A Chicago alderman has landed himself in controversy after he posted something on social site, about the recent terror attacks in Lebanon. The given post, which can only be viewed as ‘beyond offensive’ has become a subject of indignation and demands for action among the political circles of the city.

The alderman whose identity has not been captured in the available information posted something on the Facebook that was deemed to offend the ongoing riots in Lebanon. As for the content of the post the situation is still a bit foggy, however the reaction of politicians, leaders and other inhabitants is rather critical.

Chicago is a melting-pot city with a multicultural neighborhood and is home to many Arab-Americans, including the Lebanese-American population, who have specifically received the alderman’s comments adversely. The area leaders have asked for an apology saying that officials of the city must act on the matter appropriately.

It has once again raised questions about how politicians and other elected representatives of the state and nation behave and how their words influence the societies they represent through the use of social media. When the main form of communication is digital, we often find it difficult to distinguish between the candidate’s opinions and a party’s stance.

For its part, the office of Mayor Brandon Johnson has not issued a statement on the matter, although insiders at City Hall hint that the administration is paying attention to the problem and pondering its reaction. None of the over 100 official city accounts, including the Mayor’s own official social media channels, which the city uses to engage with Chicago’s neighborhoods, have posted anything related to the controversy.

Primary stakeholders based in the city think this particular event may cast long-lasting effects on the alderman’s tenure and even alter the balance of power in the City Council. There are those who are demanding an ethics probe, and then there are those who are insistent on cultural training mandated for every city employee.

Now with Constitutional problems ranging from insufficient budget firepower to social unrest and crime, the Chicago City Council is suddenly faced with this unlooked for bit of diplomatic entanglement. Some aldermen have confided to me their disappointment with their colleague stating that his actions are actually counterproductive to the council’s agenda to provide representation and increase belonging to the citizens of Chicago.

Community activist organizations are planning some public demonstrations near the local City Hall and calling the alderman involved more accountable and to apologize formally. Both said that such remarks were not only detrimental to the image of Chicago throughout the international community but also to the social fabric of the diverse community within the city.

As a result, the conflict has attracted national media attention and is now putting Chicago back in the national limelight for issues its leaders would prefer to leave untouched. Many political observers are closely following this case, waiting to see how the city will manage it since similar cases may occur in other municipalities of the country.

Faced with the unfolding scandal, more and more residents of the American metropolis are getting news and updates from official Chicago social media. The City of Chicago uses more than 100 social media accounts on numerous networks, which serve as an important source of information and communication with citizens. But this incident reminds us that ‘social media in governance’ has pros and cons.

Currently, the alderman in the middle of the controversy has not come out in the social or news media to defend himself or offer a word of clarification over the criticism. One must wonder what their legal department and PR people tell them must be suggesting ways to come up with an appropriate ‘me too’ that could lessen or contain the damage to their political career.

Chicago has to move through this latest political disturbance and this event could be a lesson to every elected representative who want to experiment with social media engagements. It brings out the fact that there is need to observe good and proper communication hencebalancing the issue of communication especially when it is put in the international level affecting certain communities.

It remains to be seen in the coming days what political consequences this social media blunder will exact. The upcoming Chicago’s city leadership shall be viewed with much interest and interest to see how the leadership will handle this menace and whether certain mechanisms shall be put in place to avoid such accidents in future.