal firm while the fast-food operator needed permits to remodel a restaurant in Burke’s 14th Ward. Burke has said he’s done nothing wrong.

“We need to come together as a city and put our money where our hearts should be,” Waguespack said. “The veterans who use the Montford Point Marine community center as a home base for charitable works cannot be left out in the cold.”

The Montford Point Marines were African-American men restricted to a segregated boot camp in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and who served from 1942 to 1949.

In Chicago, the Montford Point Marine Association’s chapter operates out of a building in the 7000 block of South Vincennes Avenue in Englewood. It faces a Feb. 1 deadline to pay $75,000 in back taxes. The building also needs repairs.

A GoFundMe campaign devoted to the cause had raised about $24,500 of a $200,000 goal as of Friday.