Mayoral candidate had big loss

CHICAGO, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- A former U.S. senator running for Chicago mayor reported a negative income of $225,908 the same year she obtained a fourth mortgage on her home, records show.

Carol Moseley Braun provided two-page summary sheets from her filings in 2008 and 2009 after she was criticized for refusing to release any tax records before the Feb. 22 at-large municipal election, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday.

The documents show Braun paid $2,509 in federal self-employment taxes in 2008 even though she reported a loss of $225,908. In 2009, she paid $785 in federal self-employment tax on $15,561 in income.

Her Hyde Park home has four mortgages, including one for $291,077 obtained in October of 2008.

Attorney Louis Vitullo said Braun's losses stem from her the organic food company she started in 2005.

In a news release, Braun said she was an everyday Chicagoan fighting to keep her business afloat.

Also running for mayor are White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and former Chicago School Board President Gery Chico.