Chicago: Is Rahm Emanuel in Trouble in His Bid for a Third Term?

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1. brosmp says:

   July 12, 2018 at 2:03 pm

   Chicago does not have the highest murder rate in the country. This is a myth perpetrated by Trump.

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   • dianeravitch says:

     July 12, 2018 at 3:02 pm

     You are right. Other cities have higher murder rates than Chicago.

     https://www.thetrace.org/2018/04/highest-murder-rates-us-cities-list/

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2. Lloyd Lofthouse says:

   July 12, 2018 at 3:05 pm

   Lightfoot is in trouble if she is unwilling to learn from Alexandria Oscasio-Cortez.

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3. dienne77 says:

   July 12, 2018 at 3:05 pm

   Rahm closed 50 schools in one day and yet people voted for him the following election, including those most impacted by the school closings. I hope I’m proven wrong, but honestly I don’t see what could take him out this time around now that Chicago is whiter and wealthier.

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   • Jack says:

     July 12, 2018 at 9:12 pm

     I talked to Chicago community activist Jitu Brown, and he told me Rahm was on the ropes, having been forced into a run-off.

     One of the ways Rahm won was that he bribed dozens of black ministers to go and spread lies about Rahm’s opponent Chuy Garcia, slandering Garcia, and Garcia’s son in particular. It was an ugly tactic, but it worked.

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     • dianeravitch says:

       July 12, 2018 at 9:32 pm

       He won by withholding the video of the police shooting a black teen who was running away from them. The police said they shot in self defense

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     • ciedie aech says:

       July 13, 2018 at 1:04 pm

       Importantly for this election cycle, voices like that of Jitu Brown are now being heard; he speaks so directly to the connection between school closures and strategic racism.

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4. dienne77 says:

   July 12, 2018 at 3:11 pm

   By the way, I’m loving how all these pseudo-progressives are hitching their wagons to Ocasio-Cortez, but they certainly didn’t help pull it before her win. In fact, they wouldn’t have admitted knowing her. In reading the linked article, Lightfoot appears to be a female, black LGBT version of Rahm. Having the right skin tone, equipment and bedmate preferences doesn’t make one a progressive.

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5. FLERP! says:

   July 12, 2018 at 3:12 pm

   Unrelated to this post, but for the SCOTUS conspiracy fans here, the developing and incredibly weird story about Judge Kavanaugh’s credit card debt should have legs, in my gut’s opinion.

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   • dianeravitch says:

     July 12, 2018 at 3:26 pm

     I haven’t heard that yet.

     Here is a curious fact about SCOTUS: 6 Catholics, 3 Jews, 0 Protestants.

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     • FLERP! says:

       July 12, 2018 at 3:34 pm

       Yes, very curious for such a historically WASPy institution.

       Kavanaugh owns a house that he bought (at the height of the housing bubble) for $1.2 million, but he’s essentially cash-broke, living solely on his salary, repeatedly pulling cash out of his house with by refinancing, and carrying significant credit card debt. The exact number isn’t clear, but as of 2016, he reported having between $60,000 and $200,000 in debt spread among three credit cards and a home improvement loan. The debt on the credit cards was at least $45,000 and as much as $150,000. Bizarrely, the White House has said that the credit card debt was due to Kavanaugh’s purchases of tickets to Washington Nationals baseball games, for himself and for friends. The debt disappeared from his financial disclosures in 2017, prompting the question of who paid it off. Not to mention the whether you can have any faith in the judgment of someone who racks up $45,000 to $150,000 of credit card debt for baseball tickets.

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     • dianeravitch says:

       July 12, 2018 at 3:43 pm

       I doubt the Republicans will care. They don’t care about Trump’s finances. No curiosity.

