Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel stunned Democratic Party insiders Tuesday, officially ending his potential re-election bid and announcing he will not run next year to lead the nation’s third largest metropolis.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the Mayor bowed to political pressure from both sides of the aisle over his administration’s inability to combat the escalating gun violence sweeping the region.
“I’ve decided not to seek re-election,” Emanuel said. “This has been the job of a lifetime, but it is not a job for a lifetime.”
“Emanuel’s decision marks a dramatic political reversal, as for the better part of the last year he had said he would run for a third term. The mayor, long a prolific fundraiser, had already reeled in more than $10 million toward a bid for a third term,” writes the Tribune.
Read the full report here.
RAHM TO CHICAGO: It's Time for 'NEIGHBORHOODS' to 'STEP UP' and STOP Gun Violence
Chicago Mayor and former Obama aide Rahm Emanuel raised eyebrows throughout the country Monday, telling his city’s residents that neighborhoods need to “step up” and help stem the escalating gun-violence sweeping the region.
“Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said no arrests have been made yet in the flurry of weekend shootings, which he said were not random, and were ‘fueled by gang conflicts.’ Instead, after 11 people were killed and 70 were shot in ongoing violence, Johnson said the onus was on the communities to take responsibility,” writes Fox News.
“I hear people holding us accountable all the time but I never hear people saying ‘these individuals out here on the street need to stop pulling the trigger.’ I never hear that,” Johnson said. “It’s the same individuals that continually commit those crimes. Where is the accountability for them?”
“My relatives, people I grew up with in the city call me all the time,” he said. “What worries me is in certain areas of the city we begin to normalize these things.”
Read the full story at Fox News.
RAHM UNDER FIRE: Hundreds of Chicago Police PROTEST Mayor Emanuel
Hundreds of police officers are prepared to descend upon Chicago City Hall Wednesday; calling-out liberal mayor Rahm Emanuel as the relationship between the former Obama aide and law enforcement reaches an all-time low.
According to CBS News, the pro-police protesters are expected to swarm the city government’s headquarters as part of their “Blue Wednesday” protest; aimed at raising awareness over what they refer to as a “lack of concern” from the mayor’s office.
“The members feel as though the city has turned its back on police in many ways,” said Martin Preib, of the Fraternal Order of Police.
“They certainly could be meeting with us more if they wanted to be,” added Union president Kevin Graham.
Chicago has come under fire in recent years over its escalating crime rate and soaring murder statistics after decades of liberal control.
President Trump weighed-in on the city’s spike in violent crime late last year; saying he plans to send in federal agencies to help clampdown on criminals.