Andrew Huff / September 30, 2010 1:53 PM

Thanks to @billykenefick and @thomnewstips for the suggestion on Twitter!

ffft / September 30, 2010 2:17 PM

daley's corporatism expanded but i'd imagine he'll get less accomplished as he doesn't have the clout of the machine. so gridlock and more privatization. no thanks

Politics Free Chicago / September 30, 2010 3:16 PM

We think he is a polarizing figure who would probably continue the machine politics. We need a business savvy person who is going to have to fgure out how to downsize government

Vertigo / September 30, 2010 3:18 PM

Just another rat scrambling after a smaller piece of cheese.

If he wins, I leave. It is that simple.

Charlie D. / September 30, 2010 4:20 PM

I'm cool with it.

David Tortuga / September 30, 2010 8:32 PM

I would prefer Lisa Madigan. Just looking at Rahm Emanuel makes me feel dirty. I fear he is one of the few people on the planet who would actually be worse than Daley. And I wonder if there is anyone out there who is not scummy (and yucky) who would even want to be mayor of Chicago.
I hope so.

R / October 1, 2010 12:12 AM

Why hasn't/won't David Hoffman come out from the shadows and announce his candidacy? I can't BELIEVE he's not capitalizing on this.

vise77 / October 1, 2010 8:57 AM

Not sure yet. Right now, this city needs someone who is supremly able at actually managing a city so he or she can tackle our empty coffers, our poor schools, our crimes and our transit, and who can work with the business commmunity without surrendering to it, and who can work with our Balkanized neighborhoods without favoring one group. That is probably a utopian wish at this point. I know who I don't like--Lisa Madigan. Her daddy already runs state govt. I don't care how well she might run the AG office. I am sick of the Madigan clan--frankly, sick of all the fake Irish power brokers in Chicago.

Rahm knows how to run things, and he's super smart and super tough--this city, like all big cities, will always need a tough mayor, and Chicago probably more so because we are so freaking segragated here. And he has strong DC connections, which could prove important as cities scrounge for limited federal dollars--a task that will get much, much harder after Republicans and Tea Partiers gain more power with the new Congress next year. But he was always far too intimate with the Daley crowd (by choice more than necessity), and I'm not sure how much he knows about what it means to live in Chicago when you are not rich or even middle class, when you depend on mass transit, when you struggle to find work, when you have to send your kids to public schools and when you are not from an upper class white background.

@billykenefick / October 1, 2010 9:21 AM

Too soon to say, I suppose. He's definitely got a reputation but at least he means business and will (ideally) take the job seriously - serious enough to leave the White House, of all places... It will be interesting to see how this plays out and I hope it gets more people involved in this election.

Dawson / October 1, 2010 9:31 AM

He can run, but I'll most likely vote for an alderman.

Andrew Huff / October 1, 2010 10:07 AM

@R, Hoffman already announced that he's not running. He said the campaign for senate was too hard on his family.

David / October 1, 2010 10:56 AM

To pharaphrase Churchill, he's the worst candidate out there, except of course for all the others.

Mucky Fingers / October 1, 2010 11:28 AM

Emanuel clearly possesses strength and intelligence but lacks the chutzpah and finesse of a public figure. He's a crafty behind-the-scenes strategist, not the handshaking hobnobber a big city mayor needs to be.

If Hilary Clinton was a Jewish man, she'd be him.

Michael Volpe / October 1, 2010 11:32 AM

John Kass affectionately puts (D Tomczak) after his name. That's for Donald Tomczak,the former power broker and convicted felon involved in the hired truck scandal. Tomczak was the money behind Emanuel's first campaign. Emanuel is another Chicago insider. So, if you're happy with Chicago politics, he's a good vote.

Mike D / October 1, 2010 1:24 PM

Those who decry Rahm as another "Chicago politician"...who currently running isn't? Dart, perhaps, but I believe even he has some machine conections. But the rest of that crew? The Jackson 2? De Valle? Guitteriez? Moseley Braun? Fioretti? Ugh.

beer:30 / October 1, 2010 2:51 PM

F-bomb Rahm will make a better mayor than he would alderman. And Waguespack and Fioretti make better aldermen than they would mayor [circa right now]. Bob F might be wise to reconsider, as it's unlikely he can beat F-bomb and he's at least as much needed as an alderman, and he can only run for one of the two offices. F-bomb -is- pretty skeezy, but at least he knows how to actually get things done [and he should be eminently quotable!] And the rest of the mayoral wanna-be aldermen, and even Dart, will find themselves in over their heads and likely be one-termers. But even a one-term Rahm has a decent chance of being effective. As always in this town, we're shaking hands with the horned one just for a margin [or illusion] of stability. I for one will be holding on tight to the deck rails 'til 2015.

jjj / October 1, 2010 6:37 PM

Meh.

annie / October 2, 2010 2:36 PM

I'm not happy about him running and it will be a nightmare if he wins.

Cheryl / October 3, 2010 2:02 PM

I don't have a problem with him. I'd prefer Tom Dart, but I can deal with Mayor Emanuel.

Mateo / October 3, 2010 6:21 PM

For a message board that usually seems to be pretty liberal, I am suprised at so many anti-Rahmers. I think he is an interesting candidate. I need to familiarize myself better with the other candidates, but some of those I have heard about seem like bozos - that is to say, just plain foolish people.

Cheryl / October 3, 2010 6:24 PM

Mateo, it's because Emanuel is definitely *not* a liberal. Obama is centrist and I would guess Emanuel is just about in the same place.

Spook / October 3, 2010 11:05 PM

Mark me down with
Vertigo! I'm serious

I got my mortgage down to less than rent. I'm gonna rent to a CPS teacher and
visit you suckers during Christmas just to reminisce about the cold!

"The people get the type of government they deserve"-A. de Toqueville

Dennis Fritz / October 4, 2010 8:01 AM

The man thinks progressives are "fucking retards." How could I have anything but contempt for this peice of shit?

just sayin' / October 4, 2010 3:56 PM

Dennis - can't really blame him on that one.