Jesus "Chuy" Garica is garnering wide support throughout Chicago, but has a very strong Latino base.
Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's top challenger, did not like Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner's proposed budget, labeling it "Essentially Scott Walker’s Wisconsin agenda on 'steroids' and one that protects wealthy corporations and individuals from paying their fair share of taxes while preserving their tax privileges by slashing services for ordinary Illinois residents."
What does this have to do with the upcoming Chicago Mayoral Election?
I will get to that.
On Nov. 21, 2014, Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas, endorsed Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, for Mayor of Chicago. Garcia, a Cook County Board Commissioner, has been running a remarkable grassroots campaign, using all the "guerrilla" tactics at his disposal necessary when taking on a well-funded opponent that has raised nearly $30 million dollars in campaign donations from friends. A well-known and well-heeled incumbent, no less, in Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
In fact, Cook County Clerk David Orr says that so many of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's large donors are also profiting from their ties to City Hall. Translated that means "pay-to-play politics" is still alive and well in Chicago.
The latest poll conducted by the Ogden and Fry firm shows the election will result in a runoff between Chuy and Rahm. Another poll commissioned by the Chicago Tribune shows essentially the same thing: The election on Tuesday, Feb. 24, will force the election into a runoff to be held on April 7.
It is clear that Mayor Emanuel sees "Chuy" as his biggest threat in avoiding a runoff election. Chicago Forward Independent Expenditure campaign, says the "Chuy" campaign, is financed in large part by Ken Griffin and David Herro. Chicago Forward recently launched an ad blitz attacking "Chuy."
Carol Marin, Chicago's most respected journalist, appears to be advocating an "Anybody But Rahm" vote, but she is not. She does want the race to be forced into a runoff. Not because she favors Emanuel necessarily, but because the runoff will be held on Tuesday, April 7, when the weather will be warmer and turnout higher. Marin believes the city deserves a "debate" on the issues.
Money will still matter, but maybe not so much because Chuy will receive equal treatment with "earned media." That is, free media. Besides, in a runoff, Chuy is bound to raise large sums of money quickly.
The criticism is that Emanuel is buying this election.
“At the national level, we have the Koch brothers; at the local level we have Herro and Griffin,” said Orr. “These big money special interests finance the mayor’s campaign and in return they get tax breaks and other rewards from City Hall. The big money wins; Mayor Emanuel wins; the only people who lose are the rest of us.”
Just last week, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, delivered his long-awaited budget address today, and Chuy did not like it one bit.
Now a word about the connection between the Rauner budget and Rahm Emanuel. "Chuy" is tying Rauner to Emanuel, by likening the Rauner approach to the past 4 years under Mayor Emanuel.
"The Mayor has balanced the City budget on the backs of working people for four years through regressive fees like the red light cameras and regressive taxes like the cell phone tax. Now, his friend the Governor is taking a page from his playbook and trying to balance the state budget by cutting programs that serve working people,” said Garcia. “The Mayor says he will stand up to Governor Rauner, but how can you stand up to an agenda when you are part of it?" Garcia added, "The Mayor says he has been fighting for Chicago, so he is either not telling the truth, or he is just not very good at it. In either case, I am confident voters will reject the Rauner-Rahm approach to politics on Election Day next Tuesday."
"Budget cuts will fall hardest on those least able to afford them, says Garcia, who charges Emanuel has failed to stand up to his friend in the governor’s mansion," said Garcia as he neatly ties his opponent, Mayor Emanuel, to Rauner.
The first line of attack against the Rauner budget is one that will likely come from every mayor and village manager in Illinois. Rauner is "Proposing draconian cuts to vital services - what mayoral candidate Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia is calling an open assault on Chicago residents with its $125 million cut to the city’s portion of state income tax revenue and an approximately $55 million in cuts from the CTA."
Garcia said Rauner’s proposed cuts would devastate front-line services in health care, transportation, education and public safety. He added, “This proposed budget is essentially Scott Walker’s Wisconsin agenda on steroids -- one that protects wealthy corporations and individuals from paying their fair share of taxes while preserving their tax privileges by slashing services for ordinary Illinois residents.”
Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia, Rahm slayer.
The Rauner budget will create untold suffering for ordinary people, says Chuy. "The budget impact mothers seeking affordable daycare, college-bound students, public transit users, neighborhoods struggling with violence, health care providers and their patients, families with autistic children, homeless youth, refugees, hungry families, addiction prevention services and more - essentially every state program designed to address the needs of everyday Chicagoans," says Chuy.
According to very early estimated impacts on health services in City of Chicago, Rauner’s budget jeopardizes more than $135 million in supplemental payments to 16 Chicago safety-net hospitals and could cut upwards of $60 million from Chicago nursing homes. That’s an amount that would pay for care for 1,500 nursing home residents or for 2,500 direct care workers. Rauner’s estimated cut of about $80 million from seniors receiving home care in Chicago could effectively end home care for thousands in the city.
According to very early estimates of impacts on child care in the City of Chicago, child care for half or more of children receiving subsidized child care in Chicago would be eliminated. Approximately 55,000 children are receiving CCAP subsidized care in the city.
Health and human service cuts would hit some of the most vulnerable in Chicago communities, with cuts to early Intervention, infant mortality reduction, and breast and cervical cancer screening/prevention.
As Carol Marin said, a serious debate about the issue is "needed" and that means a "runoff" is also "needed." The future of the city of Chicago depends on it.
(Support Jesus "Chuy" Garcia with your financial support, by clicking on the Act Blue donation link. Don't let this election be bought by the high-powered special interests).