* A Sun-Times story begins with this…

Is Mayor Rahm Emanuel a presidential wannabe or the second coming of legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne? Maybe both.

Way down in the piece, though, you get to this…

Asked again Wednesday whether he has any presidential ambitions — either now or sometime in the future — Emanuel did not hesitate.

“No. No. No. I’m not doing it. Ask my best friends I’ve known for years. No. Full stop. Stop it,” he said.

“I love my job. I love the work I’m doing. I love working on behalf of the people of Chicago. I love the work I do for them.”

It’s his standard response. Earlier this year, Emanuel even signed a handwritten pledge, when a reporter asked him the question: “I, Rahm Emanuel , will not run for another office — EVER.”

it’s a silly question. He’s not running for president.

* Another lede…

Former White House chief-of-staff Bill Daley’s name has been floated as a possible Democratic challenger to embattled incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn, but don’t bother asking Daley about it. He doesn’t want to talk about a 2014 run.

* And the actual response…

“Oh, I’m not gonna get into that. Come on. That’s silly,” Daley said after dropping in at Wednesday’s Il. delegation breakfast in Charlotte.

“It’s a year- and-a-half away. That’s silly. You’ve got better things to do. You’re at a convention to elect a president of the United States from our home state and you’re worrying about some election 2.5 years from now. It’s silly.”

Quinn’s budget cuts and sagging poll numbers–along with an ugly fight with organized labor over his proposed pension reforms–has set him up for a possible primary challenge.

Asked whether he considers the governor vulnerable to a challenge from within his own party, Daley said, “I have no idea. I don’t know.”

Can we stop with the Bill Daley stories, please? The guy has never run for anything. I won’t believe it until I actually see it.

* But, sometimes, the object of the story cooperates. Here’s Congressman Aaron Schock on his own future…

Rep. Aaron Schock of Peoria is serious—deadly serious—about running and is getting equally serious consideration from Chicago’s fat-walleted business community. His only true competitors appear to be former gubernatorial chief of staff Kirk Dillard and Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford, probably in that order. And a repeat of the cattle-call GOP primary of two years ago is possible.

Mr. Schock, 31, is the current wunderkind of the Illinois Republican Party. A fast climber who beat a local school board member after the district refused to let him graduate early from high school to attend college, he zipped through Springfield and then glided into Congress in 2004. That was after, he says, he turned down a $5,000 campaign contribution from Caterpillar Inc., eventually settling for a mere $25K. (He wanted $50,000.)

The point is, the kid is as hungry as they get and, perhaps more important, a fresh face for the governor’s mansion with more than $3 million in his campaign war chest. That could give him an entrée to the Chicago area, as could the fact that he’s raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for other party powers such as Illinois House GOP Leader Tom Cross.

Mr. Schock, in an hourlong interview, makes it clear he’s prepared to resist party pressure to run for the Senate instead. “I don’t plan to be in politics for 30 years,” he says. And while he hasn’t made a decision, he declares that CEOs “get stuff done” and that “you can’t change the direction of the state without a new chief executive.”

I’m hearing the powers that be weren’t all that impressed with Schock’s performance at last week’s convention, however. “Not ready for prime time,” was one phrase used. We’ll see. He’s got a ton of money, but with campaign caps in place, it’s not clear that he can transfer that federal pile to a state campaign committee.

*** UPDATE *** Oy…

Another contender, U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock of Peoria, sent out emails urging backers to respond to an online GOP gubernatorial poll being conducted by the Illinois Review, a conservative website.

* Other stuff…

* Emanuel Exits Obama 2012 Campaign, Joins Super PAC

* Rahm Makes Most Of DNC

* Bill Daley on Super PACs

* Rahm defends DNC trip, won’t say if he will accept teachers strike

* Potential rivals to Rep. Schock: Ever heard of Abe Lincoln?