The Next Mayor of Chicago

by Collin Hitt The search for a new Cubs manager in many ways will be more exciting than watching that guy manage, when the time comes.  The sportswriters guarantee that. And it’ll probably be more fun to receive the job than to have it, at least in the short run.  The sportswriters make sure of...

by Collin Hitt

The search for a new Cubs manager in many ways will be more exciting than watching that guy manage, when the time comes.  The sportswriters guarantee that. And it’ll probably be more fun to receive the job than to have it, at least in the short run.  The sportswriters make sure of that, too. The same goes for the Chicago mayor’s race.

The commentariat is doing its usual handicapping, straw polling, real polling, speculating, soft rooting for their respective favorites.  That’s their job.

But of all the names thrown out there already, and of all the prospective candidates to offer comment, only one person seems to have offered a genuine appreciation for the task that lies ahead for the next mayor.  The Rev. Sen. James  Meeks, on the Capitol Fax Blog, said this:

 “Public schools are in need of overhaul. City colleges are in need of overhaul. The city’s finances are in need of overhaul. The city’s rapport with police officers is at an all-time low. For the new mayor, the sky’s the limit.”

The columnists and commentators are offering their various takes on Daley’s legacy as mayor. But for those interested in the challenges faced by Chicago’s next mayor, Steve Chapman has turned in the best piece yet, which wraps up with a perfect caption.

With a big city budget deficit and a future of diminishing help from the state and federal governments, Daley is leaving before the truly painful decisions have to be made.
Plenty of contenders are scrambling to replace him, which suggests they do not understand what they face. The situation brings to mind what former New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller said when Hugh Carey was elected to his old job in 1974: “He thinks it’s going to be fun being governor. It’s only fun being governor of New York if you have money to spend, and I spent it all.”