Preckwinkle Says That She S Not Going To Say Whether She S Running For Mayor

• Richard A. Chapman/Sun-Times Media
• Under repeated questioning, Cook County board president Toni Preckwinkle was happy to avoid saying whether she’s challenging Rahm for mayor.

Toni Preckwinkle is going to keep answering the question by not answering the question.

She said it a few more times after a much-ballyhooed speech to the City Club on Thursday.

So when she faced reporters and TV cameras after her speech, the questions moved quickly from budget and jail matters to election politics. Preckwinkle, in an unusually frisky and sarcastic fashion, was happy to avoid them.

Wait, someone else said—does that mean you’re not running?

Sure, said another reporter—but one of your own political advisers has said that Rahm created this PAC to challenge you because he can’t run on his own record.

“I’m running for reelection to the job I have. And I’ve also said that I’ve never run for an office as a platform for something else. I think that’s pretty clear.”