The thought has crossed my mind since Maggie has had so many health problems but I guess a part of me couldn’t imagine him giving up the job, but now it is official - Mayor Daley will not run for re-election in 2011.
Who do you imagine will be on the short list of candidates? I think Rahm Emanuel will be tempted but I don’t know if he will want to make that move just yet.
Luis Gutierrez is someone I always thought wanted the job but who knows anymore. The Trib article mentions Tom Tunney but I don’t know how serious to take that.
Maybe is Blago gets an acquittal his ego might make him go for it.
Rahm would be interesting. Don’t expect he’s got deep contacts with the ward organizations, but he’s the one guy with the brass to keep the City Council in line. Don’t see how any of the other possible candidates you hear about could manage it.
That’s exactly what I fear; a second Dark Age. I lived through the first one, and it was not pretty.
Of course, Daley also has two brothers currently in politics and underutilized. Not to mention two sons and two daughters, but I don’t know what their ages/status/experiences are.
Then again, Eddie Vrdolyak probably has a few offspring out there, too!
I realize this isn’t a proper statistical sample but this poll in the Sun-Times is showing some strange results. At the time I am posting this the two with the most votes are Ald. Tom Tunney with 1748 votes and Ald. Tom Allen with 1329 votes. That seems very odd. I’m thinking this thing is pretty meaningless.
Naturally I am unsure of the finer points of American constitutional law, and Illinois State constitutional law in particular, but does the ( rather unjust sounding and possibly not enforceable in perpetuity ) barring by from Illinois State office for life actually apply also to elected office within the State not under the direct jurisdiction of the State ? Such as Town Dog-Catcher in some rural idyll or Mayor ?
Just in case the same circumstance happens to any of us.
I watched a couple of interviews with Daley about his decision and I kept thinking, "Geez, he looks like his skull is cocked a little sideways in his head skin.
And tonight, David Orr was on the news (I don’t know if he’s running, but he sounded like it,) and holy crap! He’s got a bargain basement Blago haircut and eyes like Bill the Cat! One big and one small.