Sneed: Former inspector general's suit against the city

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Ka-ching!

Hey, big spender?

Hmmm.

Former City Inspector General Faisal Khan, whose turbulent four-year term in office expired last year, continues to sue the city for back pay — despite a significant chunk of change and perks he has already received from the city.

During his tumultuous term in office, Khan also threw brickbats at Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the City Council, claimed the city was not ready for reform, and persuaded the FBI to seize and secure his investigative records.

Whew. Busy.

Still unemployed, Khan claims the city continues to renege on a compensation agreement that once caused him such financial hardship . . . he exhausted all his savings to pay rent as well his state and federal taxes.

But it can’t be that bad.

• Bankshot: A top Sneed source claims Khan was spotted flying first class between Chicago and New York last week.

• Buckshot: Spotted also on the same flight was Mayor Emanuel . . . flying a few seats behind Khan in coach class.

“It’s true he [Khan] is still not permanently employed, but he was flying back and forth from Chicago to New York as part of the process,” a Khan spokesman said.

“And he tells me he is flying on frequent-flier mile upgrades received while working for the city, [as the city’s legislative inspector general], which required him to constantly fly back and forth from Chicago to New York.

“By the way, he tells me he doesn’t always get upgraded,” the spokesman added.

Fly me to the moon.

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Ring. Ring . . .

Grab that phone!

President Barack Obama was startled Wednesday when a ringing cellphone interrupted him during his speech on the State Capitol’s steps, where he first announced his bid for president.

• Who did it? The president was told later the pesky ringing mobile device belonged to his old Springfield mentor, former State Senate President Emil Jones, who has baptized himself Obama’s “Political Godfather.”

• The kicker: Emil’s ringtone is the theme of the famous Francis Ford Coppola film “The Godfather.”

I mean, what else?

Growlings from Air Force One?

Zzzzz: Perky senior presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett, the most powerful woman in the United States, wore a 2008 Obama for President sweatshirt aboard Air Force One before it landed in Springfield, jettisoning it for business gear before deplaning.

• Zzzzz: An exhausted David Axelrod, former White House senior adviser who was also on Air Force One — after leaving his CNN perch observing the New Hampshire primary until the wee hours Wednesday morning — told folks he “drank lots of diet cola and coffee” en route to Springfield with the president.

• Grrrrr: The Axe man must have needed strong coffee: Both he and Jarrett were at each other’s throats during their White House years together.

Trump ’em . . .

Dateline: The Hot Button line . . . Sneed hears rumbles GOP presidential contender Donald Trump’s campaign is noodling how to address the arrival of Pope Francis to the Tex-Mex border next week, where the pontiff plans to say Mass — signaling his support for the plight of migrants fleeing violence and poverty.

• Stumping Trump: Even though there are Catholic voters who may agree with Trump’s desire to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants, Trump doesn’t want to anger Catholic voters by disrespecting the popular pope.

Deep Depp . . .

You’re fired! A mockumentary starring actor Johnny Depp, sporting a Donald Trump combover in a spoof of Trump’s best-selling book “The Art of the Deal,” has been released by the Emmy-winning comedy video website Funny or Die.

• To wit: The flick, which also stars actor Alfred Molina, centers around a period in the 1980s when Trump was trying to buy the Taj Mahal.

So what else is new and surprising?

Sneedlings . . .

President Obama gave a special shoutout to former Gov. Pat Quinn during his speech on the Capitol steps . . . and noted his old pal, the silver-maned House Republican leader Jim Durkin, “wasn’t the only one in the business whose hair turned gray.”. . . Congratulations to Pamela and Kevin Walsh on the birth of daughter Emerson Ann. Grandparents Sallie and Steve DeAngeles are over the moon. . . . Today’s birthdays: Jennifer Aniston, 47; Sarah Palin, 52, and Jeb Bush, 63.

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