* Stay tuned for details.
…Adding… I’m told his polling showed he either couldn’t win or that it would be extremely difficult to win…
…Adding… Huge pushback on that above insider leak by a much higher-level insider. They finally got him to a place where he could win and he decided not to pull the trigger is what I’m hearing now. He just figures he has nothing left to prove…
…Adding… Talked to another top dog and got the same thing. He was just done. Time to move on…
…Adding… Former Emanuel top dog…
…Adding… Fran Spielman last week…
On Sept. 7, 2010, Richard M. Daley touched off the political equivalent of a Chicago earthquake.
After breaking his father’s longevity record, Daley chose political retirement over the quest for a seventh term. That touched off a game of political dominoes that saw Rahm Emanuel succeed his political mentor and Daley’s brother, Bill, replace Emanuel as White House chief of staff.
Nearly eight years later, Emanuel is approaching that point of no return himself.
He needs to decide whether to walk away or make the uphill climb toward a third term — and stick to that decision, no matter how difficult the campaign gets.
If Emanuel waits much longer, he will risk looking like his political future is being dictated by the outcome of the trial of Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, who is charged with the murder of Laquan McDonald.
The trial, scheduled to start next week, is certain to dredge up ugly memories of Emanuel’s decision to withhold the McDonald shooting video until after the 2015 election and release it only after a judge ordered the city to do so.
“I would make the decision before the trial starts. If the cop is acquitted or there’s a mistrial and he then decides not to run, he looks like he’s responding to something,” one political operative said.
“It’s an easier decision to run than walk away. But he needs to remember that third terms are a bitch to win and even harder to govern. Even if he wins, everyone will know it’s his last term. Whatever fealty or fear people have now will be gone. It’ll be a miserable four years.”
*** UPDATE *** Emanuel’s prepared remarks…
On my first day as Mayor of this great city, I promised to make tough choices and face the hard truths we had not confronted, even when it hurts. Every day for the past seven and a half years, that is what I have tried my best to do – to improve our schools, make our community colleges relevant, put our fiscal house on stable footing, confront violence and rebuild trust between police and community, modernize our transportation systems, invest in our neighborhood parks and libraries and grow our economy into an engine of jobs and opportunity for all. I’m not shy, and together we’ve never shied away from a challenge.
Today, the time has come to make another tough choice. As much as I love this job and will always love this city and its residents, I have decided not to seek re-election.
This has been the job of a lifetime, but it is not a job for a lifetime. You hire us to get things done – and pass the torch when we’ve done our best to do what you hired us to do.
I have approached public service the only way I know how for the last 23 years—giving 100 percent, 24 hours a day, seven days a week—for President Clinton, in Congress and in its leadership, as President Obama’s Chief of Staff and finally as your Mayor. For the last seven and a half years I’ve given my all every day and left everything on the field. This commitment has required significant sacrifice all around. Now, with our three kids in college, Amy and I have decided it is time for us to write a new chapter together.
In a few moments, I’ll speak to my Cabinet, and tell them to get ready to sprint for the finish line in May. We have more to do, and from now until then, we’ll do everything in our power to get it done and walk out the door hopefully leaving Chicago and Chicagoans in a stronger place. We will stand ready and eager to work with whoever is lucky enough to come next and ensure a smooth and positive transition. We owe our city nothing less.
But today I want to thank the people of Chicago for the opportunity to serve. It will fill my eyes with tears to leave a job I love, and already my heart is full with gratitude. We have worked together. We have celebrated progress together. We have grieved together. Amy and I made friendships across this city that will last a lifetime.
I want to thank Amy for being such a remarkable First Lady. We’ve been together for 27 years. When we got married, I told her I would never run for office. Six elections later, she’s the only reason I have made it this far.
We’re blessed with three great children, and I owe them so much as well. Politicians always say they’re leaving office to spend more time with their family. My kids were smart enough to see that coming and scattered to the two coasts, so as of the other day we are now empty nesters.
Amy and I are still young – and Amy still looks it. And we look forward to writing that next chapter in our journey together.
I’ll always be here for the future of this city – not as mayor, but in the most important role anyone can play, as citizen. I hope I’ll find ways to answer the call I’ve asked of every citizen: to do my part to stand up for the next generation, who deserve the doors of opportunity to be open and the spark of hope to light their eyes.
