* Sun-Times…

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Thursday blamed the economic squeeze on the middle class for his 35 percent showing in a Chicago Tribune poll that also shows him trailing Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis. […]

“There’s tremendous economic stress in people’s lives, which is why I’ve pushed for the minimum wage, which is why I’ve pushed for policies to make sure our small businesses have a fair chance and an equal chance with big companies,” the mayor said.

“You have to have a set of policies in place — from pre-K to community colleges to playgrounds to parks to after-school activities — to give everybody a chance to not just look at the gains, but know that they have a future in those gains. We’re not where we need to be. We’re not repeating the mistakes that got us into the problems. But we’re not at the pace or place we need to be where everybody’s feeling an opportunity that they have a chance at a middle-class job.”

* But that ain’t all of it. No way. Check out these newly released Tribune poll results…

Yikes. When the overwhelming majority is siding with the CTU against you, that’s trouble with a capital T. That sound you hear is Karen Lewis’ cackling.

* And…

* While this is admittedly a loaded question, Emanuel’s clear preference for charter schools is downright unpopular in the city…

* From the Tribune…

Among parents of children in Chicago Public Schools — about one-fifth of those taking part in the survey — nearly 4 out of 5 disapproved of the mayor’s handling of public education while only 19 percent approved. But even those without children in the public schools disapproved at a 62 percent rate, while only 27 percent approved. […]

While dissatisfaction with the mayor on education crossed racial lines, it was more intense among African-American voters. Critics contend black neighborhoods were disproportionately targeted for school closings. Fully 77 percent of black voters disapproved of Emanuel’s handling of the city’s schools while only 14 percent approved. […]

Among white voters, 52 percent disapproved while 38 percent approved. Those numbers slipped from May 2013, when 46 percent of white voters approved of Emanuel’s handling of the schools and 44 percent disapproved. The poll found a similar dynamic among Hispanic voters. […]

Emanuel’s approach on charters versus neighborhood schools was roundly criticized by voters: 72 percent disagreed with that approach, compared with 18 percent who agreed. African-American voters most severely opposed the policy — at 83 percent — while only 10 percent agreed with Emanuel. Nearly 8 in 10 parents of CPS children also were opposed, as well as 75 percent of female voters, 69 percent of men and 63 percent of whites.

Go read the whole thing.

       

