Saying Rahm Emanuel is not well liked in Chicago is an understatement.
All of it has led to an all-time low job approval for Emanuel as mayor: Only 27 percent of Chicagoans approve of his job performance, while a record 63 percent disapprove.
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Still, 4 in 10 surveyed do want the mayor to resign, including half of black and Latino voters.
Rahm’s negatives are so high for two reasons. First there’s the “honesty” issue:
A vast majority of Chicagoans don't consider Mayor Rahm Emanuel to be honest and trustworthy, don't think he was justified in withholding the Laquan McDonald video and don't believe his statements about the controversial police shooting…
And second, Rahm has closed more neighborhood schools than any mayor in Chicago history:
Months of argument and anguish over Mayor Rahm Emanuel's push for sweeping school closings came to a climax Wednesday as his hand-picked Board of Education voted to shut 49 elementary school and transfer thousands of children to new classroom settings.
Here’s the problem for Hillary Clinton — Rahm Emanuel’s endorsement:
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who ultimately backed President Obama in 2008 despite his close ties to the Clinton family, has no reservations for the 2016 cycle.
The former adviser to President Bill Clinton and former chief of staff to President Obama will be headlining two fundraisers in early June for "Ready for Hillary," the grassroots Super PAC urging Hillary Clinton to run for president announced today.
Hillary has yet to call for any accountability for Rahm in the Laquan McDonald cover up. Hillary has not offered to stand with the Chicago Teachers’ Union either as they push back against Rahm’s school closures.
Bernie is making Hillary’s ties to Rahm Emanuel an issue. At a rally in the west side of Chicago in Summit yesterday Bernie called out the Mayor directly:
I want to thank Rahm Emanuel for not endorsing me. I don't want the endorsement of a mayor shutting down schools and firing teachers.
In an excellent interview with veteran Chicago political report Lynn Sweet, Bernie pulls no punches:
“I think he’s been a terrible mayor,” Sanders told me.
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Clinton “touts” Emanuel “as one of her major mayoral supporters,” Sanders told me.
“…So if she feels it is important to tout Mayor Emanuel’s support, then I think it’s fair for us to say that there are many people in Chicago who think he is not doing a particularly good job, who think he is more on the side of Wall Street than he is on the side of the working families of the city.”
Bernie is also up with several ads in Chicago. This one features staunch Emanuel critic, Chicago public school principal Troy LaRaviere:
Another ad features Commissioner Chuy Garcia, who Bernie endorsed in his run for mayor which forced Rahm to a historic run off election:
In Chicago, the Illinois primary is turning into a proxy war where Hillary’s support by Rahm Emanuel and his Gold Coast donor base is being challenged by Bernie and his support of the the people of Chicago, many of whom would like a “do-over” for the mayoral election. Rahm is toxic, and Hillary’s support and association with him, something the Clinton campaign is trying to downplay, will prove toxic as well.
Regarding Bernie’s chances in Illinois next Tuesday, Lynn Sweet sums it up best:
Though every survey has Clinton ahead in Illinois – so did the polls in Michigan.
Chicago voters you have a choice: stand with Hillary who supports Rahm Emanuel who wants to close Chicago's neighborhood schools, or stand with Bernie who was arrested protesting segregation in Englewood neighborhood in 1960s.
Voting information for Illinois.