Chicago sleaze: State House candidate accused of paying journalist for publicity

Tattered Illinois flag

The Chicago Defender played a key role in supporting civil rights during the Great Migration era, the Emmett Till murder was one of the atrocities it reported on. But in recent years has been a hack publication.

Here's proof from the Chicago Sun-Times:

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.

On its website, the Crusader reports, the Defender issued a statement on Datcher's dismissal:

"Late last week, the Chicago Defender became aware of a potential employee matter regarding our managing editor's outside business and client relationships. After a few days of due diligence, our investigation found that 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." 

Sayeed is a Democrat running for an open seat in the General Assembly.