41 Comments - Bogart - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 9:49 am: Just after he was elected, Rahm went to Springfield and used up all his political capital to get a longer school day and raise the bar for a strike vote at CPS. Stupid. Many middle class families wanedt real school reform. They didn’t get it. So Rahm loses support from both the left and right as a result of his miscalculation and wasted legislative opportunity. - wordslinger - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 9:52 am: Emanuel can’t possibly believe his own spin. The prevarications roll off his tongue so easily. He’s a bully, and he’s banking on his money to destroy anyone who takes him on. The thing is, Lewis has nothing to lose by doing so. - Ktown - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 9:56 am: Dude is toast - Bogart - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:00 am: Disagree with Karen Lewis about most everything - but she is real. - Wensicia - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:00 am: Emanuel’s problem is the same as Quinn’s; he’s alienated his base. - Cassandra - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:01 am: I’m not a particular fan of Emmanuel, but given financial constraints, I’m not sure his decision to close certain schools was a bad or irresponsible one. What do you do when you have limited resources and half-empty schools as was apparently the case. And when black neighborhoods experience substantive population loss, as was the case in some parts of Chicago, there will be fewer kids in those neighborhood schools. A long-term plan to build up and diversify those neighborhoods would be great, but there are kids in the system now who need to be educated. We hire politicians to make improvements and changes. Then we don’t like the changes or the changes have unintended consequences. Is Karen Lewis the solution in this instance? She’s really smart and articulate but being mayor of a global city is more than school policy. Much more. - Anonymous - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:01 am: –Dude is toast– I seriously hope so. What percentage of “the people” does Emanuel represent vs. Karen Lewis? - Just Observing - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:06 am: You know who is going to be Mayor 2015-2019? Rahm Emanuel. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:07 am: - Ktown - ===Dude is toast=== Can’t beat somebody, a somebody with $8+ million banked… …with nobody. - PublicServant - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:08 am: ===Given financial constraints=== Unfortunately, Cassandra, there are other non-monetary concerns to just closing a neighborhood school. Those kids at the closed school need to get to the remaining open school, and they have to cross gang turf to do it. And, if at the same time that you’re closing schools because of financial constraints, you’re using some of that constrained money and giving it to newly opening charter schools, that’s kind of bad optics, don’t ya think? - JS Mill - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:09 am: Is Karen Lewis a real candidate or just put out there by machine schemers to split the African American vote? If that were to happen I would think it would help RE not hurt him, job performance not withstanding. - wordslinger - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:11 am: –Is Karen Lewis a real candidate or just put out there by machine schemers to split the African American vote? – Split with whom, Shaw? If there was a machine, Shaw would be your stalking horse. - William j Kelly - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:15 am: To bad Rahm can’t keep these poll numbers secret like everything else regarding his administration. - JS Mill - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:18 am: =Split with whom, Shaw? If there was a machine, Shaw would be your stalking horse.= Point taken, Lewis isn’t even running, yet. I can’t help but be a little cynical about Chicago politics. - OldSmoky2 - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:19 am: “Is Karen Lewis a real candidate or just put out there by machine schemers to split the African American vote?” One, she is a real candidate. Two, people keep missing that there is no primary in Chicago city elections. It’s a non-partisan election. If Emanuel doesn’t get more than 50 percent of the votes, there will be a runoff. So more black candidates out there working for more votes for anyone but Emanuel hurts him. Not that he hasn’t done a good enough job of hurting himself. His school policy, the DePaul basketball arena boondoggle, the cuts to the police force, and his unwillingness to answer questions about his policies have all made him unpopular. - Stones - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:23 am: I think Rahm could be had with the right candidate but have a hard time believing Karen Lewis is that person. Now if it was Preckwinkle….. - facts are stubborn things - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:27 am: liberals in general don’t make good executive leaders. They are important in our legislative branches and courts but they just don’t run things well. The backgrounds they tend to come from don’t lend themselves well for the executive branch. Conservatives come from business and tend to make better executive branch leaders. Very huge generalization but I believe again generally true. Again, to make it all balance out you need conservative liberal and in between but as a general rule the liberal democrats just don’t seem to run executive branch offices very well. - Under Further Review - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:32 am: “You know who is going to be Mayor 2015-2019? Rahm Emanuel.” While I agree with your general statement, it (being mayor for the next four years) is an honor on the order of leading Custer’s Last Stand or being named the captain on the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic. - J - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:32 am: -facts are stubborn things- I get that you’re massive Reagan fan, but maybe, just maybe give reality a shot for once. There are plenty of talented liberal executives and plenty of disastrous conservative ones. - Under Further Review - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:42 am: “You have to have a set of policies in place — from pre-K to community colleges. . . We’re not repeating the mistakes that got us into the problems…” Emanuel cannot be praising the City Colleges of Chicago?! Many unionized employees have been engaged in contract negotiations that have been proceeding at a glacial pace, sixty percent of the faculty is composed of adjuncts who have not had a union contract since June of 2012, clerical workers and security officers are also in negotiations, the full-time faculty believe that their union leaders were bought off during the last contract. The “chancellor” has no business being the head of the state’s largest community college district and no higher ed qualifications. Her former place of employment was at Com Ed. The place is top heavy with patronage hires and aldermanic relatives drawing big salaries while the colleges are failing to deliver despite thousands spent on new logos and stationery. Sheesh. - Stones - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:43 am: *** liberals in general don’t make good executive leaders. They are important in our legislative branches and courts but they just don’t run things well. The backgrounds they tend to come from don’t lend themselves well for the executive branch. Conservatives come from business and tend to make better executive branch leaders. Very huge generalization but I believe again generally true. Again, to make it all balance out you need conservative liberal and in between but as a general rule the liberal democrats just don’t seem to run executive branch offices very well. *** I believe you are attempting to be sincere and truly believe what you say but how would you explain FDR, JFK, Clinton, Truman? Heck, even Reagan was a Democrat before he was a Republican. Did he have some sort of metamorphosis from a follower to a leader? - OneMan - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:48 am: This is going to be his major issue because you have a group of voters who feel their kids are getting jerked over in public education and a group of folks who feel they have to send their kids to private school because of the quality of CPS if you are not able to get into one of the selective enrollment schools. You convince these two groups (one of which I would say is already convinced) that Rahm is not working for them, then I think Lewis has a real shot. When it comes down to it, Rahm may have $$$ but he doesn’t seem to have much love… - walker - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 11:02 am: Facts Are Stubborn Things: Indeed I believed that myth too, until I tried to put together a bi-partisan pro-business caucus, and found by nose count, the same level of House members with real small business or corporate backgrounds (law firm didn’t count)from Dem and Republican sides. A few more Dems, but they started with a majority overall. Another myth debunked — those in office with previous military service, at both the national and state levels, also number about the same. We really are more alike across parties than we sometimes assume. - facts are stubborn things - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 11:09 am: @walker - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 11:02 am: =I believed that myth too, until I tried to put together a bi-partisan pro-business caucus, and found by nose count, the same level of House members with real small business or corporate backgrounds (law firm didn’t count)from Dem and Republican sides.= Great point, but my primary focus was that we did need and that we have all types across the legislative and judicial branches. It was my focus that it is in the executive branch that liberal democrats (painting with a broad brush) don’t make very good executives. Their backgrounds don’t lend themselves (again generally) to the executive side of things. You point out a very interesting and important set of facts but I don’t feel like it speaks directly to what I was saying…unless I have failed to understand you correctly. thanks - facts are stubborn things - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 11:16 am: @- J - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 10:32 am: =There are plenty of talented liberal executives and plenty of disastrous conservative ones. = Yes, you are correct…good point for sure. My attempt was to point out that it is a generalization and of course there are many exceptions as you point out. I still believe that many (certainly not all) liberal democratic that serve in the executive branches tend (not always) to come from backgrounds that just don’t tend to provide the best executive preparation and that conservatives tend (not always nor are they always good) to come from a business or some other type of executive background where their skill set is better suited for the executive branches. I agree there are many good and bad executives on both the liberal and conservative side, but believe my point is correct. I think it is kind of a cause and effect things. Those that have or have developed liberal leanings tend to gravitate towards or are involved in certain organizations and the same is true for a conservative. I am just trying to point out that each develops a skill set that lends itself to being (generally) better at certain things than others. Running something is different then being involved and influential in something. thanks - From the 'Dale to HP - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 11:20 am: @Wensicia, but who is Rahm’s base? The North Shore? Rahm won in ‘11 with lakefront liberals, African-Americans and a decent chuck of the white vote on the northwest/southwest