Rahm Emanuel’s office was kind enough to provide aldermen with a short bio of Avis LaVelle before they had to consider whether to approve her appointment to the Park District board. And, as several aldermen noted, her professional background is impressive: press aide in the Clinton administration, press secretary for Mayor Richard M. Daley, vice president of the school board, vice president of government and public relations for the University of Chicago Hospitals, president of her own consulting firm.
But something was curiously missing from her bio, and oddly enough it didn’t come up in the 45-minute discussion she had with aldermen Thursday: her ongoing role as spokeswoman for Chicago Parking Meters LLC, the company that controls and reaps millions of dollars a year from the city’s street parking system.