Mayor
Now, the one announced candidate who benefits from Emanuel's decision to pull the plug is former
But institutional
"The public has to decide: 'Who can really run the city?'" Vallas told me after Emanuel's announcement. "Who has the necessary experience? Who can put together a financial plan? I can."
And the Rahmulans, hoping to hold on to power with Rahm going away, may entice former White House adviser
I speculated about this weeks ago on the "
Emanuel made his announcement Tuesday at an emotional news conference, joined by his wife,
"It will fill my eyes with tears to leave a job I love, and already my heart is full with gratitude," Emanuel said. "We've worked together. We've celebrated progress together. And we have grieved together."
But
He's a politician. He can read the polls. He knows what they say. The polls say goodbye.
It's always an earthquake, an explosion, a mad scramble. Desperate hands reach out to grab what they can. It all gets so tribal and ethnic. You'd think
But he had to pull the plug. He might not have made it to the runoff. And then his Rahmulans would have no hope of holding on through someone else.
What cost him was his decision to hide that police video showing white cop
Keeping the video from public view until after he'd won re-election in 2015 kept him in power. But that cost him black votes. And with the Van Dyke murder trial underway, and Emanuel fitted for the jacket if violence erupts on the streets, it was done.
Emanuel is smart. He doesn't have to raise a moistened finger to know the direction of the wind.
A mayor with nearly $10 million in campaign cash, national media and political contacts and a newspaper editorial board -- not this one -- as a wingman doesn't just walk away.
Unless he just has to. And he had to.
The mayor's decision certainly impacts upon his legislative agenda, including his plan to borrow $10 billion to shore up pension funding.
It is a plan that has been widely ridiculed by his critics, from progressive aldermen to Vallas and others, but borrowing $10 billion does have political advantages.
The fees estimated from such a deal could easily be $100 million, perhaps much, much more over the 30-year period. I'm just speculating, but is it possible that big fees on big deals generate big campaign contributions?
Now, though, by announcing he will not run for re-election, Emanuel won't be able to provide cover for his aldermen.
"A handful of us have been pushing back on this,"
When did reason ever stop
Emanuel's decision leaves the city with the uncertainty of a lame duck mayor. It's almost as unsettling as a mayor dying in office; the plots and coups and counter coups buzzing with the bodies still warm.
When
The only time there was something of a seamless transition was when
It was a bait-and-switch that began, as if by pure coincidence, on the "Charlie Rose" show. Yes, that
Emanuel found residence in
And now? Lord of the Flies.
Mayor
Now, the one announced candidate who benefits from Emanuel's decision to pull the plug is former
But institutional
"The public has to decide: 'Who can really run the city?'" Vallas told me after Emanuel's announcement. "Who has the necessary experience? Who can put together a financial plan? I can."
And the Rahmulans, hoping to hold on to power with Rahm going away, may entice former White House adviser
I speculated about this weeks ago on the "
Emanuel made his announcement Tuesday at an emotional news conference, joined by his wife,
"It will fill my eyes with tears to leave a job I love, and already my heart is full with gratitude," Emanuel said. "We've worked together. We've celebrated progress together. And we have grieved together."
But
He's a politician. He can read the polls. He knows what they say. The polls say goodbye.
It's always an earthquake, an explosion, a mad scramble. Desperate hands reach out to grab what they can. It all gets so tribal and ethnic. You'd think
But he had to pull the plug. He might not have made it to the runoff. And then his Rahmulans would have no hope of holding on through someone else.
What cost him was his decision to hide that police video showing white cop
Keeping the video from public view until after he'd won re-election in 2015 kept him in power. But that cost him black votes. And with the Van Dyke murder trial underway, and Emanuel fitted for the jacket if violence erupts on the streets, it was done.
Emanuel is smart. He doesn't have to raise a moistened finger to know the direction of the wind.
A mayor with nearly $10 million in campaign cash, national media and political contacts and a newspaper editorial board -- not this one -- as a wingman doesn't just walk away.
Unless he just has to. And he had to.
The mayor's decision certainly impacts upon his legislative agenda, including his plan to borrow $10 billion to shore up pension funding.
It is a plan that has been widely ridiculed by his critics, from progressive aldermen to Vallas and others, but borrowing $10 billion does have political advantages.
The fees estimated from such a deal could easily be $100 million, perhaps much, much more over the 30-year period. I'm just speculating, but is it possible that big fees on big deals generate big campaign contributions?
Now, though, by announcing he will not run for re-election, Emanuel won't be able to provide cover for his aldermen.
"A handful of us have been pushing back on this,"
When did reason ever stop
Emanuel's decision leaves the city with the uncertainty of a lame duck mayor. It's almost as unsettling as a mayor dying in office; the plots and coups and counter coups buzzing with the bodies still warm.
When
The only time there was something of a seamless transition was when
It was a bait-and-switch that began, as if by pure coincidence, on the "Charlie Rose" show. Yes, that
Emanuel found residence in
And now? Lord of the Flies.
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John Kass is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune who also hosts a radio show on WLS-AM.