Rahm Emanuel: The heart behind the man

Late last night Twitter began to ring about the demolition of Whittier Community Center.  Questions such as why would a building be demolished in the middle of the night and without clearing the books out of the library were raised (for more information about this demolish follow @ctulocal1 on Twitter).  For me, it made me wonder what is Mayor Emanuel's plan? I mean, Chicago has been in the news a lot since he took office and not in a very positive light.  It isn't a secret that this man won an election primarily through an association to President Obama, but his moves don't seem to line up with that association (or does it and we are just failing to see it).  Nevertheless, it lead me to research his background.  I needed to know who is Rahm Emanuel.

The problem with research is it isn't easy to find TRUTH.  The easiest information to find are the political associations; you know the path Emanuel took to become mayor.  While he is known as a democratic, most sites indicate he is highly liberal.  My particular interest, though, were his views on education.  Ontheissue.org shows that while he is not in favor of school vouchers he does believe in more choices within the public school system.  The National Education Association gives the mayor a 100% rating; which indicates pro-public education votes. He voted yes on a bill  to lower student loan interest rates; provide $59 million for a new Predominantly Black Serving Institution program; $25 million for a new graduate Hispanic Serving Institution program; provide for year- round Pell grants; and repeal the Single Lender rule.

This all sounds good and dandy, right?  That is until you consider the huge fight Emanuel is having with the Chicago Teacher's Union and the closing of at least 50 schools (while making plans to expand the stadium and renovate Navy Pier).  My research lead me to this article: Rahm Emanuel losing control of his city

It does not answer all of the questions I have but it does give insight to several things:

• Rahm Emanuel promised a transparency administration which he has not fulfilled.
• While his approval rating is sinking, it isn't something that he is likely concerned about given that Chicago is one-party city
• To win an election takes money, which Emanuel has plenty of

Basically in hindsight, Chicago elected a mayor with nothing to lose.  He has the ability to create his own machine and he is doing just that!  

What does it mean for the people?  It doesn't mean that you stop fighting for what you believe in.   This is definitely something we can learn from.  For starters, stop letting associations rule!  I'm not sure if doing more background on this mayor would have lead people to a different vote but this is definitely a situation that shows associations mean nothing.  Secondly, an evaluation needs to be done to determine if the School Board can make decisions in the best interest of the student when their jobs are appointed by the mayor. Seems like a huge conflict!!!  Thirdly, hold people accountable.  It is our job to remind the politician that they are there to serve the people, which includes you.  Write letters, join agencies/organizations that believe in your cause, but don't just sit and complain.  Nothing ever changed because a person sat on their couch and yelled at the TV.  Lastly, don't just register, GET TO THE POLLS for all elections.  

See, we may never be able to answer the question as to why Rahm Emanuel is making the decisions he is (although Mark Guarino offers a compelling one), but we can be sure about one thing; what is in the heart eventually shows up in your daily life.