Top Deputy In Cook County State's Attorney's Office Out Of A Job Over Facebook Comments About Michelle And Hillary

The Better Government Association is reporting that a high-ranking member of Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez's staff has been forced out of his $153,000 a year job after posting crass comments on Facebook about the physical appearance of Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton, and making derogatory comments about others, including the Rev. Al Sharpton.

David Gallagher, the $153,000-a-year chief of the state’s attorney’s civil actions bureau until he quit over the weekend following questions from the Better Government Association and FOX Chicago, posted a Facebook comment on a photo of the First Lady meeting Pope Francis in September. Referring to her weight and appearance, Gallagher wrote, "I think Moosechelle was hiding a secret service agent in the seat of her dress." 

Commenting on an article that accompanied a photo of Clinton, who is running for president, Gallagher wrote on Facebook, "As Eddie Murphy would say, ‘Da bitch ugly!’" 

On a Facebook link about Sharpton, a black minister, activist and commentator, Gallagher posted a comment that read, "Sounds like Black privilege to me." 

Gallagher posted a number of other stinging comments, including one that called the Rev. Michael Pfleger, a South Side priest and anti-violence activist, a "pfraud."

The BGA noted that a number of Gallagher's posts were time-stamped during regular working hours. Because he tendered his resignation, the State's Attorney's office will not be investigating his activities further. "We only became aware of Mr. Gallagher’s posts on his personal Facebook page when we were contacted by a reporter late last week," Alvarez's office stated. "In light of the troubling and inappropriate nature of these comments, Mr. Gallagher tendered and the State’s Attorney accepted his resignation this past weekend." It's rather incredible that a high-level aide working for such an important Democratic officeholder in Chicago would hold such contemptuous views of prominent Democrats that one would expect more from someone of the opposite political party.