March 14--A fire authorities said was suspicious destroyed a building early Friday where a Harvey mayoral candidate housed his campaign.
The fire happened a day after a report was filed that the building had been vandalized, authorities said.
The incidents occurred during an already high-profile race for mayor in the south suburb, which, as the Tribune has reported in the past year, has a high crime rate, subpar policing and little oversight from state and federal officials.
The building housed Daddy O's barbershop at 50 W. 159th St. and, at 52 W. 159th St., the campaign offices of Albert Abney, one of six candidates on the ballot for Harvey mayor.
"I don't know who did it," Abney said Friday morning. "We lost a lot of material. We lost a lot of computers. We lost a lot of phone numbers. We lost a lot of money."
Harvey fire Chief Jason Bell said firefighters arrived about 5 a.m. to find the building in flames. The fire left the inside of the building severely damaged. No nearby buildings were harmed.
Bell said his department suspected arson and called in assistance from the state fire marshal's office and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. A spokeswoman for the fire marshal described the cause of the fire as under investigation.
The fire came less than 20 hours after the building's owner called Harvey police to report that someone had spray-painted the word "leave" on the outside brick, as well as spray-painted windows where Abney's campaign signs appeared. On a billboard above, someone spray-painted an X over Abney's name and tried to paint over his face and the word "faith" in the sign.
Harvey Detective Gregory Thomas said Friday afternoon that the department had no direct evidence tying the vandalism to the fire but that the timing of both was clearly suspicious.
Thomas said detectives were canvassing the area for witnesses, video and other evidence. The street is one of the suburb's busier commercial corridors.
Abney was at the building Friday morning, surveying the charred scene.
"We're hurt right now," he said outside the building's burned-out shell. "We lost a lot of material things but we're still here. ... We didn't lose the vision and we're still moving forward."
Abney is one of six candidates set to be on the April 7 ballot. That includes the longtime mayor, Eric Kellogg, who made news earlier this year for being the first Cook County incumbent nearly kicked off the ballot for failing to pay long-overdue state fines.
qford@tribpub.com
jmahr@tribpub.com
Twitter @joemahr1
