Mayor Daley Retiring: Rahm Emanuel Next Chicago Mayor?

Mayor Daley Retiring: Rahm Emanuel Next Chicago Mayor? – Current Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has announced that he will not be running for re-election in 2011. The announcement was made during a news conference that was hosted at City Hall, during which he detailed his reasons behind not running for re-election. Daley said that he had been mulling over the issue for the last several months, and that in the end, it is a personal decision.

He has seen his approval ratings fall in recent years while the city has been drastically affected by the economic downturn. A poll earlier in the summer found that only 37 percent of voters in the city approved of the job that he was doing. His decision was likely linked to his wife’s battle with cancer and his inability to dedicate enough time to the job because of personal issues.

Maggie Daley was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002, and last spring doctors found that it had spread to her liver and lung. She has undergone a number of surgeries, including one in March for bone cancer that was discerned in her leg.

He has been the mayor of the city since 1989, making this his 21st year in office. His father also served as mayor of the city, but died of a heart attack during his own 21st year in office. He did not say whether his father’s death had any effect on his decision to run.

Rahm Emanuel made headlines in January after he said that he would like to be the mayor of Chicago one day, but insisted that the time was not now, and asked Daley to run again.
Emanuel who might now run said:
“While Mayor Daley surprised me today with his decision to not run for reelection, I have never been surprised by his leadership, dedication and tireless work on behalf of the city and the people of Chicago,”

Category: US News