County Official Who Made A Bunch Of Racist And Sexist Facebook Comments Resigns

By aaroncynic in News on Oct 15, 2015 3:35PM

Daniel Gallagher with State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez

A top Cook County official has resigned after making several offensive Facebook comments, including referring to First Lady Michelle Obama as "Moosechelle" and calling democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton an "ugly bitch."

Daniel Gallagher, chief of Cook County State’s Attorney’s Civil Actions Bureau, resigned over the weekend after the Better Government Association and Fox made inquiries into questionable Facebook posts, like this comment on a photo of Michelle Obama meeting Pope Francis during his September visit:

That particular comment wasn’t isolated. The BGA rounded up some other posts and comments from Gallagher. On a thread about the Reverend Al Sharpton:

On an article on Hillary Clinton:

Gallagher also referred to the Reverend Michael Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina’s in Auburn-Gresham, as “Pfather Pfaker” in a comment on Chicago’s rampant gun violence:

On a satirical photo of President Obama, he wrote, "...if you complain, you will be a racist and expelled from school."

According to Fox 32, Gallagher’s salary topped out at $153,000 and he oversaw about 120 lawyers that handled county lawsuits, represented agencies and provided advice to the County Board. He admitted to making some of the comments on Facebook during work hours.

“This is very discouraging that one of our civil leaders in the State's Attorney’s office is making comments like that,” said Cook County Commissioner Robert Steele.

While Gallagher said he regrets the comment about Michelle Obama, he defended the rest of the remarks, saying “I haven't given up my right to comment... I wasn't stating it on behalf of my office or the position that I hold.”

Gallagher’s resignation comes as State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced her reelection bid. The Sun-Times reports Alvarez, to which Gallagher has donated more than $13,000 since 2007, announced her bid for a third term on Tuesday.

A spokesperson for Alvarez said in a statement to Fox:

"We only became aware of Mr. Gallagher's posts on his personal Facebook page when we were contacted by a reporter late last week. In light of the troubling and inappropriate nature of these comments, Mr. Gallagher tendered and the State's Attorney accepted his resignation this past weekend."

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who’s backing her former chief of staff Kim Foxx for State’s Attorney, called the posts “insulting and reprehensible.” “If this is true, I do not want him on the podium with me,” she said.