Chicago aldermen have welcomed their newest colleague like an old friend ... because he kind of is.
City Council members voted unanimously during Thursday's City Council meeting to ratify Mayor Johnson's appointment of a successor to longtime alderman Walter Burnett: his son Walter "Red" Burnett III.
The elder Burnett retired from City Council in July after three decades as the representative of the 27th Ward, to clear the way for his appointment as president of the Chicago Housing Authority.
His son, who at 29 years of age is the youngest member of City Council, now represents a part of the West side that includes the United Center, Fulton Market and the future site of Bally's casino and entertainment complex.
In his first remarks after being formally installed, Ald. Burnett told his colleagues he's grateful to have the opportunity to serve.
"I grew up roaming the halls of this building itself, learning a lot about what it means to be a public servant," the new alderman said during Thursday's meeting of the City Council Rules Committee. "I'm grounded in the principles I learned in church at First Baptist -- and that is to be in service to others and to do it willingly."