Chicago Magazine Talks to Tom Dart

Earlier this year, when everyone in the city was lining up to run for mayor, Cook County sheriff Tom Dart seemed like a natural front-runner. Popular with independents, liberals, South side ethnics and African American voters, he seemed like a sure thing to challenge Rahm Emanuel's powerhouse run for City Hall. And then he dropped out of the race, citing family obligations.

Now, while Emanuel defends his residency and James Meeks and others try to fend off questions about the veracity of notarized petitions, Dart sat down with Chicago Magazine to talk about his family, running for office and being a state representative in Springfield. There's some great answers in the interview, but for us, the real treat is Dart describing how he would mess with a cynical and disinterested state legislator named Rod Blagojevich: "He’d get pissed when I’d mess it (Blago's hair) up, tousle it as he was going out the door to run. I’d say, “You have to go comb your hair again.” "

You should go read the whole piece, fascinating in how candid Dart is with interviewer Carol Felsenthal.