Chicago- Alderman Proco Moreno hit back at Chicago’s Cardinal George Thursday, calling him “un-Christian” after the Cardinal dismissed the Alderman’s actions against restaurant chain Chick-fil-A.
This past Sunday, Cardinal George took to his blog to officially weigh in on Chicago Alderman Proco Moreno’s open discrimination against Christian-owned fast-food chain, Chick-Fil-A, who had banned the restaurant from opening in “his ward”:
Recent comments by those who administer our city seem to assume that the city government can decide for everyone what are the “values” that must be held by citizens of Chicago. I was born and raised here, and my understanding of being a Chicagoan never included submitting my value system to the government for approval. Must those whose personal values do not conform to those of the government of the day move from the city? Is the City Council going to set up a “Council Committee on Un-Chicagoan Activities” and call those of us who are suspect to appear before it? I would have argued a few days ago that I believe such a move is, if I can borrow a phrase, “un-Chicagoan.”
In response, Moreno, on a marathon runner’s high of media attention, slammed the Windy City’s highest-ranking Catholic leader, just as he has done with anyone else who criticizes his actions to penalize Chick-fil-A.
Moreno called the Cardinal “un-Christian,” and questioned the Cardinal’s moral authority because of incidents surrounding some members of the Catholic Church’s pedophilia scandals. Moreno also implied that the Cardinal was picking and choosing parts of the bible over others to suit his purposes.
The Chicago Tribune reported Moreno’s rebuttal:
“It’s unfortunate that the cardinal, as often happens, picks parts of the Bible and not other parts,” said Moreno, who added that he was raised Catholic in western Illinois, attended a Catholic grade school and was an altar boy. Moreno said he now occasionally attends church.
“The Bible says many things,” Moreno said. “For the cardinal to say that Jesus believes in this, and therefore we all must believe in this, I think is just disingenuous and irresponsible. The God I believe in is one about equal rights, and to not give equal rights to those that want to marry, is in my opinion un-Christian.”
Moreno’s response, impugning the Cardinal’s character, reveals just how desperate he is to defend his shaky stance. Moreno and Mayor Emanuel both now have made the claim that Chick-Fil-A doesn’t represent “Chicago values” and therefore should take their business elsewhere.
Who would blame the restaurant chain if they did?
Those who would suffer most would be the already struggling minority community in Chicago, which makes up 40% of Moreno’s ward in a city with a 9.4% unemployment rate. If he can so casually dismiss the opportunity to help this community in his ward with an influx of Chick-fil-A jobs, it’s not surprising that he’d ignore the same community’s values, either.
Moreno might be surprised to learn about other “Chicago values”–in particular, those shared by many in his own ward. Earlier this week, Black pastors stood up in defense of traditional marriage–in opposition to the president. No one saw Moreno weighing in on that. Perhaps, as his ward continues to “gentrify,” this community isn’t as much of a concern to the Alderman.
The last time I checked there is no same-sex marriage in Judaism and Islam either. I guess in Rahm and Moreno’s Chicago, Jews and Muslims don’t share “Chicago values” either. Excuse me for stereotyping, but perhaps Moreno will once again invoke “aldermanic privilege” to shut down all the gas stations in his ward unless the owners have a change of heart and decide to embrace radical LGBT organizations.
Or then again, maybe it’s just “un-Christians” who are “un-Chicagoan.”
“Chicago values” may indeed be at the heart of the Chick-fil-A controversy–and never mind keeping the city’s people and economic interests at heart. It’s just the definition of “Chicago values” that most of us are a little more familiar with than the version Rahm and Moreno have been trying to sell this past week.
In the midst of the controversy last week, Breitbart News uncovered just how well Moreno fits into the corrupt Chicago machine, by documenting how the Alderman may be violating FEC and IRS regulations by apparently misusing his public office to run campaign operations for himself and President Obama.
Retired Chicago cop Peter Bella of the Washington Times Communities goes further, and may have hit the nail on the head regarding the Moreno’s adamant defiance of what most Americans across the country recognize as a God-given right to open and conduct business while being protected by the First Amendment.
Bella writes that “if Chick-fil-A wrote a big check people would be stunned how fast Proco Joe could shove tasty chicken sandwiches down his gullet….”
Bella cuts to the heart of the matter–the heart of “Chicago values”–and writes from experience, as one who no doubt understands just how rampant the corruption Chicago has dealt with is, and with this controversy it seems no closer to ending. Moreno, abandoned by even the ACLU in this matter, continues to dig deeper into the heart of true Chicago values. We’ll keep watching.