CHICAGO, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, D-Ill., expressed surprise about a report that she will run for mayor of Chicago and said she was not running for office.
An official with the Fraternal Order of Police told the Chicago Sun-Times that Braun's brother, Joe, said in no uncertain terms that his sister would run for mayor and inquired about the timing of the FOP's mayoral endorsement.
"I'm surprised at that information," Braun told the newspaper when asked about the potential mayoral race. "I did not ask him to do anything in that regard."
Braun said some people have encouraged her to run, though.
"I'm a businesswoman now and I have no current intention of running for any political office," said Moseley Braun, who turned 58 Tuesday.
Braun declined comment on scandals in Mayor Richard Daley's administration and speculation about whether Daley would run for a sixth term.
A return to public life could renew campaign finance controversies that followed Braun's tenure as the first black woman elected to the U.S. Senate, the newspaper reported.
Braun ran for president in 2004.
