Officials in President Joe Biden’s administration are in talks with former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel about potentially making him a U.S. ambassador to China or Japan, NBC News is reporting.
Emanuel did not respond to a request for comment while the White House didn’t have an immediate statement.
When word got out just after the November election that Emanuel was a possibility for a Biden administration cabinet post, there was swift backlash. Activists loudly criticized Emanuel for his handling of the Chicago police killing of Laquan McDonald. Liberal Democrats also pushed back with New York U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez telling The New York Times that Emanuel would be “a pretty divisive pick” for Biden’s cabinet and would represent “a hostile approach to the grassroots and the progressive wing of the party.”
Meantime, Mayor Lori Lightfoot went on CNN this morning and blamed former President Donald Trump for the impasse between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union over students and teachers resuming in-person classes. Specifically, she argued his mishandling of the COVID-19 outbreak and vaccination rollout triggered the brawl. A day earlier, she told MSNBC the issue was “uniquely local.”
And Lightfoot’s City Council floor leader, a key ally and liaison between her and the 50-member City Council, has stepped down from the role. Villegas, 36th, said he wanted to focus on another committee leadership post, but the two had crossed swords last year, too. So maybe it was just time to move on. He’s being replaced by Ald. Michelle Harris, Lightfoot announced later in the day.
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Josh Lederman and Carol E. Lee with NBC News report: “President Joe Biden is considering former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for a high-profile ambassadorship, potentially to China, three people with knowledge of the discussions said.” The Biden administration also is talking to him about serving as ambassador to Japan, according to their report.
No surprise: Emanuel, a onetime congressman who served as chief of staff in the Obama-Biden administration, was an informal adviser to Biden’s campaign.
“There is precedent for selecting boldface-name political figures to represent the U.S. in both Beijing and Tokyo,” NBC News reports.
The politics: “It’s unclear how some Democrats might react to Emanuel’s getting a critical ambassadorship. Often, such roles go to key political allies and fundraisers or to experts in a particular country or region,” the NBC News report notes.
Other politics news – Candidate who voted as a Democrat in primary can run as a Republican in for Lockport Township assessor, court rules: A close reading of a law that at first blush seemed to prohibit the move led Will County Circuit Court Judge John Anderson “to conclude that nothing explicitly prevented the Democratic voter from running for public office as a Republican,” the Daily Southtown’s Ted Slowik writes. Read his column here.
Ringleader pleads guilty in sports gambling ring allegedly involving now-pardoned Casey Urlacher — Vincent Del Giudice, 55, of Orland Park is facing prison time and an $8 milion judgement, the Tribune’s Jason Meisner reports. The younger brother of the Bears Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher was given a pardon by President Donald Trump in the case. As I reported yesterday, Casey Urlacher — the two-term mayor of tiny Mettawa in Lake County — seems to be hitting the reset button on his political career. He reactivated his mayoral campaign committee after previously saying, amid his legal woes, he wouldn’t seek another term.
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During her appearance this morning on CNN, “Lightfoot didn’t invoke the name of the nation’s 45th president but she suggested the ongoing impasse between Chicago Public Schools and CTU, over whether it is safe to return to in-person instruction as early as Thursday, stems from the failed vaccine rollout under former President Donald Trump,” the Tribune’s Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas reports.
Lightfoot laid out the sticking points during her TV appearance: vaccines and accommodations for teachers with health concerns.
The mayor said “the city has provided thousands of accommodations to teachers who are worried about their safety, but union representatives have stressed too few accommodations were granted. The union also shared a social media post Monday with a link to a December Tribune story regarding the number of accommodation requests that were denied.” Read the full story here.
The mayor and CPS CEO Janice K. Jackson offered an update a short time ago on negotiations between CPS and the teachers union: “As we work toward an agreement that provides families an option to safely return to the classroom, CPS and CTU conferred throughout the day on a small number of remaining issues. We expect discussions to continue into the evening, and we will provide updates as negotiations progress.”
Related: Morton High School District teachers file unfair labor practice charge over return to in-person teaching. Read the Tribune story here.
Illinois passes 1 million COVID-19 vaccination mark as restrictions eased in suburban Cook County, the Tribune’s Jenny Whidden reports.
Biden to send COVID-19 vaccines to pharmacies across U.S. next week, The Associated Press reports.
Chicago officials point residents to website to locate, book COVID-19 vaccination appointments, the Tribune’s Alice Yin and Gregory Pratt report.
St. Patrick’s Day parades canceled for a second year over pandemic, the Tribune’s John Byrne reports.
Some Chicagoans spend years waiting for affordable housing, but a proposed rule change could help close a 120,000-home gap — It could also cushion the blow of a looming eviction crisis once the pandemic breaks, the Tribune’s Darcel Rockett reports.
Ald. Villegas steps down as Mayor Lightfoot’s floor leader
From the Tribune’s Gregory Pratt: “Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s hand-picked floor leader, Ald. Gilbert Villegas, has resigned that position, he announced Tuesday in a letter to constituents.”
Villegas explains: “It has been an honor to serve as the mayor’s floor leader since May 2019, but serving time in this role has pulled me away from where I believe my time is much more valuable for the city — as chairman of Economic, Capital, and Technology Development Committee,” Villegas wrote in the letter.
It was kind of hush-hush: He resigned in late December but agreed to stay on and help with the transition.
His replacement will be South Side Ald. Michelle Harris, Lightfoot announced later in the day.
Other city news: Snow buildup causes partial wall collapse at Aragon Ballroom, sends debris near CTA ‘L’ structure, delays Red, Purple lines. Read the Tribune story here.
Gov. Pritzker, Gov. Whitmer back project to block Asian carp from entering Lake Michigan
The Tribune’s Morgan Greene writes: “The next phase of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ project for the Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet is moving ahead after state and federal funding” was secured. The aim? To block the ‘particularly prolific species of invasive carp that could destroy the balance of the Great Lakes ecosystem and eat their way through the region’s $7 billion fishing industry,'” Green notes.
“Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker last month pledged to work together to keep out the invasive carp,” Greene writes. “Illinois signed on to fund about a third of the estimated $28 million pre-construction engineering and design phase of the Brandon Road project. Michigan offered Illinois up to $8 million and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources will contribute the other $2.5 million. Federal funds will cover the other two-thirds. The entire project is now estimated to cost $858 million.” Read the full story here.
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