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Ald. Carrie Austin denies any wrongdoing after FBI raid

The 34th Ward alderman spoke briefly to CBS 2 Chicago Thursday evening.

By  Stefano Esposito
   
SHARE Ald. Carrie Austin denies any wrongdoing after FBI raid
Ald. Carrie Austin (34th) at a Chicago City Council meeting earlier this year.

Ald. Carrie Austin

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Making her first public comments since federal agents raided her ward office, a weary sounding Ald. Carrie Austin (34th) denied doing anything wrong and said she plans to return to work — although she didn’t say when.

“I’m gonna go back to work, yes,” Austin said speaking briefly to CBS 2 Chicago in the doorway of her Far South Side home Thursday night.

“I really have done nothing wrong,” Austin said. “I’m going to try to get back to what the people elected me for.”

She said she plans to talk to her constituents without saying when that might occur.

FBI agents raided Austin’s ward office Wednesday as part of an ongoing political corruption investigation of Chicago aldermen.

Austin, who is second in seniority after Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th), has not been accused of any wrongdoing. It remains unclear what prompted the raid. Agents left her office with boxes of records and at least one computer.

Related

Federal agents remove boxes of material from the ward office of Ald. Carrie Austin on June 19, 2019.

Federal agents remove boxes of material from the ward office of Ald. Carrie Austin on Wednesday, June 19, 2019.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

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