Rahm Emanuel has left his position as White House chief of staff. He’s returning to Chicago to explore a run for mayor. The former congressman is no stranger to politics in the city.
Emanuel is a former aide to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. And he was also a top staff member in the Clinton White House.
When Emanuel ran for Congress in Illinois’ 5th Congressional District in 2002, he took on and beat Nancy Kaszak in the Democratic primary. Kaszak says Emanuel’s resume proved pivotal in her race, and may again in a mayoral campaign.
KASZAK: I think you need to take him very very very seriously. He has tremendous number of relationships. I mean, he brought Bill Clinton in to campaign for him here. He had Paul Simon endorse him.
Kaszak says she hasn’t decided whether she’d support an Emanuel campaign for mayor. She wants to see how he connects with the neighborhoods, what his top issues are, and which other candidates wind up on the ballot.