http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-rahm-mayor-20100908,0,6283428.story Reporting from Washington —
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said Tuesday he was “surprised” by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's decision not to seek reelection but offered no hint as to whether he might be a candidate to succeed him.
“While Mayor Daley surprised me today with his decision to not run for reelection, I have never been surprised by his leadership, dedication and tireless work on behalf of the city and the people of Chicago,” Emanuel said in an e-mailed statement Tuesday afternoon.
http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Daley-Quits-on-His-Own-Terms-102375969.html
An entire generation of Chicago politicians has suffered from a 22-year-long case of blue balls waiting for Daley to retire. Now they’re all free to indulge their ambition by running for the biggest office in Illinois. Mayor of Chicago is bigger than governor, bigger than senator. When Barack Obama was beginning his political career, he wanted to be mayor, like his idol, Harold Washington. Now he’s stuck in the White House.
Toni Preckwinkle wants to be mayor, but she’s stuck in the county board presidency. Forrest Claypool wants to be mayor, but he’s running for assessor. Roland Burris wants to be mayor, but he took a tainted Senate appointment from Rod Blagojevich, who also wants to be mayor. Every public official with a Chicago address, from the Local School Council to the United States Congress, wants to be mayor.
Chicago has a more colorful political history than American city, but we’re about to witness the greatest scramble for power in all our 173 years — the deal-makinest, back-stabbinest, eye-gouginest, money-grubbinest seven months we’ve ever seen. It’s going to be a spectacle as wild and entertaining as the Haymarket Square Riot, the 1968 Democratic National Convention and Super Bowl XX all rolled into one.