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Chicago is the third-largest city in the United States. Home to more than 2.7 million people, it is battling some of the same crises as other major urban centers in the country: declining population, poorly performing public schools, high crime, and a growing pension crisis. On April 7, Chicago voters went to the polls to participate in the first mayoral runoff since the city moved to nonpartisan mayoral elections in 1999. The battle was framed as an internal Democratic Party struggle that pitted Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a centrist, against progressive Cook County commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia. After the votes were tallied, Emanuel won re-election by a comfortable 56-44% margin, but doing so cost millions of dollars and the fact that the election went to a runoff, especially after Emanuel’s biggest challengers dropped out of the race prior to the first round of voting, was deemed as a blow to Emanuel’s political reputation. Emanuel must now deal with the city’s economic problems, its teachers’ union, and a city council that is growing more progressive. His success in doing so may determine whether he is able to achieve higher national office in the future.
Since “state and local issues” are an important facet of United States Extemp at the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament, this topic brief will provide a summary of the major issues in the Chicago election, explain why Emanuel was able to win, and then analyze the fiscal challenges Emanuel will face over his next term.
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