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     • retiredbutmissthekids says:

       July 12, 2018 at 4:24 pm

       I have had a discussion w/others, Diane, about Merrick Garland, & the religious makeup of SCOTUS. I have asserted that part of the reason Garland wasn’t considered is the fact that he’s Jewish (What– we need yet another Jew on the Supreme Court?!) So many have corrected me on that, however, stating that it was all just to stymie an Obama pick.
       What do you all think?

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     • FLERP! says:

       July 12, 2018 at 4:28 pm

       Um, yes, it was to stymie the appointment of a liberal justice.

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     • dianeravitch says:

       July 12, 2018 at 4:31 pm

       McConnell did not want Obama to appoint a Supreme Court justice. He was gambling that Republicans would win the Presidency. Democrats consider Gorsuch’s seat to be “stolen” from Merrick Garland, who is chief judge of the D.C. Court of Appeals, the most respected court in the land behind the Supreme Court.

       I have never heard anyone say that religion had anything to do with it.

       McConnell swore in Obama’s first term that his overriding goal as Senate Majority Leader was to make Obama a one-term president. In his second term, he was determined to block Obama’s judicial nominees.

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6. retiredbutmissthekids says:

   July 12, 2018 at 4:38 pm

   Oh, & back to post topic–darn, but I LIKE Lori Lightfoot! Hear her on the bros’ podcast & a radio show (just now). She’s very much pro-publics (nothing like Rahm), smart, experienced & has been out there (at all the street fairs, festivals, in neighborhoods, at the el stops) much more than the other candidates (ahem, insert a subliminal Paul Vallas
   here). Not everyone has to be just like Ocasio-Cortez (like her too, of course) or Bernie
   (still waiting for him to step up to Debbie Wasserman Schultz & stump for the really terrific Tim Canova in FL–DONATE!!!) for that person to do good/what’s right for the people of Chicago…the 99%, that is. &, people, VOTE, register people to VOTE, & vote ON Election Day (because “Paper is SAFER” &, also, perhaps some of the candidates will have dropped out by then, so don’t waste your vote).

   BTW–not mentioned here, but there’s a petition being circulated at all the Chicago street fairs & festivals–but not Taste of Chgo.; too many people stuffing themselves w/both hands to sign!– for a referendum to impose mayoral term limits. They’ll be around until the beginning of August (turn-in date 8/1, I think).

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   • dienne77 says:

     July 12, 2018 at 4:41 pm

     All right, I trust your judgment. I’ll keep an open mind about Lightfoot and try to look into her a bit more (not that I can vote anyway, as I’m exactly a block outside the city limits, but I can always talk).

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7. Scisne says:

   July 12, 2018 at 7:12 pm

   Gee, if Rahm is in trouble, we can count on his pro-charter school buddy Barack coming to campaign for him.

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8. FLERP! says:

   July 12, 2018 at 7:14 pm

   “Lightfoot has a strong resume, but she is not a Democratic Socialist like Antonia Ocasio-Cortez.”

   Is this the new gold standard? Democratic candidates must establish their “Democratic Socialist” bona fides to be acceptable? Lord help us this fall.

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   • GregB says:

     July 12, 2018 at 7:45 pm

     I don’t read it that way at all. I interpret is—forgive me for this analogy—one’s an A student, the other’s an A+ student. I will agree with your concerns, but there must be some intellectual glue that holds Democrats together. For me it is Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms and the consequences and actions that come from there.

     Also appreciated your insight above on Kavanaugh. At first I though it was just weird. Thanks to you, I realize there’s some kind of there there.

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     • FLERP! says:

       July 12, 2018 at 8:01 pm

       Not sure I see the Democratic Socialists as A+ students. I know very little about them — like most people, I wasn’t aware they existed until a week ago or so. I’m in favor of strong, universal safety nets and a reasonable taxation scheme to support them. But I’m very wary of the Occupy-style identity politics that, based on experience, I associate with groups that emphasize “social justice,” “racial justice,” and “equity.” The jury’s still out for me on where the DSA stands in those regards.

