Toni Preckwinkle fired her campaign manager shortly before midnight Thursday for using a photograph of Nazis on trial at Nuremberg to attack mayoral rival Lori Lightfoot.
“As of today, Scott Cisek is no longer affiliated with my campaign in any capacity,” Preckwinkle said in a statement.
“His recent social media post was unconscionable and showed insensitivity to the issue of anti-semitism. It does not reflect my values or the values of my campaign. I apologize to Lori Lightfoot and everyone who was offended by this insensitive comment.”
The Facebook post that prompted the firing chided Lightfoot for saying she had only followed directions from her superiors when, as a young federal prosecutor, she was reprimanded by a federal judge.
To needle Lightfoot, Cisek posted a picture of the Nuremberg trials with a headline that read, “Just following orders.”
That was followed by, “Historically, that excuse hasn’t worked out so well.”
After Cisek was criticized for the post on social media, he apologized and took it down.
But that was too late to appease his boss, who fired him shortly before midnight.
Hours before the firing, Lightfoot condemned Cisek for going ugly in the campaign’s final days.
“Politics is a tough business. I knew that before I jumped in. But it is disturbing to me that a mayoral candidate’s top adviser believes the genocide of millions of people is a casual enough subject to be used as a joke to settle a political argument,” Lightfoot said in a news release.
“Take note of those that surround the people we expect to lead.”
Mayoral candidate Amara Enyia said “Chicago deserves better” than the tone it’s getting from Preckwinkle’s campaign.
“This foolishness from Toni Preckwinkle’s senior adviser is a testament to the values and character of her campaign,” Enyia said in a written statement.
“This is the latest in a long history of problematic behavior from several of Preckwinkle’s closest advisers. Does she condone this kind of behavior and attitude? Being progressive is not just about policies, it’s about the integrity and authenticity of your values. This is actually regressive and indicative of the kind of mayor she would be.”
Preckwinkle has now fired her chief of staff, chief of security and campaign manager since her belated entry into the mayoral race after incumbent Rahm Emanuel’s exit.
