Chicago runoff election

[Michchamp]

goddamn it looks like Emanuel was re-elected. at least it looks like my ward booted our alderman

 

[tinselwolverine]

Was there ever any doubt that Emmanuelle would be re-elected?

Once obtained, I've always considered the mayorship of Chicago to be a lifetime position, barring indictment, conviction and imprisonment.

 

[Michchamp]

Was there ever any doubt that Emmanuelle would be re-elected?

Once obtained, I've always considered the mayorship of Chicago to be a lifetime position, barring indictment, conviction and imprisonment.

not much doubt, no.

between the two Daleys there were actually a few competitive elections, and upsets have happened before. given that this was the first time an incumbent mayor was forced into a runoff, I had some hopes of an election day miracle.

 

[TheVictors]

Remember mayors Byrne & Harold Washington? That's when we lived in CHI

 

[tinselwolverine]

not much doubt, no.

between the two Daleys there were actually a few competitive elections...

Really?

I don't remember ever hearing that the Daleys even ran against each other; let alone more than once.

 

[Spartanmack]

Really?

I don't remember ever hearing that the Daleys even ran against each other; let alone more than once.

When my uncle was 5 or 6 my grandma told him the mayor of Chicago's (Richard J at the time) summer house was at the end of the street. He decided he wanted to meet the mayor so he walked down the street, knocked on the door and asked to meet him. When his honor came to the door my uncle didn't know what to say or do so he punched him in the gut and ran home.

 

[Michchamp]

Really?

I don't remember ever hearing that the Daleys even ran against each other; let alone more than once.

zing.

But yeah, like Vic said, that decade and a half from Richard J.'s death until Richard M. took over (roughly 1975 - 1990) saw highly contested and close elections. Jane Byrne beat Michael Bilandic (the Machine's choice to replace Richard J.), and Harold Washington beat her in '83. By all accounts I've read, the white alderman openly opposed pretty much everything he did, and the 80's saw some nasty racial politics in the city council.

at the end of the 80's Richard J. began his "dynasty."

It's not clear why he decided to step aside in '11, but he made some pretty unpopular and awful deals near the end of the term. He might have actually faced a real challenge in the election.

 

[Michchamp]

Remember mayors Byrne & Harold Washington? That's when we lived in CHI

Jane Byrne just died recently.

just west of the Loop, there's a big circular highway junction where 290 & 90/94 meet; it was called "The Circle," but they renamed it "The Jane Byrne Interchange" after she died. it shows up as "the Jane Byrne" now on the electronic traffic signs in the city. it was a backhanded compliment I think, since that interchange is a huge bottleneck & traffic jam during the day. The Daleys & Machine always hated her.

 

[TheVictors]

I remember Byrne being controversial (even as a kid) and Harold Washington's election being racially tense. I remember my mom working on the (brief) Jesse Jackson presidential campaign in '84

 

[Michchamp]

I remember Byrne being controversial (even as a kid) and Harold Washington's election being racially tense. I remember my mom working on the (brief) Jesse Jackson presidential campaign in '84

I watched a bit of the coverage on local news last night. I was surpised to see Jesse Jackson at Chuy Garcia's campaign HQ because I figured he would be in the tank for Rahm, like a number of other prominent black politicians/figures were, even as Rahm closed schools in those wards, and totally F'ed over their communities. I guess Jesse doesn't have as much sway as he used to, because the black precincts went for Rahm, not overwhelmingly but enough to deliver him a 10+% margin of victory.

It's not hard to win an election when you have an unlimited war chest (allegedly $32MM vs. $4MM). as soon as the runoff was slated, Rahm's Nice Guy ads were all over the TV. My wife said something like Chuy should've given more speeches to inspire voters (she's so sweet sometimes). I told her he may very well have done that, but unless some huge percentage of voters were willing to get off their couches and go in person, they would not see them. and if his rallies did start attracting thousands, well... they have other ways to stop those from happening.

 

[Spartanmack]

I remember Byrne being controversial (even as a kid) and Harold Washington's election being racially tense. I remember my mom working on the (brief) Jesse Jackson presidential campaign in '84

Didn't she move into the Cabrini Green homes or something like that to show her commitment to making the projects safe then move out in less than a month because they were too dangerous?

Edit: here's a video from her time as a resident of the community...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=211&v=9DCLCX1cqAc

 

[Spartanmack]

Looks like Rahm's got his work cut out for him...

http://newsletters.briefs.bloomberg.com/document/3fz176niqylzjr6oax/commentary

 

[Michchamp]

Moody's cut Chicago's rating? Maybe Rahm should just pay them to rate us AAA, then ask for a bailout if/when things go to hell?

I've seen the news that we're about to go bankrupt, pensions will need to be cut, and taxes need to be raised repeated often enough by people who have no idea whether or not it's actually true, to know that it's probably not true.

 

[Spartanmack]

Moody's cut Chicago's rating? Maybe Rahm should just pay them to rate us AAA, then ask for a bailout if/when things go to hell?

I've seen the news that we're about to go bankrupt, pensions will need to be cut, and taxes need to be raised repeated often enough by people who have no idea whether or not it's actually true, to know that it's probably not true.

Yep, just like it probably wasn't true in Detroit.

 

[Michchamp]

Yep, just like it probably wasn't true in Detroit.

whenever unions/pensioners try to defend the money owed in their contracts/pensions, scream "Detroit!"

 

[Spartanmack]

whenever unions/pensioners try to defend the money owed in their contracts/pensions, scream "Detroit!"

Whenever someone tells you your too good to be true system is unsustainable and doomed to fail, just go into denial - that's always worked well. You sound like the people I knew at Lehman Brothers who couldn't explain why but insisted they were different from Bear Sterns.

 

[Spartan23MSU]

It must have been Rahms tactic to take down 50 redlight cams and make it public only to put up 200 more to replace them that solidified the win. He does claim its for safety regardless of bumper to bumper accidents skyrocketing because of them. I would have sworn it was for the sheer purpose of revenue.