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The alderman has accused Smith of claiming she helped workers when she was a corporate attorney for Navistar, a trucking company, when in fact she slashed retirement benefits. Then, over the last couple of weeks, the Daley campaign has claimed that several supporters found Smith staffers trading free beer for votes at a recent campaign event—and that Smith has changed her story to try to cover it up. In response, Smith has created a page on her Web site called “Vi’s Lies.” Daley, Smith says, has mischaracterized her record at Navistar and exaggerated her campaign’s role in the beer promotion.
Underneath the squabbling is a fiery debate over who is more politically independent. Daley has received endorsements, money, and campaign workers from the mayor (no relation) and several other aldermen, but maintains that she follows her own lead. On a recent Saturday afternoon Daley strolled past a man in a rabbit suit walking on stilts, three Park District employees doing the chicken dance, and dozens of children hunting for plastic colored Easter eggs during Wiggly Wabbit day at the Lincoln Park Cultural Center. After posing for pictures with park district staff and greeting a few families she knew, Daley pointed out a nearby playground, bike path, and sculpture she was responsible for.
“I’d love to have the Olympics,” Smith said. “But only if it’s paid for responsibly.” Smith pointed out that alderman Daley almost always votes with the mayor and the council majority. “I don’t care how great they are—they can’t be right 100 percent of the time,” Smith said. “The current alderman has lowered expectations of what being a legislator should be.”
