![obama visited gay bars in chicago obama visited gay bars in chicago](https://www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20130907__17344d5d-0d20-4672-955c-119427be006ep2.jpg)
![obama visited gay bars in chicago obama visited gay bars in chicago](https://andscape.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/obamaout.jpg)
Rahm Emanuel: It's a little of both, but it's more surprise. But I do want to ask if these challenges surprise you, or do you feel it's "politics as usual?" WCT: I don't want to get too deep in the residency bit. It's one of the greatest cities to do business in, one of the greatest cities to raise a family inthat's gotta be true going forward as well. I want my kids to know that this is homeand the decisions we make will determine whether the city stays at that fighting weight with London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore. When I got done with college, I came home to Chicago. When I left the Clinton White House, I came home to Chicago. But we're at a crossroadsand I think the folks know that we have to turn the page begin a new era, building on what's happened but maybe taking things in a different direction. Sometimes I feel like, when I was working with President Obama or being elected to Congress from the North Side, all of those things prepared me for dealing with the greatest city with the greatest people in the country. The mayor can get things done, put in place a set of policies. My uncle's a police officer and my father immigrated in 1959 to Chicago, to practice medicine, with my mother. My grandfather came to the city in 1917 he immigrated here from Russia and Romania. What is it about the position that you find so attractive? Windy City Times: I remember hearing you talk about how if Mayor Daley ever stepped down, you'd like to succeed him. He talked about the fight regarding his residency, DADT and his connection to the very building in which the interview was conducted. 10, Emanuel sat in the Center on Halsted for an exclusive interview with Windy City Times. In addition, the LGBT community is split about Emanuel, with some people linking him to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ( DADT ) policy that originated under Clinton. If the electoral board votes against him, he will be out of the race. However, as practically everyone knows, Emanuel is also in the political fight of his life right now, as well over a dozen people have challenged his residency. Thanks to a variety of factorsnot the least of which is name recognition, thanks to his years in the Clinton and Obama administrations≾manuel is seen as the prohibitive favorite in the 2011 Chicago mayoral race, with various polls placing him squarely in the lead. This article shared 14396 times since Wed Dec 15, 2010įor Rahm Emanuel, this is the best and worst of times.