Cleansing Yourself
By Kevin Robinson in News on Jan 30, 2007 5:30PM
If there is one thing Alderman Arenda Troutman doesn't know how to do, it's lay low. You might remember Troutman, who made news earlier this month when the FBI raided her South Side home on suspicion of taking bribes. You may also remember that this didn't come out of nowhere — Troutman has been under suspicion for a while now, after allegations that she was not only dating a Black Disciple, but was leaking information about the Chicago police to him. If we were all over the papers for something like that, we wouldn't be making noise in the press about it, that's for sure. And we sure as hell wouldn't be (allegedly) accepting bribes.
But keeping a low profile doesn't seem to be one of Troutman's strong suits. Yesterday, in remarks to the media after a council hearing, she made a big stink about what she claims is "dietary fiber" that the FBI found in her home during the raid. Apparently all the stress of the active lifestyle she was living was taking its toll on her regularity. Claiming that the FBI is withholding evidence that they did not, in fact, find powder cocaine in her home in an effort to smear her name publicly, Troutman charged that the FBI already knows the results of the testing they did on the substance. “I can’t understand that you don’t know by now if that was a drug or not.... It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that these people on the spot can tell you if it’s a drug substance.”
The FBI denies that they are playing politics with Troutman, saying that they don't know what the substance is. Making this story even weirder is Troutman's explanation of the "fiber." According to her, she's been a vegetarian since 2000, and uses psyllium husk seasonally to cleanse her colon and prevent cancer. "[I]t takes 10 years for your cells to rejuvenate and for your body to do a total cleanse of your intestines so you won’t develop any of these polyps and [colon] cancer. So, it’s a good thing to cleanse yourself.” Chicagoist fully supports a healthy and active lifestyle, but our experience has been that people that try to live that kind of balanced lifestyle don't attract the attention of the FBI for bribery and gang activity.