VIDEO: Harvey alderman calls mayor 'gay' in dispute over tax levy

HARVEY, Ill. (WLS) -- A war of words broke out during a city council meeting in Harvey.

The angry exchange between Mayor Eric Kellogg and a council member all captured on video.

It's the latest episode in a long-running dispute between the mayor and a controversial alderman over whether to raise the tax levy in south suburban Harvey. It happened Monday night during the city council meeting:

As Mayor Kellogg tried to speak, he was interrupted several times by his council arch-enemy, 4th Ward Alderman Lamont Brown.

Then suddenly during the heated back and forth, Alderman Brown added his assessment of Mayor Kellogg's sexual orientation.

"And you gay," Brown said.

6th Ward Alderman Keith Price, who was sitting alongside Brown, said he could not believe it.

"If he's gay or if he's not gay, it was definitely used in a derogatory manner," Price said.

Alderman Brown would not comment on what he said Monday night. He is a twice-convicted felon - drug possession and auto theft during the 1990s - who, despite state law, was elected to the Harvey council last year. In February, he was charged with simple assault after a confrontation with a city worker in a convenience store.

"I would never make a negative remark relative to gays or lesbians," Kellogg said.

Kellogg issued a statement saying, "Lamont Brown's derogatory remark was unambiguously homophobic and purposely hateful."

Meanwhile, Harvey continues to deteriorate, physically as well as fiscally as debts continue to mount. Resident Ruby Morris called what Alderman Brown said another embarrassment to the troubled city.

"It shouldn't have been said, it shouldn't have been a comment. It shouldn't have been something that just comes out of his mouth," Morris said.

The city of Harvey website does not list Brown as the fourth ward alderman. It names a candidate he defeated in last year's election.

The city has appealed to the Cook County state's attorney and the Illinois attorney general to remove the convicted felon from office.