side. But other than lakefront liberals, no one was hard Rahm, it was Rahm by default. If Moseley Braun’s campaign does not fall apart, Rahm goes to a run off with Chico. Guess is Rahm still wins, but that would have been an interesting race since Rahm’s lack of a base would have been exposed there. - From the 'Dale to HP - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 11:24 am: @facts are stubborn things, who thinks Rahm is a liberal? He’s mostly a conservative that happens to be liberal on a few social issues. - William j Kelly - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 11:54 am: If only Quinn’s camp could figure out some way to link rauner to Rahm. - hisgirlfriday - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 12:03 pm: So 63 percent of whites oppose the charter schools that Rahm is pushing? Interesting. I think many in the media that have played up the racial and union aspects of opposition to Rahm’s education policy have forgotten how offensive a lot of this stuff is from a goo goo perspective. For example, all the taxpayer money he has thrown at clouted insiders like UNO for charters stinks to high heaven. So Rahm has managed to enrage African-Americans, goo goo types, and unions on his conduct just from one issue. What else is there to the Democratic base at that point when those groups are out of the equation? - wordslinger - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 12:08 pm: Who’s the liberal in question? Emanuel? Since when? - William j Kelly - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 12:26 pm: Ok, just for fun, lets say Rahm and rauner represent the 1% crony elite and someone like.. Hmm… Karen Lewis makes an issue of rauner and Rahm’s close personal and financial relationship.. No, that would be too hard to explain. - facts are stubborn things - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 12:39 pm: Since 2011, when he became the Mayor of Chicago, Emanuel has been a passionate supporter of firearm restrictions. He was a strong proponent of the previous ban on gun sales within the city limits, which was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge earlier this year. He was Pres. Obama’s chief of staff. I believe on balance Rahm is liberal. He graduated with a liber arts degree…does that make him liberal? - William j Kelly - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 12:44 pm: Ya know, the more I think about it, the more it seems like Karen Lewis could use Bruce ‘charter schools’ rauner to not only defeat Rahm but simultaneously save Quinn and the public schools. Wow, that scenario would be a nightmare for a republican like me. - VanillaMan - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 12:48 pm: I am very concerned. The Chicago elite, (not elitists, mind you), begged Daley to keep running and remaining as Mayor far beyond what he wanted for himself and for his family. Those last years were Daley on autopilot. They thought Emanuel was their savior. That hasn’t worked out well. So now, Chicago has to be wondering who is going to be their political center, because for the past few generations, that is how Chicago operate politically. It is a one party city. Preckwinkel has been good for the County after The Toddler. Toni seems to present herself in a way that doesn’t come across as the least bit nutty. I bet she is getting plenty to calls and private chats today. How is Mike Quigley doing? Can he be considered? Then there is Lisa Madigan. Always. If these polls continue, it will be necessary for the Chicago elite to do something to prevent a Jane Byrne or a Mike Bilandic from happening. Chicago took a lot of hits during those years, but it was a healthier city back then. It can’t go through that kind of political “leadership” today without permanent damage. There has got to be a whole lot of cell phones going off over this weekend with this poll. The powers that be need to seriously consider what future Rahm Emanuel has as Mayor. - William j Kelly - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 1:02 pm: Great point vanilla man, the solution to Chicago’s problems is to elect someone who is exactly like Rahm in every way except for his really really really creepy face. that should do the trick, NOT! - Leroy - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 1:03 pm: == You know who is going to be Mayor 2015-2019? Rahm Emanuel. == Depends on how the Dem national ticket looks in 2016. If Emanuel’s numbers are bad now, just wait until 2019. And God help him if the economy falls back into a recession… - wordslinger - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 1:22 pm: == You know who is going to be Mayor 2015-2019? Rahm Emanuel. == Depends on how the Dem national ticket looks in 2016.– Dude, mayoral election is next year. - hisgirlfriday - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 1:33 pm: @williamjkelly: Doubt you have to worry about Quinn using the unpopularity of charter schools against Rauner after his stupid Vallas pick for lite gov. Could have helped shore up Quinn’s city support big time though if he had been wiser about things. - Leroy - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 1:40 pm: == Dude, mayoral election is next year. == Rahm waltzes to re-election next year and then bugs out before he gets burned in effigy as the butcher bill continues to come due. Voting public != lynching public in Chicago - 47th Ward - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 2:50 pm: ===The powers that be need to seriously consider what future Rahm Emanuel has as Mayor.=== On behalf of the Chicago elites (not elitists mind you), we’ve noted your concern VanillaMan. However, it’s fair to say we don’t share it. We think his future, and ours, looks fine, especially considering the present alternatives. - Buzzie - Friday, Aug 15, 14 @ 3:13 pm: tick, tick, tick, tick…..that is the clock counting down Barbara Byrd-Bennett’s time as Chicago School Superintendent. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.