Rahm's retirement sets off wild Chicago scramble

A corruption scandal upends the mayor’s race and creates an opening for another Daley in City Hall.

By NATASHA KORECKI and SHIA KAPOS 02/24/2019 07:19 AM EST

CHICAGO — The Daleys collectively ruled Chicago for a total of four decades, dating back to the 1950s. Now, after a brief interregnum, the family reign might be extended.

Bill Daley, the former chief of staff to President Barack Obama, is emerging as a late contender in the crowded Feb. 26 mayoral race, a contest featuring 14 people vying to succeed two-term Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

With the race in the nation’s third-largest city just two days away, Daley — who hopes to advance the legacy left by his father, the original “Boss,” Richard J. Daley, and his brother, Richard M. Daley — has shot toward the front of the pack. After first barely registering in the polls, he now stands a strong chance of being one of the top two finishers to advance to a runoff election.

The initial favorites were two clout-heavy, labor-backed minority women, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza.

But this is Chicago, where corruption is still king, and just as the campaign heated up, so too did a federal investigation into one of the most powerful politicians in Illinois, Alderman Ed Burke. A one-time real estate attorney to President Donald Trump, Burke first took office in 1969 — when the original Daley patriarch was in office.

more
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/24/chicago-mayor-daley-rahm-emanuel-1182428