Antisemites, besides being nasty people, tend to also rank amongst the biggest cowards there are. Invariably, when their antisemitism is exposed, these big talkers are suddenly denying what they said or what they meant by it, leading to some of the most pathetic excuses imaginable.
Take now-retired Chicago ward superintendent Andrew Szorc, whose dumbassery extends beyond forgetting to hang up after leaving a voicemail, and extends to his utterly clumsy attempt at explaining the slur away.
A Northwest Side alderperson reported a Streets and Sanitation official in her ward after he was caught on voicemail calling a rabbi an anti-Semitic slur, leading to the employee leaving his longtime city job.
Ald. Samantha Nugent (39th) reported her ward superintendent, Andrew Szorc, to the city’s Department of Human Resources after she was made aware of the voicemail in September, she said.
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Szorc had been trying to get ahold of a rabbi at a local school to discuss trash and overgrown weeds on campus, according to the report. After leaving a message, Szorc did not hang up and the voicemail continued recording. He was heard saying to another person, “Yeah, yeah, I left two messages for [unintelligible]. He didn’t call me back. F—ing Jew,” according to the report.
The rabbi who received the voicemail forwarded it to another rabbi, and they brought it to the attention of the alderperson, according to the report and Nugent. The alderperson declined to say who the rabbis are.
When officials with the Office of the Inspector General interviewed Szorc, he admitted it was him on the voicemail and told investigators “a stroke has affected his speech, so he ‘maybe wasn’t saying it right,’” according to the report. He said he meant to say “f—ing Jewish school” due to his frustration with trying to get the school cleaned for two weeks with no response, according to the summary report.
The Inspector General determined Szorc’s statement violated city rules prohibiting discrimination, especially as a representative of the city and while on the clock, according to the report.
Documents show the Inspector General’s office completed its investigation and delivered its recommendations Dec. 21 to Streets and Sanitation. Szorc took a leave of absence from Dec. 20, the day before the report was finalized, to when he retired in February, according to his city employment history obtained by People’s Fabric and shared with Block Club.
Szorc stepped down from his role Feb. 23, department spokesperson Mimi Simon said. He’s since been placed on the city’s do-not-hire list, she said.
Besides being such a hard-to-believe excuse, it does not even dispel the idea that he is an antisemite.
Which he almost certainly is.
Some neighbors said Szorc’s controversy is not surprising, given past behavior.
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And in 2007, when Szorc worked in the 32nd Ward, Windy City Times reported he insulted voters for then-candidate Scott Waguespack at a polling site.
“Szorc told people going in and out of the polling place [at Holstein Park] to not vote for the guy with the f– brother, the f—– brother, the queer brother,” Sylvestre Waguespack told the paper. Sylvestre Waguespack is gay and was the financial director of his brother’s campaign.
