April 03--"Who are you voting for in the mayor's race?"
"I'm still not sure. You?"
"Same."
In recent weeks I've been part of or listened to many conversations about next Tuesday's election between Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia that begin more or less like this. They continue along the following lines:
"I mean, I did vote for Chuy in the first round."
"Same."
"But not for him so much. I just didn't want Rahm to coast to re-election."
"Exactly. He's insufferable enough as it is. No coronation! I wanted to see him sweat. Bring him down a few pegs. Remind him not to take his job for granted."
"I had my doubts about Chuy, but I had no doubt it would be good for the city to have a one-on-one race with real debates on real issues instead of that five-way sound bite sandbox fight in Round 1."
"Chuy seems like a nice guy. Earnest. Honest. Experienced enough, though a bit of a back-bencher. But he didn't look then like he was ready to be mayor of a major city in crisis, and, frankly, he still doesn't."
"Where's his plan? He keeps saying he's going to 'sit down' with experts and stakeholders after he's elected and come up with ways to solve the financial crises of the city and the public schools that he can't understand until he takes a closer look at the books? Hello?"
"But of course Rahm's 'plan' takes place in a spun-sugar fairy castle in which Springfield agrees to bail out Chicago and the Illinois Supreme Court approves the pension reform law. He's not exactly a teller of tough truths about the future."
"But he is tough. Tough, brusque. That's his brand. He's made city services more efficient. Rolled back the employee head tax. Fixed the CTA Red Line. Closed all those underutilized, underperforming public schools even though he knew it would be unpopular."
"Part of the reason the school closings were unpopular was that the community hearings were a sham and that he's expanded charter schools while closing neighborhood public schools."
"He's not exactly Mr. Consensus, that's true. He gave us the NATO summit in 2012, speed cameras, a new cellphone tax, a huge expansion of borrowing to pay short-term debt, a longer school year and plans for the Lucas museum on the lakefront and a new basketball arena for DePaul all without much discussion. You remember debate on any of that?"
"No. But I do remember debate on whether we should switch to an elected school board. And I remember the results of referendums in 37 wards on Feb. 24 in which 89 percent of the voters said 'yes.'" And I remember how King Rahm's lackeys maneuvered to prevent the entire city from voting on the question."
"Chuy seems far less arrogant."
"Yet also weaker. What's to make us think he's not going to be a tool of the unions that are putting so much money into his campaign?"
"Yeah, but what's to make us think Rahm's not going to be a tool of the fabulously wealthy who are putting far, far more money into his campaign? And maybe it would be good to have a weaker mayor. Maybe that's how democracy can break out on the City Council."
"Or maybe not. Maybe Chuy would turn out to be former Gov. Pat Quinn with a mustache -- a well-meaning executive without the muscle, the gravitas or the talent for political infighting to get much done."
"I worry about that. He was the progressives' third choice, after all, plucked off the County Board after Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle refused to run and illness sidelined Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis in October. He seems barely up to speed on the issues even now."
"But the reform aldermen and nonunion progressives are strongly behind him. And I always root for the reformers in this town. Remember, Rahm made his bones here as senior adviser and chief fundraiser to Mayor Richard M. Daley, the establishment tough guy who left us this steaming pile of a financial mess."
"Yeah, I dunno. I go back and forth, back and forth."
"Same."
I used to be scornful of those who tell pollsters they are "undecided" in advance of elections featuring starkly contrasting candidates. Get informed, people! Vote your values!
No longer. Many of those with whom I've had a version of the above chat are very well-informed and come from various points on the political spectrum.
Chuy or Rahm?
Two friends who took advantage of early voting this week told me they weren't sure which candidate they were going to select until the moment they took the stylus in hand.
The polls tell us a majority of Chicagoans are solid for Mayor Emanuel. But because of conversations like this, I won't be surprised by whatever happens on Tuesday.
Comments: chicagotribune.com/zorn
