Rahm Emanuel will be in Washington, D.C. this Friday to speak at the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Emanuel will talk on what has quietly emerged as a pet issue for the mayor: the importance of the City Colleges of Chicago. The mayor wants the City Colleges to be more vocationally directed, with certain colleges focusing on certain kinds of jobs. Malcolm X Community College, for example, will start training more students for health care jobs.

The Tribune notes that Richard Daley was a "big deal" at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, frequently attending events and serving as president in 1996 and 1997.