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If you or I lived rent free for five years in an apartment in pricey Washington, DC, we would have to pay income taxes on the value of the rent on the place. But apparently not Rahm Emanuel. The wonderful Andrew Malcolm of the LA Times writes: We already knew that BP and its folks were significant contributors to the record $750-million war chest of Barack Obama's 2007-08 campaign. Now, we learn the details of a connection of Rahm Emanuel, the Chicago mayoral wannabe, current Obama chief of staff, ex-representative, ex-Clinton money man and ex-Windy City political machine go-fer. Shortly...

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, under fire since last year when reporters caught his police-driven SUV running red lights, is still running red lights and putting the good people of Chicago in danger: ... How flagrant? Check out the videos. First up, running a red light and making a left turn: And here’s the mayor’s SUV reportedly running the light and driving into the wrong lane:

Wow, so Bob Woodward’s new book is making a lot of headlines to today and why shouldn’t it? It’s an amazing view into the White House and well, frankly scared the bejeesus out of me just knowing that this joker is in charge of our country and military. Where to begin? It starts with the front page story from the Washington Post which talks about Bob Woodward’s new book, Obama’s Wars. The book quite literally is a stark reality check for the American people on who their Commander-in-Chief is and how he thinks. The first bombshell that people are talking...

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he told film director Spike Lee that he's not happy the working title of Lee's upcoming motion picture is "Chiraq." The word suggests the city is as dangerous as the war zone in Iraq. "We had an honest, frank conversation," Emanuel said. Emanuel said he suggested the name would be offensive to the many good people who live in the Englewood neighborhood where the film takes place. The mayor says he thinks that the subject Lee told him his film would deal with - black-on-black violence - is an important topic that...

Karl Marx who would be a Democrat Senator if he was alive today said, “The last capitalist we hang shall be the one who sold us the rope.” Last week’s runoff mayoral election in Chicago brought this quote to mind. It also suggested a comparison to the plot of Disney’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. In that production we see Mickey Mouse working as an apprentice to a sorcerer who orders him to tend to a series of chores that includes fetching water. Seeing his opportunity to use the power in the sorcerer’s wand for his own benefit, Mickey commands a broom...

Rahm Emanuel Re-Elected as Chicago Mayor in Runoff Incumbent defeats challenger Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia after failing to win a second term outright in February By MARK PETERS and BEN KESLING April 7, 2015 CHICAGO—Mayor Rahm Emanuel was re-elected Tuesday following a spirited runoff here that tested the policies and personality of the nationally known politician.

Rahm Emanuel won re-election Tuesday as voters in Chicago’s first mayoral runoff decided that, despite his brusque management style, the former White House chief of staff was best equipped to deal with the many dire challenges facing the nation’s third-largest city. Emanuel was forced to campaign furiously across the city to beat Cook County Commissioner Jesús “Chuy” Garcia after failing to capture a majority against four other candidates in a February election. The mayoral runoff was the first since the city changed the way it conducts elections about 20 years ago. […] Emanuel raised far more money than Garcia, plastered...

The ABC network refuses to air a commercial criticizing Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel even though other networks are running the spot, The Daily Caller has learned.As Emanuel seeks re-election in the Chicago mayoral run-off next week, the Republican-leaning Real Chicago PAC produced an ad highlighting reported instances of Emanuel’s corruption and crony capitalism, including his promotion of the transportation company Uber, in which his brother Ari is a major investor.“We sent the commercial to the local Fox affiliate. They vetted it, they checked every single quote and every single headline to make sure it was accurate and they ran...

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has become the latest high-profile progressive to endorse Cook County Commissioner Chuy García's challenge to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D). “I am going to Chicago to support Chuy García and [City Council candidate] Susan Sadlowski Garza. I support them because we need a political revolution in this country and we need the kind of working-class coalitions that Chuy and Susan are pulling together,” Sanders said in a statement.

A federal judge says he'll decide soon on whether the Chicago Transit Authority must let employees distribute campaign leaflets in break rooms that oppose Mayor Rahm Emanuel's re-election bid. U.S. District Judge Robert Dow began hearing testimony Wednesday on a temporary restraining order that would force the transportation agency to allow the materials in advance of the April 7 runoff election. Dow told attorneys he hopes to rule by noon Thursday. The Amalgamated Transit Union filed a lawsuit in Chicago federal court Tuesday accusing the CTA of violating its members' free-speech rights. It claims the CTA allowed the distribution of...

