Emanuel Grades Himself "Incomplete"

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 17, 2011 2:00PM

Illustration by Prescott Carlson/Chicagoist

Mayor Emanuel held a nice tidy press conference today to assess his first 30 days in office. Standing in front of two giant checklists of the promises he said he's fulfilled since taking office, Emanuel gave himself an incomplete grade -- as he should since he's only been in office a month -- but he said being mayor is a "great job" because of the way a decision can immediately impact the city.

“There were times I left Congress — and I loved it —I’d get on a plane. I’d come down and do my Congress On Your Corner at the grocery store and they had no idea what I was doing. On my way home, I asked the same question of myself. What was I doing in Washington? Here, you can make a decision and impact people’s lives.”

Among the notable accomplishments Emanuel listed were the redeployment of 650 cops, protected bike lanes, the release of appropriations, salaries of city employees and lobbyist data, ethics reforms and bringing 2,700 private sector jobs to the city. (We would add the fight he and the School Board seem to be picking with the Chicago Teachers Union to the list but understand why Emanuel would want to focus on the positives.)

How much of this is directly related to Emanuel and what was already in the works in the overlap between the Daley and Emanuel mayoralships is to be determined. But Rahm will take credit for it.