Progress Illinois

Progress Illinois rounds up the top 5 best reads from the web this week:

What Derrick Can Do For Rahm
While Michael Jordan put Chicago on the international map, Derrick Rose can unite the entire city in the way Mayor Rahm Emanuel spoke of during his inaugural address, writes Edward McClelland.

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After all the handshakes, El stops, churches, forums, and press conferences, it comes down to this. Chicago voters head to the polls today to select a new mayor for the first time since 1989. Last-minute campaigning is taking place across the city as the six candidates for mayor look to solidify the votes to put them in command of City Hall.

Rahm Emanuel, who hopes to secure over 50 percent of the vote and avoid a run-off, is having lunch at Manny's Deli, the iconic sandwich shop that is a regular stop for politicos. Gery Chico voted mid-morning and was reportedly just the 46th voter at his precinct, which echoes the low turnout that Progress Illinois found in polling places on the North Side. Carol Moseley Braun met with reporters after punching the number 3 on her voter card. Miguel del Valle was out before dawn, beginning what is sure to be a long day of campaigning. Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins and William "Dock" Walls are also blanketing the city for votes.

Continue to check back with us throughout the day and evening for updates on the city elections, and watch a report on ABC-7 on the mayoral candidates' final push:

With Election Day right around the corner, the four major candidates running for mayor of Chicago met up for one final debate yesterday that focused on the race's front-runner Rahm Emanuel. Taxes, immigration, and the benefit of six extra weeks of campaigning -- and how these issue relate to Emanuel -- were the major notes hit by Gery Chico, Carol Moseley Braun, and Miguel del Valle.

As Progress Illinois predicted, Chico returned to his favorite criticism of Emanuel, hitting him on "the Rahm Tax," which Chico called "the largest expansion of the sales tax on services that has ever been put to our city." Del Valle got in on the discussion by talking about property taxes and coming out as the only candidate who supports keeping the head tax in place. He called it a "non-issue," saying the city collects more in red light camera violations than the head tax. "The people who are really getting hit hard are the ones in the neighborhoods," del Valle said. The comment led to applause and a scolding from moderator Ron Magers. Watch the exchange here, beginning at the 4:37 mark:

Both Moseley Braun and del Valle pointed to Emanuel's inability in Washington -- both as a congressman and White House chief of staff -- to get meaningful immigration reform passed. Moseley Braun pointed to the failure of the DREAM Act, while del Valle accused Emanuel of ducking the issue because of politics. Del Valle said, "The fact of the matter is Rahm referred to immigration as ‘the third rail of politics,’ and he advised his colleagues in Congress not to pursue immigration reform.

The attacks weren't all aimed at Emanuel. Del Valle said Chico and Emanuel were "cut from the same cloth" and that both have "taken full advantage of their contacts in federal government or city government."

The race for Chicago mayor is coming down to the wire and the campaigns of Rahm Emanuel and Gery Chico are trading jabs over robocalls, mailers, and a controversial comment made by a supporter.

Emanuel is out with a call, recorded in Spanish, that notes the Tea Party's recent endorsement of Chico. The call refers to the Tea Party as an "anti-immigrant" group that supports the law recently passed in Arizona that has been criticized as a legalization of racial profiling. Chico said the call amounted to a "dirty trick" just days before Tuesday's election.

The Emanuel campaign has another late ploy to woo voters. The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that letters, written on Emanuel's personal stationery, were sent to city workers to explain his position on pension reform. (Emanuel has suggested he would look at cutting pensions for existing workers.) The Sun-Times quotes some recipients who questioned how the Emanuel campaign had access to a list of city workers. Emanuel spokesman Ben LaBolt denied that the campaign had a list of addresses for city workers, adding that the letters were sent to "residents across the city."

While pushing back against Emanuel's robocall and letters to city workers, the Chico campaign is having to deal with a controversial comment made by a supporter at a rally on Wednesday. In introducing Jim Sweeney, the president of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, called Emanuel, who is Jewish, a "Wall Street Judas." Sweeney says there was no religious connotation to his comment, and Chico's spokesperson said he was referring to the way in which Emanuel “betrayed the workers of this city.” Chico also rejected the accusation saying he has three Jewish children and he never considered the comment anti-Semitic.

Emanuel rejected those explanations, however, and, according to Fox Chicago, said the following at a campaign stop last night, "We all know the history of that comment, and we know the history of that reference. Which is why I have absolute confidence in the people of the City of Chicago and what they'll see it for and they will not accept it or any of the connotations or the values behind it."

Chico is also out with a new ad, contrasting his upbringing in the Back of the Yards, with Emanuel's in the northern suburbs. Watch it here:

UPDATE (2:43 p.m.): Chico released a statement (PDF) this afternoon, calling Emanuel a "pathological evader of the truth." Referring to the letter sent to city workers, Chico said, "When he needs donations and editorial support, he talks tough about slashing existing pensions but when talking directly with the city workers who depend on those pensions, he promises to protect their benefits. Either way, you can't believe a thing this guy says."