Political leaders from Chicago’s black community are scouting for candidates for the upcoming mayoral election.
Some aldermen were joking about how everyone and their mother showed up at yesterday’s City Council meeting. For example, Congressman Bobby Rush, a former alderman, showed up with a small entourage about halfway through the meeting.
RUSH: Oh I was in the neighborhood and they said there was a City Council meeting. I said, ‘Well, let’s stop up and see some of my former colleagues.’
Rush says it’s “very critical but not absolute” that the city’s next mayor be black.
Ald. Walter Burnett chairs the City Council’s Black Caucus. He says the 19 members of the group will be crucial allies for anyone eyeballing the mayor’s office.
BURNETT: There’s a lot of votes in each of their wards, so whomever the proposed candidate may be, they would need the African American community’s support.
Burnett says after a meeting yesterday afternoon, members of the Black Caucus agreed to support a single candidate in the mayoral race.