Though Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) recently praised Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) for making Chicago the “friendliest” city for immigrants, especially illegal immigrants, pro-amnesty advocates and progressives are lining up beyond his opponent, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who is in a dead heat with Emanuel in the mayoral runoff. (SNIP) “He told targeted Democrats in tough re-election fights that he wanted them to vote for this anti-immigrant bill,” Gutierrez said then. “That’s a fact, an irrefutable fact. So it’s nice that Rahm Emanuel the candidate is for the DREAM Act kids now, but actions speak louder than words.”

Could Mayor Rahm Emanuel be thinking about renaming Chicago’s airports, perhaps after President Barack Obama? Emanuel brought up the airports' names during a candidate forum Wednesday night at Chicago State University. The topic came up as the mayor fielded a question on why he quickly proposed, then abandoned efforts to name a new North Side high school after Obama and the South Side’s Stony Island Parkway after the late Arthur Brazier, a revered African-American civic leader who founded the Woodlawn Organization and was pastor of the Apostolic Church of God for 48 years. "We have to, in some way, whether...

Chicago police officers initiated stop, question and frisk encounters at a much higher rate last summer than their New York City counterparts ever did, and just like with New York’s heavily criticized program, Chicago blacks and other racial minorities were disproportionately targeted, according to a civil liberties group. The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois released a report Monday saying it identified more than 250,000 Chicago stop-and-frisk encounters in which there were no arrests from May through August 2014. African-Americans accounted for nearly three-quarters of those stopped, even though they make up about a third of the city’s population. On...

The difficult task for Emanuel is to win their support while not alienating the more-progressive elements of the electorate. So the mayor is raising big money from wealthy conservative donors while sending a subtle message in his campaign ads that is designed to scare the more-affluent constituencies in the city—without trumpeting support from the Right. He has welcomed Rauner's quiet outreach for his campaign while also blasting the governor for his proposed budget cuts. March 17, 2015 Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is about as partisan a Democrat as there is in this country. But to win a second term and...

Everyone missed what is now, in hindsight, a crystal clear signal that the White House knew that the buffalo chips were about to hit the fan; and that they are very worried.On April 21, the White House announced that Neil Eggleston would be the new counsel to the president. It didn't get much notice, but in light of recent events, it's a really big deal.

Mayoral candidate Jesús “Chuy” Garcia got the endorsement of the Rev. Jesse Jackson on Monday as both the challenger and Mayor Rahm Emanuel compete for the crucial African-American vote ahead of next month’s runoff election. Jackson cited Garcia’s “consistent track record of service” including his work with Harold Washington, Chicago’s first African-American mayor. Jackson also said his support of President Barack Obama, who has endorsed Emanuel, had no bearing on endorsing Garcia.“This is not about President Obama and me; it’s about Chuy and Rahm Emanuel. It’s about whether there’s a plan for reconstruction,” said Jackson, who did not directly criticize...

Over three days, some of the wealthiest people in Chicago, if not the nation, dumped more than $1.3 million into the political re-election campaign of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.. Among the donors was Citadel founder and billionaire Ken Griffin, who donated $250,000 to Emanuel. The mayor is battling to keep his seat against a surging Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia. Others who donated from March 3 to March 6 include: Groupon co-founder Eric Lefkofsky, $200,000; Richard Melman, $100,000; and Jay B. Pritzker and M.K. Pritzker, who tossed in $50,000 each. Garcia recently took in a a $250,000 contribution from...

Last week, the mayoral election in Chicago produced a shocking result when incumbent Rahm Emanuel—Barack Obama’s former chief of staff—failed to get the 51% of the vote needed to avoid a run-off. Emanuel should be worried, but you know who should really be terrified? Hillary Clinton and her acolytes. This election result is a warning that not everyone is ready for Hillary. First, some context. In Chicago, Da Mare does not go to a runoff. Ever. If you’re in charge of the machine, it does your bidding and its gets you re-elected, period. That’s how Richard M. Daley ended up...

ities: The problem with socialism, Margaret Thatcher once noted, is you eventually run out of other people's money. In progressive Chicago, that's hit home as Moody's has cut its credit rating to two grades above "junk." Chicago's finances are staggering under the weight of an unfunded pension liability that Moody's Investors Service has estimated at $32 billion, eight times the city's operating revenue. Chicago has a $300 million structural deficit. And Illinois law requires the city to up its 2016 contributions to its police and fire pension funds by $550 million. "This is an unfortunate wake-up call for anyone still...

Four years ago, former Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel breezed to victory in the Chicago mayor's race. He was the golden boy of Democratic politics, mentioned in some party circles as a possible presidential candidate in 2016. Yesterday, the incumbent mayor was humiliated by failing to receive a majority of the votes against 4 relative unknowns. The result forces an April 7 runoff where he is still expected to win handily, but is now considered damaged goods. His downfall? Persistent violence and a pension shortfall threatening to bankrupt the city. Bloomberg: “We have come a long way and...