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Chicago Voters Choose a New Mayor

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“Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot face off Tuesday in a historic election that will see Chicago elect its first black woman mayor,” the Chicago Tribune reports.

“Preckwinkle and Lightfoot emerged from a field of 14 candidates in February, with Lightfood receiving 17.5 percent of the votes while Preckwinkle got 16.1 percent. Since then, the rivals have tried to one-up each other on their progressive credentials, with each trying to paint the other as a product of the Democratic machine.”

Will Chicago Turn Back to the Daleys?

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“The Daleys collectively ruled Chicago for a total of four decades, dating back to the 1950s. Now, after a brief interregnum, the family reign might be extended. Bill Daley, the former chief of staff to President Barack Obama, is emerging as a late contender in the crowded Feb. 26 mayoral race, a contest featuring 14 people vying to succeed two-term Mayor Rahm Emanuel,” Politico reports.

“With the race in the nation’s third-largest city just two days away, Daley — who hopes to advance the legacy left by his father, the original ‘Boss,’ Richard J. Daley, and his brother, Richard M. Daley — has shot toward the front of the pack. After first barely registering in the polls, he now stands a strong chance of being one of the top two finishers to advance to a runoff election.”

Chicago Tribune: “The lack of electoral clarity makes it likely no candidate will receive more than 50 percent of the vote Tuesday, leaving the top two finishers to face off in an April 2 runoff election. Further complicating the picture are signs that Chicagoans haven’t been all that interested so far in the historically competitive race — at least when it comes to early voting.”


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Race for Chicago Mayor Is a Toss Up

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With just 12 days until the election, a new NBC Chicago/Telemundo poll finds no clear leader in Chicago’s race for mayor.

Toni Preckwinkle barely leads the 14-person pack with 14%, followed by Bill Daley at 13%, Susana Mendoza at 12%, Lori Lightfoot at 10%, Gery Chico at 9% and Amara Enyia at 7%.

Nearly one in five voters are still undecided.

Why Rahm Emanuel Bailed on Re-Election

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Politico: “His polling numbers were sliding, and had even bottomed out in some city wards. With Chicagoans weary of the violence playing out in their neighborhoods, frustrated with a struggling school system and blaming him for a series of tax and fee hikes, Rahm Emanuel faced a long, painful reelection slog with an uncertain payoff.”

“Still, the city was stunned when the brash Chicago mayor, who has never lost an election, announced Tuesday that he was throwing in the towel… In the end, Emanuel concluded the daily battle would be too punishing, said one top Illinois Democrat with knowledge of the decision. There were too many political variables outside of his control. Even if he were victorious next spring, he’d emerge bloodied and politically weakened, only to stare down the barrel of four years of financial instability.”

Trump Threatens to ‘Send In the Feds’ to Chicago

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President Donald Trump tweeted that he would dispatch federal authorities to Chicago if they didn’t address violence in the city, Politico reports.

Said Trump: “If Chicago doesn’t fix the horrible ‘carnage’ going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings (up 24% from 2016), I will send in the Feds!”

According to Michael Calderone, Trump got his statistics from Fox News an hour earlier.

Reports Finds Systematic Racism In Chicago Police

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“Racism has contributed to a long, systemic pattern of institutional failures by this city’s police department in which police officers have mistreated people, operated without sufficient oversight, and lost the trust of residents, a task force assigned by Mayor Rahm Emanuel has found,” the New York Times reports.

“The report, issued on Wednesday, was blistering, blunt and backed up by devastating statistics.”

Could Rahm Really Lose?

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“A runoff that was expected to be a slam dunk for Rahm Emanuel is turning out to be uncomfortably — even dangerously — close, leading the Chicago mayor to ready a scorched-earth offensive to save his job,” Politico reports.

“Recent polling shows the race between Emanuel and his unknown and underfunded rival, Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia, has closed to within single digits. With local and national progressive groups lining up behind Garcia and promising to pour cash into the effort to deny Emanuel a second term, the mayor is suddenly scratching and clawing for his political existence.”

The Chicago Sun Times quotes Emanuel in a new television ad: “I can rub people the wrong way.”

Obama Presidential Library Will Be In Chicago

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Politico: “It took personal intervention by Emanuel, who faces reelection next week, to find a way to end the land dispute and put Chicago — specifically, the city’s South Side — back at the front of the pack. That would locate the library in the neighborhood the president represented in the state senate, anchor it to the school where he used to teach, and put it within walking distance of the home he still owns.”

“The Barack Obama Foundation, the nonprofit charged with siting the library, is set to announce the location by the end of next month. Obama was set to visit the neighborhood on Thursday and get a briefing by foundation members on the library plans.”

Can Emanuel Avoid Runoff in Chicago?

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A new Chicago Tribune poll finds Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) “is closing in on the majority he needs to win re-election and avoid a runoff, but nearly 1 in 5 Chicago voters remain undecided a week before Election Day.”

“The survey found that Emanuel has boosted his favorability and job approval ratings among voters after millions of dollars in TV ads, while support for top challenger Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia may be stalling as he starts to air his own ads in the closing days of the campaign.”

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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