Desmond Tutu Absolves Mayor Daley The Media

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Mar 10, 2009 8:40PM

Well, sort of. It was a bizarre scene at City Hall today. South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, in town to give a speech on gun violence, attended Daley's press conference today. When a reporter asked Mayor Daley how many times he had flown on a private jet owned by EduCap, as alleged last week, Daley replied, “Once or twice, we pointed that out. Yes, you’ve got all the facts on that." EduCap funded the Academy of Achievement, which happened to pay the Mayor's wife, Maggie, a sizable amount of money for help in 2006 and 2007. Daley than began pontificating on the Academy and, eventually, Tutu felt compelled to respond. Here's how the exchange went down, via the Trib's Clout Street.

“I just want to say - I can’t believe this,” Tutu told reporters. “The academy itself is an outstanding operation … Those young people who gather from all over the world are superb human beings who are quite clearly going to make a heckuva difference to the rest of the world. I would hope that is what you would be wanting to concentrate on - please.”

Daley turned to Tutu and said, “In Chicago, the press has to find always negative things. That’s how it is. Thank you.”

Laughing at his own joke, Daley walked away from the podium.

But a grinning Tutu remained for a moment to tell reporters: “Wait, let me hope that my presence will have acted like, you know - I will absolve you and make you holy.”

We're not sure what strikes us as more surreal: Tutu absolving Daley City Hall Reporters for their harsh coverage of Daley or Daley strutting away from the podium and Tutu while laughing to himself. Though it scares us how seriously the Mayor may take this "making holy" thing. You can also check out ABC 7's interview with Tutu here.

Photo: Marcus Gilmer/Chicagoist