Garcia's First TV Ad Calls Out Emanuel On Crime, Tax Incentives

By Margaret Paulson in News on Feb 12, 2015 7:00PM

Mayoral candidate and Cook County commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia released his first TV ad Wednesday, less than two weeks before the Feb. 24 mayoral election.

Garcia is only the second candidate to run a television ad (after Emanuel, of course). Turns out, after little-known mayoral candidate William J. Kelly donated $100,000 to his own campaign back in October, effectively removing contribution limits per a quirky Illinois law, Garcia’s got plenty of cash in the coffers from major labor union contributions.

In the ad, Garcia decries Chicago’s “10,000 shootings in the past four years” and vows to put 1,000 more police officers on the street. He also manages to fit in a jab at the hundreds of millions in tax breaks the mayor has provided to corporations. Garcia is poised to spend more than $600,000 on TV and radio ads, which is actually a paltry sum compared to the more than $4.1 million Rahm has spent on Chicago broadcast and cable ads since November 2014.

Still, Garcia has the labor unions behind him, starting with Chicago Teacher Union president Karen Lewis’ endorsement last fall. A recent search of the Illinois State Board of Elections Contributions List reveals that the majority of Garcia’s funding comes from labor unions and their associated PACs. From the time he announced his candidacy to post, Garcia has received contributions through Garcia for Chicago totaling more than $989,000.