Words, Apparently, Can Hurt Mayor Daley

Mayor Daley hasn't been taking the heat directed at him from the prospective candidates to replace him on the Fifth Floor very well. His latest fit of pique came at the expense of Gerry Chico. speaking to reporters at the community college on the Southwest Side named after his father, Daley rejected comments by Chico that the reforms Chico and former public schools CEO Paul Vallas were squandered after they left the system in 2001.

Daley chalked up Chico's comments to his mayoral campaign, saying "that candidates will say a lot of things." He also shared that Chico, his former chief of staff, never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever mentioned" that he felt the reform mandate for the school system "lost momentum" under Vallas's successors, Arne Duncan and Ron Huberman.

Coming on the heels of critical statements from James Meeks and Rahm Emanuel that Daley also had a hard time brushing off, we have to ask how May Day will be reacting when we reach the election, or once he has to start packing up his things to make way for his successor. Daley may not be running, but those looking to replace him are running as much against his record as they are their own platforms. Unfortunately for Daley, the past couple of years haven't been wine and roses, and he may be finding finding out a little more each day what it's like to be a lame duck.