Mayor 1%

October 14, 2013
Chicago-based journalist Lydersen (Goose Island) returns with a study of charismatic Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. It took just six years for the headstrong politico to go from congressman to Barak Obama’s chief of staff. When Richard M. Daley announced he would not seek reelection as mayor of Chicago in 2010, Emanuel set his sights on that office. Once he was elected, Emanuel critics worried that the mayor was spending a disproportionate amount of time with rich and influential movers and shakers, and not enough time on city politics. His approval ratings were not helped by his proposals to reduce library hours, close mental health clinics, and eliminate many city jobs. The author examines Emanuel’s career from a Chicago-centric perspective, paying particular attention to his tenuous relationship with the city’s unions. Lydersen does a fine job of reporting, but is unable to view Emanuel’s tenure outside the union perspective (which is distinctly hostile to the mayor), and the book suffers as a result. Those hoping for a measured assessment of Emanuel’s political career will likely find this book to be biased.

Starred review from November 1, 2013
Famous for his profanity, energy, and astute sense of political opportunity, Emanuel as mayor of Chicago may well be the face of the new Democrat, argues journalist Lydersen. If so, the new Democrat is breaking strong alliances with the unions in favor of wealthy business interests. In his career as a political operative, adviser to the Clinton and Obama administrations, and congressman, Emanuel forged a broader political perspective on issues from the financial crisis to immigration to welfare reform. His investment banking career gave him financial security and a perspective and relationships at odds with those of more traditional Democratic mayors. As mayor, he has bumped heads with the teachers' and city workers' unions, famously provoking the anger of the Occupy Movement during Chicago's hosting of the NATO summit and earning the tag Mayor 1%. Lydersen chronicles the tempestuous Emanuel administration, focused on privatization of the public sector and facing fierce push-back from citizens who see themselves as representing the 99 percent. Drawing on interviews with community activists and vivid scenes of confrontation with the mayor, Lydersen also offers a portrait of resistance to privatization. This is a fascinating look at a fascinating political figure and the broader issues of a changing Democratic Party.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)