Felon wants to run for county board

The former head of Chicago’s streets and sanitation department who went to prison after being convicted of rigging city hiring has filed nominating petitions to replace a Cook County board commissioner who was recently convicted and sentenced to prison.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Al Sanchez filed petitions Monday for the seat vacated by William Beavers. Beavers was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to six months in prison.

When Sanchez was sentenced in 2011, a federal judge called him a leader in a sham city hiring scheme. But Sanchez never admitted wrongdoing and today maintains he was a “scapegoat” for the city’s political hiring system.

Felons can’t run for various city offices but they can run for county, state or federal office.