Chicago values.
A candidate for the Illinois House’s 5th District seat is being accused of paying for good publicity from a now ex-editor at one of the city’s most prominent African-American newspapers – a charge both the candidate and editor deny.
Questions have been raised about the arrangement between candidate Dilara Sayeed and former Chicago Defender Managing Editor Mary Datcher, who was paid $10,000 by Sayeed’s campaign.
The payment, which was first reported by the Chicago Crusader, came in November 2017. A day later, the Defender wrote a positive article about Sayeed’s campaign.
As founder and principal of On the Street Promotions, Datcher was tapped to help the Sayeed campaign spread its platform throughout the various communities that make up the state’s 5th District.
It was her dual role that caused Datcher her job.
In a statement, the Defender said that after their own investigation they found “there was no evidence of wrong doing on behalf of The Chicago Defender, however, we determined that it was necessary to take action and terminate the employee for violation of company policy and procedures.
“The Chicago Defender is a longtime voice in this community, and it is imperative that we maintain the highest level of integrity and credibility,” the statement read in part.
Datcher said the Defender was fully aware of her marketing company and that previous management understood that keeping both roles was a factor in her taking the newspaper job. She said her marketing work allowed her to be an asset to the Defender when it came to pulling in resources and building relationships.
Datcher said there was no bias on her part with the November story about Sayeed.
“I didn’t tell [reporter Lee Edwards] how to write or what to write,” Datcher said. “He didn’t need anyone to hold his hand. All of these profiles that we did were handled with integrity.”