Both Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and businessman/mayoral candidate Willie Wilson are involved in new situations involving gas giveaways.
Lightfoot is tweaking her proposed gas-card giveaway yet again in an attempt to mollify opposition and pave the road to City Council approval, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Two weeks ago, Lightfoot's plan to give away $150 gas cards to motorists squeezed at the pump and $50 Ventra cards to lure commuters back to the CTA ran into opposition, such as from Alds. Jason Ervin (28th Ward) and Brendan Reilly (42nd)even after the income threshold was reduced from $140,000 to $93,000 for a family of four.
Some branded it a "political stunt" tailor-made to one-up Wilson's $1.2 million in gas giveaways. Others questioned why the city was "encouraging people to drive" by giving away "the equivalent of two free tanks of gas."
According to the Chicago Tribune, Wilson announced he will be giving away another $1 million in gas (his third such giveaway) on Saturday, April 23although questions have been raised about the entrepreneur providing handouts to potential voters.
In March, Wilson gave away $1.2 million in free gas over two events at several city and suburban gas stations. However, he hadn't declared his candidacy for mayor then.
On April 19, Wilson told reporters he's been "consistent" about giving money to those in need for more than 25 years. Those who might have an issue with his philanthropy leading up to and during elections in which he is a candidate should "look at themselves," he said.