It’s no secret that, like countless other Chicagoans, I’ve been miffed with Mayor Rahm for quite some time now.
But I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was somewhat compelled by his prepared remarks at the Department of Justice press conference. On January 13, he stood alongside outgoing U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch as she unearthed her bureau’s findings, and the “agreement in principle” to enter into a consent decree that would address the Chicago Police Department’s deficiencies and misdeeds.
But as the Tribune pointed out, that morning, at an interfaith breakfast to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Emanuel said, “Later today I’ll be standing with the attorney general as the Justice Department issues a report outlining the unequal treatment at the hands of the very people sworn to protect and serve us. It’s a sobering reminder that [King’s] work, our work, is not yet finished.”
But the mayor has to understand that his handling of the McDonald shooting, his dealings with the police department, and his economic and social policies have worn thin the patience of Chicagoans, those who were so dissatisfied with him in 2015 that he became the first sitting Chicago mayor to ever face a runoff election.
