- Chloe Riley
- One of multiple Rahm Emanuel campaign signs outside Captain’s Hard Time Dining, a south-side soul food restaurant
It’s the Friday before election day in Chatham—a south-side neighborhood that draws crowds for the summertime Bud Billiken parade but is plagued by above-average levels of unemployment and crime. Outside the neighborhood’s early-voting polling place, a red union sign reads “Fire Rahm,” a crown perched atop the R in “Rahm.” As early voters file out, several stop to talk about their choice. They’ve all cast votes for Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, the Cook County commissioner looking to unseat sitting Mayor Rahm Emanuel in the city’s first-ever mayoral runoff.
First of all, I want to start off by saying I love me some Rahm Emanuel. I think he’s doing a phenomenal job. And I’m upset with the way they’re abusing him. When I say abusing him, I mean, mothers are protective of their sons. I don’t care what color, I’m not into color—Rahm’s my son. Most people wanna blame him for the red light cameras, let’s talk about that. The red light cameras was going out and he inherited that. Most of this stuff he inherited. Mayor Daley sold everything and nobody ever challenged him on nothing. Mayor Daley had a passport—a rubber stamp—to run any kind of situation he wanted to.
It sounds like you feel Emanuel took over a lot of city issues rooted in past problems.
