In August 2022, the Grammy Award-winning rapper from Chicago known as Lil Durk bankrolled an attempt to avenge a prior killing and murder a rival in Los Angeles, according to federal charges filed late last week. That rival — Quando Rondo, born Tyquian Terrel Bowman — managed to escape with his life in the hail of bullets aimed at his car at an LA gas station, but his cousin Saviay’a Robinson was killed.
Less than a year later, in June 2023, Durk Banks, Lil Durk’s real name, helped bankroll the reelection campaign of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, to the significant tune of $150,000. That remains the single largest contribution to Johnson since his 2023 election outside of some trade unions, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Banks, 32, was apprehended on Thursday as he was attempting to leave the country, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, which brought the murder-for-hire charges against him.
Given the facts laid out above, one would think the easiest of calls for Mayor Johnson would be to return the $150,000 and get himself as far away from this PR nightmare as possible and do it as quickly as possible. After all, that’s routinely what politicians do when big contributors are charged with serious crimes.