CHICAGO _ The Chicago Cubs have withdrawn their offer of face-value World Series tickets to Chicago aldermen after a city ethics board determined that taking the team up on the offer could violate a ban on elected officials accepting gifts worth more than $50.
Three aldermen on Monday confirmed that the team had withdrawn the offer after the Board of Ethics on Friday sent out new guidance to aldermen on the issue. Some aldermen were upset, contending that the ethics board and its new chairman, William Conlon, were making much ado about nothing.
"This whole thing is a circus," said Alderman Ameya Pawar, 47th, whose North Side ward includes part of Wrigleyville, the area near the team's iconic ballpark. "Rather than celebrate the Cubs, the Cubs now are going to have to comment on something when we as a city should be celebrating going to a World Series."
So far, though, team spokesman Julian Green has declined to comment, saying that the team is focused on winning the series.
"Taking attention away from the Cubs and what they have achieved is bizarre," Pawar added. "I just think from the Cubs' perspective it just doesn't make sense to try to figure out how to navigate that opinion. They are trying to plan for a World Series."
The ethics panel on Friday determined that if an alderman or other city officials, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel, buy the tickets at face value they would have to perform some sort of "ceremonial duty or action," such as throwing out the first pitch or standing on the field with other elected officials. That's because the tickets are worth far more on the secondary market.
Friday's memo also stated there must be "a clear and direct connection between the official's attendance and the performance of such ceremonial duty or action and the nature and location of the event itself." It goes on to cite as examples the mayor or alderman whose ward includes the venue _ which in the case of Wrigley Field is Alderman Tom Tunney, 44th.
There was no immediate word Monday on whether Tunney and the mayor's offer still stands and, if so, what duties they would perform. Tunney spokeswoman Kim Shepherd said the alderman has yet to discuss the issue with the Cubs.
For more than a decade, the Cubs have offered playoff tickets at face value to federal, state and city officials, even though the mayor and aldermen determine the rules and regulations under which the team can alter their ballpark and do business.
This year, the Ethics Board took a new stance under Conlon, who was recently appointed the panel's chairman. But the ethics panel also determined the officials could attend under a "hosting exception," thus the new interpretation of city rules that certain officials could attend if they perform a ceremonial duty.
The new rules also would apply to regular season games _ and offers from other city sports teams _ in cases where the market value of the ticket exceeds the face value by more than $50. Public officials are still free to buy tickets on the open market like anyone else.
If aldermen were to break the rule as newly interpreted and were found in violation, they could face a fine for each infraction ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.