I’m grateful to my parents for lighting that spark in me. And I want to thank my grandfather, who at the age of 13, took an enormous chance a century ago by immigrating here from Eastern Europe, fleeing the pogroms, to meet a third cousin he did not know in a city whose name he could not pronounce.
In four congressional runs on the North and Northwest Sides – and in two races for Mayor – you cast aside old history and voted for a Jewish kid with the middle name Israel. I will always be profoundly grateful for that and what it means to my family.
This morning, as we start a new school year, I went to Bronzeville Classical to welcome students back for the start of a new school year and to Perez Elementary to mark the opening of universal full day pre-K in Chicago. The changes we have made to our school system – universal full day pre-K, universal kindergarten and a longer school day and year will add up to nearly four more years of class time for Chicago’s students. In the end of the day what matters most in public life is four more years for our children, not four more years for me.
Together, since May of 2011, through thick and thin, we tried to do right by our city’s future. No matter how difficult the path we never wavered or shrunk from our responsibilities. And I will never forget the honor it has been to serve alongside you the people of Chicago every step of the way.
From the bottom of my heart: Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the people of Chicago.
…Adding… Sen. Durbin…
Rahm’s record of public service spans Congress, the White House, and the fifth floor of City Hall in Chicago. I have worked closely with him at every level of his public career. I always knew a call from Rahm was an invitation to join him in a bold, ambitious effort to make life better for those he served. It has been my honor to join him in these great ventures. Rahm has left his mark and I wish him and Amy the best in the days ahead.
…Adding… Speaker Madigan…
“I want to thank Rahm Emanuel for his service to our city as a member of Congress, as chief of staff to President Obama, and most notably as our mayor.
“Mayor Emanuel offered steady leadership through difficult times. His efforts to balance the budget, stabilize pensions, and make tough decisions consistently reflected his commitment to do what was best for the future of our city, not what was easy. As Chicago continues to move forward and grow as an international city, we will remain grateful for Mayor Emanuel’s leadership.”
…Adding… The Sun-Times is compiling more react. Click here.
…Adding… Comptroller Mendoza…
Mayor Emanuel and I had some lively arguments when I first took office as City Clerk. But we respected each other’s work ethic and were united by our mutual love for the City and the people of Chicago. He made tough choices that needed to be made and I admire his conviction and force of will that drove him to see many projects through for the good of Chicago. Knowing that there’s still so much more work to do and so many critical challenges that would require a 100% focus, his decision to not seek re-election means that Mayor Emanuel is putting the City before himself. I admire him for that. As Rahm said, “It has been the job of a lifetime, but it is not a job for a lifetime.” I thank Rahm for his dedicated service to Chicago as its mayor and I hope we find a worthy successor.
* JB Pritzker…
“Mayor Emanuel has dedicated his life to public service and I want to thank him for his commitment to Chicago and to the nation. I also want to express my gratitude for his work expanding universal Pre-K, a priority that is personally important to me. Every elected official makes personal sacrifice to do this work and Mayor Emanuel honored the legacy of his family with his service to our city and our state. Illinois faces real challenges, and should I be elected governor, I look forward to working with the mayor in his final months in office and with new leadership to move our state forward.”
* And with Rahm out, I would expect several Latinx candidates to express interest…
…Adding… PQ is taking a pass…
…Adding… Paul Vallas…
“I have not been running against Rahm Emanuel but rather to offer fresh and realistic ideas for the future of Chicago. From the outset of my campaign in April, I have been detailing with great specificity how I will address the unprecedented and complex problems facing Chicago. And I will continue to do so on issues including rebuilding Chicago’s forgotten communities on the South and West Sides, making Chicago safer for all its citizens and repairing the City’s tattered finances. As the only candidate with a successful track record of running multi-billion government agencies, I am the only candidate in this race who will be ready from day one to get Chicago on a new and more successful path.”
…Adding… Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady…
“I want to thank Mayor Rahm Emanuel for his service to the residents of Chicago, and for his decades of public service as a whole,” said Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady (R-Bloomington). “I wish him nothing but the best as he begins the next chapter in what’s already been an amazing journey.”
…Adding… Senate President John Cullerton…
“Rahm Emanuel has been a tireless advocate for the City of Chicago. His commitment to education will be felt for generations to come, as will his positive influence on our great city. I’m honored to have worked with him and proud to call him my friend. I wish him and his family the best in their next adventures.”
