R / January 16, 2011 5:27 PM

I think Emanuel has this in the bag. Moseley Braun has made some major missteps and her work history shows that while she may be intelligent, she's running a sinking company; Chico and Del Valle seem to have too much connection to Daley to seem like real contenders.

Pete / January 17, 2011 10:02 AM

Me. The graft line forms to the right. No pushing, everyone will get their cut.

Cheryl / January 17, 2011 10:56 AM

Should be Miguel Del Valle. Probably will be Gery Chico after the run off in April.

Mucky Fingers / January 17, 2011 11:12 AM

'None of the Above', which should be an option on every election card. An election is only truly fair when citizens are allowed to cancel out existing candidates as a means of seeking out better ones.

ddd / January 17, 2011 3:01 PM

For a while I was leaning toward Carol Mosely Braun but the more I know about her the less impressed I am. Now I guess Miguel del Valle is my favorite. I don't hate Rahm Emanuel and would vote for him in the general if he is on the ticket, but I hope he isn't.

Charles / January 17, 2011 6:58 PM

How does Rahm lose this one?

Dennis Fritz / January 17, 2011 8:45 PM

Will be Rahm Emanuel.

Not because he is the brightest or best qualified; not because he has the grandest vision or the best ideas. Rahm Emanuel will be the next Mayor of Chicago because he possesses, in abundance, the only political assets that really count: money and clout. Elections may be won in this town, but candidacies are still bought. Glance at the size of Emanuel's war chest and you can plainly see his opponents don't stand a chance.

Were Rahm Emanuel a Republican or a third-party candidate, or even a Democrat without so much clout, he'd have been bumped right off the ballot. No doubt about it.

Should be Miguel del Valle.

ddd / January 18, 2011 9:42 AM

I'm not so sure that Rahm Emanuel is going to win. Nobody I know is going to vote for him. Are any of the people here who predict he will win personally voting for him?

Of course then the anti-Rahm vote gets split among several candidates... so he could win after all.

I just don't think he's connecting with the voters.

Spook / January 18, 2011 12:17 PM

I cannot believe that
Miguel del Valle is such an weak and uninspiring candiate( well yes I can) and I just can't bring myself to vote for him. He and the rest of Chicago's liberal politician and activists have grown so comfortable and fat living off Daley's scraps that they didn't even consider building a progressive coalition to elect a "real" mayor.

And de valle supporters can't even get him to stop parroting about what a great mayor Daley has been. Sure I'd consider him for Alderman, but not mayor.

I'm not going to support a "liberal" candiate who up until a year ago adopted a policy of "see, hear, and speak no evil". in Chicago and still refuses to speak out.

Tepid leadership is not what we need.

Rahm will be good for property values and a stronger more professional police force, which is good for property values. This is the direction I'm looking. Maybe after four years liberal Chicago will wake up and get serious, but if not, then at least my property values will be protected. This argument is akin to white liberals who keep raving about de Valle's bike policy, I guess I value my home like they value their bikes.

Nuke LaLoosh / January 18, 2011 4:03 PM

@ddd:

Sorry to sound like a jerky factchecker, but technically, there is no primary/general cycle. There is the election, then, if necessary, run-off. If any candidate (such as Rahm) gets more than 50% of the vote for Mayor in February, that person is elected Mayor. He or she would not appear on the April run-off ballot.

If no candidate gets more than 50%, then the top 2 vote-getters will compete in the April runoff election.

As the Board of Elections puts it in their calendar--

"TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2011 MUNICIPAL GENERAL ELECTION FOR MAYOR, CLERK, TREASURER AND ALDERMAN

TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2011 MUNICIPAL RUNOFF AND SUPPLEMENTARY ALDERMANIC ELECTIONS (IF NECESSARY)"

I think a number of people are confused about this point and might not be planning to vote in February. I have heard people say they are going to "sit out the primary" and will only vote in the "general."

The truth is, folks who choose to note vote in February may be guaranteeing that there will be no runoff for Mayor come April.

Nuke LaLoosh / January 19, 2011 5:20 PM

On to the question(s) at hand:

Who will win?
If this were a confidence bet, I'd put 85% of my money on Rahm Emmanuel, then hedge with a 10% bet on Del Valle, and 5% on "other."

Who should win?
Among the current slate of candidates, I'd rather see Del Valle than anyone else.

If, however, I could pull from anyone in the general City political/policy pool, I'd rather see Marty Cohen, former Citzens Utility Board Chair and rejected nominee for ICC Chairman serve two terms as Mayor.

Amy D. / January 20, 2011 2:05 PM

Obviously it should be Batman. Because this town deserves a better class of criminal.