With Tuesday's election in the books, political reporters in Chicago
now have free rein to turn their attention back to the city's mayoral
race. (Not that they ever ignored it.) In just the past two days,
there's been a lot of action. Here's a brief rundown:
Earlier this morning, State Sen. Rickey Hendon dropped out
of Chicago's mayoral race. His decision came after a two-week stretch
in which the West Side Democrat took a beating in the media for
statements he made about Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady and his role in a potential
corruption investigation. Fox Chicago reports that Hendon will join the Chicago Coalition for Mayor (CCM),
a group of pols and civic leaders working to identify a "consensus"
black candidate. This afternoon, CCM will hear appeals from U.S.
Rep. Danny Davis and State Sen. James Meeks, two potential candidates
previously spurned by the coalition. (Meeks, if you'll remember, went so
far as to question the group' selection process altogether.)
Another black official, U.S. Sen. Roland Burris, is flirting
with a mayoral run. Burris told Fox that his supporters are
already circulating petitions. He previously ran against Daley in 1995.
Rahm Emanuel, meanwhile, flew to Los Angeles today for a Hollywood fundraiser hosted by his brother, talent agent Ari Emanuel. Two declared candidates, Gery Chico and Carol Moseley Braun, wasted no time characterizing President Obama's former Chief of Staff as out of touch. The latter even said that Emanuel "cut and run"
from President Obama after "pushing policies that [led] to the biggest
Democratic Party political loss in 27 years." Progressives have criticized the role Emanuel played in the Obama White House, and with good reason, but it might not be the smartest political play in Chicago to demonize progressive Congressional victories like federal health care reform.
Black political leaders in Chicago are 