From Ellis Island to GOP, a look at 5 memorable mayors

By Megan Ashley

Did you know Richard J. Daley started as a Republican? That a Chicago Tribune editor was a mayor of the city? That one mayor spent his first birthday as an immigrant on Ellis Island?

Rahm Emanuel joins a colorful group of predecessors when he’s sworn in and here’s a look at five of the more noteworthy:

Tags: anton cermak, chicago, chicago mayor, chicago mayoral history, chicago tribune, ellis island, harold washington, jane byrne, joseph medill, richard j. daley, richard m. daley

How Emanuel is spending some of that reserve money

By Christine Hurley

The mayoral election is over, but what happens to the remaining funds Mayor-elect Emanuel has left? He began the year with little over $8.3 million in his campaign reserves. Now, it is estimated he has $2 million remaining.

Emanuel has chosen eight candidates in the 14 aldermanic run-off elections on April 5 to support. This can be financial or personnel.

Tags: aldermanic election, april 5, campaign contributions, campaign finance, chicago, danny solis, david morrison, early & often, election 2011, hunter clauss, rahm emanuel, the new chicago committee

What’s up Doc? Mayoral candidate to write novel

By Maham Khan

In the shadow of unbeatable odds, stood some candidates who decided the odds didn’t matter.

The results of this past mayoral election confessed what many predicted: a lot of money and big endorsements usually win. But still, a strong lineup of horses approached the election track.

One of those horses—the least bet upon—was Dock Walls. Walls was the most under-covered and poorest of the final six candidates (contrary to what Miguel del Valle claimed all season), raising under $5,000 for his entire campaign.

Tags: carol moseley-braun, chicago, election 2011, election coverage, gery chico, media coverage, miguel del valle, nano-technology, patricia van pelt-watkins, rahm emanuel, william dock walls

Obama holds Emanuel’s feet to the fire this time

By Courtney Pohlman

What kind of person did Chicago elect as its new mayor? Why not push aside the highly-public political rhetoric for a closer look at Rahm Emanuel—and what one very famous friend had to say about him.

Tags: barack obama, CURE, paul begala, political roast, rahm emanuel

Will Emanuel’s city council become ‘fully functioning’?

By Jennifer Schanz

With the mayoral drum roll of Feb. 22 behind us, Chicagoans and a rookie pool of alderman are looking to the mayor-elect to see what City Hall changes, if any, will be made.

Even before Rahm Emanuel was elected, hints of deep cuts to the budget, shifts in the city council power structure, a plan for Chicago’s struggling public school system and new union pension expectations were alive and well, among other things.

Tags: april runoff, campaign promises, chicago, chicago mayor, city hall, da boss, election 2011, rahm emanuel

An outsider looks at Daleys, asks if the era is really over

Chicago's mayor Richard M. Daley. (Photo courtesy of Creative Commons)

By Marin Kolev

(This opinion piece is by Marin Kolev, a graduate student from Bulgaria in the College of Communication.)

After 43 years of reign, the mighty Daley Regime in Chicago ended. On Feb. 22, Rahm Emanuel changed the history of the Windy City.

Last Sept. 7, Richard M. Daley announced that he was not going to run for re-election. We all got caught in a whirlwind of news, names of prospective candidates and predictions. Names were dropped in and out every day from the list of candidates. Chicago got into a campaign mode with candidates everywhere greeting people.

Tags: bulgaria, chicago, chicago mayor, communism, depaul university, op-ed, richard daley

Ex-Ald. Oberman: Campaigns need public financing to be fair

By Evan Taylor

Martin J. Oberman served as alderman of Chicago’s 43^rd Ward from 1975 to 1987. He was an acknowledged expert of the city budget and a constant adversary of the Chicago City Council’s heavy-handed political majority.

After leaving the City Council, Oberman was appointed Chairman of the Shore Protection Commission, which was tasked with doing a rehabilitation of Chicago’s shoreline while ensuring environmental protection. He ran for Illinois Attorney General in 1981, 1986 and again in 1994. Currently, he is a lawyer in private practice.

Here are some observations he had about the Feb. 22 election:

Tags: 43rd ward, alderman, carol moseley-braun, chicago, city council, election 2011, gery chico, martin oberman, miguel del valle, rahm emanuel, shore protection commission

Smith escapes penalty in 43rd despite election rule-breaking

By Zoe Barker and Jennifer Schanz

In a city that’s made a name for itself out of back alley politicians and shady campaigning, accusations of foul play before an election could be a good way to flounder, but apparently not for Michele Smith.

The 43rd Ward Committeewoman and Chicago Aldermanic candidate received 38 percent of votes Feb. 22, leaving her and Tim Egan, who received 29 percent, to face each other in a runoff in April. An impressive majority one might say, given Smith ran against nine other candidates.

Tags: 43rd ward, barb guttmann, chicago alderman, election 2011, friends of michele smith, illinois state board of elections, michele smith, rick bohn, runoff, tim egan, vi daley

Moseley Braun disappears—on her Facebook page

By Megan Ashley

Facebook proved to be a popular campaign tool during Chicago’s mayoral election. Candidates used the social media platform to reach voters, contact volunteers, share pictures and educate potential supporters.

You might even say it predicted the winner: Rahm Emanuel had 59,897 followers on Tuesday, with Gery Chico at 5,036, Miguel del Valle 4,250 and Carol Moseley Braun 1,646.

Tags: carol moseley-braun, chicago mayor, election 2011, facebook, gery chico, miguel del valle, rahm emanuel, social media

Election 2011: Lots of sizzle—but where were voters?

Aldermanic candidate Mitch Newman plants a sign of his own—directly in front of Rahm Emanuels sign—in the 43rd Ward. (Photo by Paige Wagenknecht)

It was one of the most historic Chicago mayoral elections in decades, with Rahm Emanuel now facing arguably the most daunting fiscal challenges since the Great Fire of 1871. But it was decided with only 40 percent of the eligible voters casting ballots, or about 10 percent less than predicted by officials.

That didn’t keep the day from being lively. Here’s a citywide, scrapbook look, compiled by DePolitics1011 staffers and other sources, at election-related happenings from start to finish.

Tags: brooke anderson, carol moseley-braun, chicago, chicago mayoral election, da new boss, depaul university, election 2011, fox news, gery chico, jesse white, mayor daley, miguel del valle, mike quigley, nbc, rahm, rahm emanuel, richard daley, tom petty, U2, wonzo zl