Rahm Emanuel got the mayor’s race rolling on Saturday, formally declaring his candidacy to supporters at Coonley elementary school on the north side, in a speech in which he also released the results of his listening tour.
Emanuel told his supporters at Coonley he would: improve the city’s schools, make the streets safer, pave the way for more and better jobs, and put the city’s finances in order. He’d change the culture of city government so it was no longer “an insider’s game, serving primarily the lobbyists and well-connected.” He’d reform tax increment financing, phase out the head tax on employers, and not even think of raising taxes. He promised everything but better garbage collection—and then he promised that. Perhaps worried that he might be displeasing those who think city government cannot be all things to all people, he added, “We have to accept that city government cannot be all things to all people.”
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“The changes we seek are profound,” Emanuel told his supporters at Coonley. “But there’s nothing wrong in Chicago that can’t be solved by what’s right in Chicago.”
His address was as larded with cliches as Emanuel’s, but his cliches were lyrical. Look for Emanuel to try to match the Reverend’s style in his future speeches: “I’ll be the mayor for all Chicago, from Dominick’s to Jewel, from Whole Foods to Trader Joe’s . . .”
