Cockroach climbs City Council chambers as pest control commissioner testifies

Cockroaches are not an unfamiliar sight in Chicagos aging City Hall, but one of substantial size had the nerve Thursday to scale the wall of the City Council chambers just as the official ultimately in charge of pest extermination was testifying.

Commissioner, what is your annual budget for cockroach abatement? asked Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, interrupting the testimony of David Reynolds, commissioner of Fleet and Facility Management. Amid much laughter, all eyes went to the west wall of the chambers, where a large, dark cockroach was set off in stark contrast to its off-white background.

That is possibly the largest cockroach Ive seen at City Hall, said Reilly, only to be told by a colleague that wasnt the case. Youve seen bigger? OK.

Reilly then took it one step further as the hearing he led on Mayor Rahm Emanuels proposed 2015 budget neared the noon hour, when aldermen break for a repast in the anteroom. That guy is coming for lunch, Reilly said.

I was mortified, Reynolds said later, noting that pest control at the 103-year-old building was an ongoing, never-victorious battle. The timing is ironic, that in the middle of my budget hearing a cockroach decides to make itself known.

hdardick@tribune.com Twitter @ReporterHal

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Cockroach climbs City Council chambers as pest control commissioner testifies