U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) was scheduled to be the special guest tonight at a Democrat gala in Chicago. | Youtube
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) was scheduled to be the special guest tonight at a Democrat gala in Chicago. | Youtube
Chicago Democrat machine royalty converged recently at the Chicago Hilton Grand Ballroom for a cocktail reception that was supposed to feature U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California) as the “special guest.”
But Waters was a no-show, according to sources in attendance.
Main reception tickets were $200.
Maxine Waters was the special guest at a Cook County Democrat Party gala on Thursday.
The event, honoring Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis, retired Illinois Supreme Court Justice Charles Freeman and Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios, was hosted by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Board President and current mayoral candidate, Toni Preckwinkle.
Other listed attendees on hand to see Waters included: Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan (D-Chicago), state Reps. Robert Martwick (D-Chicago), Karen Yarbrough (D-Maywood), Robert Rita (D-Blue Island), Lou Lang (D-Skokie) and Mike Zalewski (D-Riverside), and state Sens. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago), Antonio Munoz (D-Chicago), Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago), Steve Landek (D-Bridgeview), Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), Laura Murphy (D-Park Ridge) and Michael Hastings (D-Orland Park).
Waters, 80, is a St. Louis native who moved to Los Angeles in 1961, at age 23. She started her political career in 1976, serving in the California State Assembly for 14 years before winning election to Congress in 1991.
In Washington, she first earned national attention in 1992, when she defended rioting and looting of Korean-owned stores in Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict as "acceptable."
In 1996, Waters drew criticism when she asserted that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) spawned the crack epidemic, purposely putting the drug in American inner cities. The claim has been widely parodied.
More recently, she has called on people to harass supporters of President Donald Trump in public.
"I said, if you see them anywhere, if you see them in a restaurant, if you see them in a department store, even at a gasoline station, just tell them, you're not welcome here or anywhere," she said in September.
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