Rahm Emanuel Struggles Politically Amid Chicago's Woes

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has put some of his tough-guy mojo to solving deep problems within his city, but his personality and tactics may ultimately be his political undoing, suggests a profile story in Politico's magazine.

Calling him "Mayor Hurt Locker" — a tag comparing his job in struggling and violent Chicago to diffusing bombs — Politico describes the politically connected Emanuel's struggles to navigate a host of city problems, noting "the city’s perilous financial situation, marked by stratospherically underfunded pension liabilities, comes along with crime that’s too high, schools that don’t produce enough kids who can read or write, cratering infrastructure, awful poverty, racial isolation and an economy much slower than New York’s or LA’s to exit the recession."

As if these undertakings weren't overwhelming, Emanuel is also struggling on the political front as he attempts to manage his political future, including a re-election bid next year, Politico noted, in a profile story by James Warren.

"Rahm is no Ronald Reagan, and as his first term as mayor of a city where that job matters more than just about any other comes to an end, he’s turned out to be more Velcro than Teflon; every misstep, big or small, seems to stick," Warren wrote. "Even the fair-minded seem blind to very impressive accomplishments, and I’m not surprised when a close friend laments to me that he’s 'just not warm and cuddly.' Folks simply don’t cut him much slack."

Among Emanuel's latest gaffes drawing citizen ire and political fire are his refusal to return funds to drivers who were fined by improperly timed red-light cameras, Breitbart reported. One of his mayoral challengers, Bob Fioretti, has demanded all $7.7 million in improper fines collected be given back.

Emanuel's decision to allow random searches of passenger bags on 145 trains in the city's public transit system has also recently sparked anger, even as the mayor notes the threat of terrorism, particularly the homegrown kind, is real, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

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