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     • Lloyd Lofthouse says:

       July 12, 2018 at 8:36 pm

       “And to me, that means every working class American in this country should have access to dignified health care,” she explained. “Should actually be able to see a doctor without going broke. It means you should be able to send your kids to college and trade school if they so choose.”

       Ocasio-Cortez continued, “And no person should feel precarious or unstable in their access to housing as our economy develops.”

       Asked bluntly if she considered herself a democratic socialist, the former bartender and community organizer said socialism is only “part” of who she is, but she indicated that the public should be less focused on labels and more focused on values.

       https://www.salon.com/2018/07/01/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-explains-what-it-means-to-be-a-democratic-socialist/

       NOTE: What bothers me is that most of the media repeatedly points out she was a cocktail waitress and bartender without mentioning in any detail why she worked those jobs.

       “Early Life and Education

       “Born to a working-class Puerto Rican family in the Bronx, New York, Ocasio-Cortez graduated from Boston University, majoring in economics and international relations, and later worked for Senator Ted Kennedy’s office where she focused on immigration issues.

       “After graduation, she returned home and became a community organizer. However, with the recession taking hold, along with the financial issues her family faced after her father’s death in 2008 from cancer, Ocasio-Cortez took multiple low-wage restaurant jobs to help keep them afloat.”

       https://www.biography.com/people/alexandria-ocasio-cortez

       She graduated fourth in her class[17] from Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and international relations.

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   • dianeravitch says:

     July 12, 2018 at 7:46 pm

     Agreed. I am a pragmatist. I will vote for the Democrat if there is a Republican in Office. Can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

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     • FLERP! says:

       July 12, 2018 at 7:47 pm

       Frankly I’m very far from seeing the DSA as “the perfect,” too.

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     • dianeravitch says:

       July 12, 2018 at 7:58 pm

       Some people do.

       Frankly I am puzzled by the acrimonious hearings today. It sounds like the Republicans want to blame someone—the FBI?—for Trump’s loss. And Hillary’s emails! Did she win?

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9. Jack says:

   July 12, 2018 at 9:08 pm

   It’s interesting to see Peter Cunningham post articles on his site Education Post which proclaim Rahm to be the savior of Chicago Public Schools, claiming that Rahm / Rahm’s policies have successfully performed a miracle turnaround in Chicago’s schools.

   It’s an opinion that almost no one else — save The 74 — shares.

   Arne Duncan, Rahm Emanuel, Peter Cunningham … they’re all part of the Obama clique, having all worked in the White House during Obama’s first term.

   Arne Duncan — Secretary of Ed,

   Rahm Emanuel — Chief of Staff (who opposed Obamacare, btw)

   Peter Cunningham — Duncan’s Communications something-or-other.

   Currently, the Chicago Public Schools is reeling from one scandal to the other — the second-to-last CEO was sent to the slammer for years for graft; the last CEO had to resign when incontrovertible proof of corruption was unearthed (long story), and recently, the Trib did a brutal expose of CPS’ total mis-handling of sexual abuse allegations, hiring and/or letting stay known perverts who were molesting kids.

   And on it goes.

   However, you wouldn’t know any of that from Rahm’s buddy Peter Cunningham ‘s fawning coverage of at Cunningham’s EDUCATION POST (again, leading up to Rahm’s next election).

   Here’s two such articles:

   http://educationpost.org/here-are-three-reasons-for-chicago-public-schools-success/

   and

   http://educationpost.org/chicagos-students-are-standing-still-on-test-scores-but-thats-good-news/

   I particularly like the spin on that last one:

   Kids’ scores are stagnating, but hey, that’s GOOD news!

   Again, Peter Cunningham runs and has full control over what gets published over at his EDUCATION POST. There’s absolutely no other articles countering the “Chicago schools are all wonderful” claim, nor are there any contrary opinions within those articles above.

   It’s pure propaganda to help Peter’s buddy get Rahm re-elected.

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