Bernie Sanders Snubs Rahm During Latest Chicago Visit

By Mae Rice in News on Dec 24, 2015 3:39PM

CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 23: Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, (I-VT) speaks during a news conference. (Photo by Joshua Lott/Getty Images)

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders appeared at University of Illinois Wednesday, where he called for police reform on a stage flanked by supporters, most of them black and Latino.

"We need real police reform and the truth is that lethal force should be the last option, not the first option," he said, according to ABC7.

Celebrities also shared the stage with Sanders, from rapper Killer Mike to Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream of Vermont, Sanders' home state.

(In a way, Illinois is Sanders’ home state, too: He graduated from University of Chicago in 1964.)

Sanders also told reporters he would not seek Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s endorsement for his campaign.

"If the question is whether I want or need Rahm Emanuel’s support for president, the answer—in all due respect to the mayor—[is] no, I don’t," he said, according to Reuters.

In fact, before appearing at University of Illinois, Sanders spoke at a Mexican restaurant in Little Village accompanied by Emanuel’s one-time rival: Jesus Chuy Garcia, who lost the mayoral election to Emanuel after a run-off earlier this year.