By Fran Spielman
The Chicago Sun-Times
CHICAGO — The union president who once appeared in blackface to protest affirmative action in the Chicago Fire Department will not be making a comeback.
Jim McNally, who was ousted as president of Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 in 2005, was narrowly defeated by interim president Tom Ryan in a runoff election.
Ryan got 2,642 votes, or 53.4 percent, to McNally’s 2,339 votes or 49.9 percent.
Ryan has presided over the tumultuous union since last summer, when an internal panel found Local President John Chwarzynski guilty of making fraudulent expense account claims. Chwarzynski has denied the charges and filed a lawsuit against the union’s executive board.
Ryan will now attempt to nail down a new contract for Chicago firefighters that has been on hold because of the civil war within the union.
In addition to appearing in blackface, McNally received a 30-day suspension for participating in a raucous, 1990 retirement party at Engine 100 that was captured on an infamous videotape. The Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier this week that the now shuttered firehouse at 6843 S. Harper would be converted into a museum honoring African-American firefighters.
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