Emanuel’s tenants tenacious on lease
Voters may also snub White House official’s return
CHICAGO – If Rahm Emanuel wants to run for Chicago mayor, the White House chief of staff will have to persuade voters to do what the couple leasing his Chicago house apparently would not: Welcome him home.
Emanuel, widely expected to announce a decision about his candidacy within days, recently called the tenants renting his home on Chicago’s North Side and asked them to move out so he could move back in, spokesman and close friend Rick Jasculca said Tuesday.
But the couple said no. They extended their lease until next year just days before Mayor Richard Daley announced he wouldn’t seek re-election, Jasculca said, and told Emanuel they don’t want to leave.
The unsuccessful pitch is a concrete on-the-ground signal Emanuel is leaning toward leaving President Barack Obama’s administration for a mayoral run.
Emanuel could announce whether he’s running as soon as Friday, a person familiar with his thinking said this week. But prospective opponents already are hinting at plans to exploit his reputation as an outsider more comfortable in Congress than City Hall.