Dick Durbin Calls For An Investigation of the FBI Agent Who Helped Elect a Corrupt Chicagoland Mayor

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Federal lawmakers on Tuesday called for a review of Justice Department actions — including measures that helped re-elect a controversial mayor — in a suburb the Tribune recently showed stood out for its high crime and subpar policing.

The lawmakers also pressed for more details on what federal prosecutors are doing to help reduce a violent crime rate in Harvey that continually tops hundreds of suburbs in the Chicago area.

In a letter sent Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly asked the Department of Justice’s inspector general to review actions by two wings of the department that were highlighted by the Tribune. And in a separate letter Tuesday, Kelly joined U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin in asking the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago to explain its actions.

The Tribune reported that records show an undercover FBI operation aided the re-election of Harvey Mayor Eric Kellogg in 2007. Then, a civil rights investigation found problems in the police department in 2012, but Justice officials did not use their full authority to force reform.

No word yet on this story from Patrick Fitzgerald.