Should Bill Clinton stay the hell out of Chicago politics?

Don't blame Danny Davis for saying former President Clinton should stay the hell out of the upcoming Chicago mayoral election. Davis, one of the 5 want-to-be mayoral candidates of Chicago was reacting to an announcement that former President Bill Clinton will be in the Windy City to endorse and campaign with Chicago Democratic mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel in January.

Prior to Davis' statement, CNN had already made the announcement by stating – “President Bill Clinton will endorse and campaign with Chicago Democratic mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel.” The question that immediately came to mind was – Aren't all of the Chicago mayoral candidates members of the Democratic party?

Having the so-called Godfather of the Democratic party stump on behalf of one of the Democratic candidates or against fellow Democrats, in my opinion seems stupid and insulting to the people of Chicago.

Clinton is known to stump hard and at times play dirty. When he stumps for a candidate, he has the tendency to deliver a hard-nose repudiation of the candidate's opponent and talk about the opponent’s "radical ideas" to cutting government spending, etc. Bringing Clinton into Chicago's “all-Democrat” mayoral candidates fight, does not seem to be a smart political strategy for the Democratic party, nor for Emanuel or for Clinton himself. Clinton has absolutely nothing new to tell the people of Chicago that they are not already aware of regarding the candidates. Most Chicagoans that I spoke with shared the view that Clinton's plan to stump on behalf of Emanuel is unnecessary and the he should stay the hell out of Chicago's “all-Democratic” mayoral fight.

On last Thursday, the Chicago Board of Elections ruled that Emanuel is qualified to run as mayoral candidate for the city of Chicago during the February 22 election. Emanuel served in the Clinton White House for five years before serving as an Illinois congressman and President Obama's chief of staff, a post he left earlier this year to run for mayor.

List of Chicago's “all-Democrat” mayoral candidates:

Carol Mosley Braun – Born August 16, 1947 and educated in the Chicago public school system. Braun graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1969 and earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Chicago in 1972. Braun was first elected to public office in 1978, as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives. From 1999 until 2001, she was the United States Ambassador to New Zealand. She was a candidate for the Democratic nomination during the 2004 U.S. presidential election. Braun was the first and, the only, African-American woman elected to the United States senate and one of six African-Americans ever to be elected to the mostly all-white-male United States Senate.

Since 1870, the United States Senate has had ONLY 6 African-American Senators. Two out of the six were Republicans elected during the Reconstruction era and four out of the six were elected in modern era. The last three African- Americans or Blacks to serve in the U.S Senate were from Illinois – Carol Mosley Braun, president elect Barack Obama and Roland Burris. The 112^th Congressional session will not include any African-Americans.

Gery Chico – Born on August 24, 1956, Chico is a Chicago civic and educational leader, a small business owner, and a lawyer. He is the former chief of staff to Mayor Richard Daley, former president of the Chicago Public School board, former president of the Chicago Park District, and former chairman of the City Colleges of Chicago. His family is from Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood. Chico attended Lady of Good Counsel at 35th and Hermitage and graduated from Kelly High School. He earned his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Illinois – Chicago (UIC) and his law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1985 where he was a member of the Law Review.

Danny Davis – Born September 6, 1941, Daniel K. (Danny) Davis is the U.S. Representative for Illinois's 7th congressional district, serving since 1997. Davis was born in Parkdale, Arkansas, and educated at Arkansas AM&N College (B.A. 1961), Chicago State University (M.S. 1968) and the Union Institute & University in Cincinnati, Ohio (Ph.D. 1977). Davis worked as a government clerk, a high school teacher, executive director of the Greater Lawndale Conservation Commission, director of training at the Martin L. King Neighborhood Health Center, and executive director of the Westside Health Center before entering politics.

Davis was a member of the Chicago City Council from 1979 to 1990, where he represented Chicago's 29th Ward. Davis was elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners, serving from 1990 to 1996 before entering the House. Davis was unsuccessful in his run against Mayor Richard M. Daley in the 1991 Democratic mayoral primary.

Miguel Del Valle – Born July 24, 1951, Miguel Del Valle is the current City Clerk of Chicago and the former Illinois State Senator for the 2nd district of Chicago, which he had served since 1987. Del Valle was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in the predominately Puerto Rican West Town and Humboldt Park neighborhoods of Chicago. He graduated from Tuley High School (now Roberto Clemente Community Academy) in 1969 and went on to Northeastern Illinois University where he joined the Union for Puerto Rican Students and wrote for the Puerto Rican/Latina/o publication Que Ondee Sola. He earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Education and Guidance. He also holds an honorary degree from National Louis University.

Rahm Israel Emanuel – Born November 29, 1959, Emanuel is the former White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama. He served as Senior Advisor to President Clinton at the White House from 1993 to 1998 and as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Illinois 5th congressional district, from 2003 until his resignation in 2009 to take up his position in the Obama Administration.

Emanuel was chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee during the 2006 mid-term elections and remained a top strategist for House Democrats during the 2008 cycle. After Democrats regained control of the House in 2006, Emanuel was elected chairman of the Democratic Caucus. Two days after Obama's election victory, he was announced as Barack Obama's designate for White House Chief of Staff. Emanuel resigned from the House on January 2, 2009 and began his duties as Chief of Staff on January 20, 2009, the day of Obama's inauguration.

He attended public schools: Romona School, Locust Junior High School, and New Trier West High School. He and his brothers attended summer camp in Israel, including just after the 1967 Six Day War. While in high school and working at Arby's restaurant, Emanuel severely cut his right middle finger on a meat slicer. He sought medical attention only after suffering severe infection from swimming in Lake Michigan and as a result of the wound, the finger had to be partially amputated. He took ballet lessons as a boy and is a graduate of the Evanston School of Ballet. He won a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet but turned it down to attend Sarah Lawrence College, a liberal arts school with a strong dance program. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College in 1981 with a B.A. in Liberal Arts, he holds M.A. in Speech and Communication from Northwestern University in 1985. While still an undergraduate, he joined the congressional campaign of David Robinson of Chicago. During the 1991 Gulf War, Emanuel volunteered with the Israel Defense Forces.