Mayoral Candidate Rahm Emanuel accepts the endorsement of Teamsters Joint Council 25, Jan. 25, 2011, in Chicago.
Paul Beaty/Chicago News Cooperative
One day after a state appellate court panel struck Rahm Emanuel from the mayoral ballot, Chicago’s Teamsters union endorsed the former White House Chief of Staff for mayor.
“It is clear that Rahm Emanuel is the only choice for the Teamsters in this election,” Teamsters Joint Council 25 President John Coli said Tuesday during a news conference with Emanuel at the city’s wholesale produce market. “In light of yesterday’s attempt to remove our candidate from the mayoral ballot, the Teamsters want to pledge our full support to Rahm Emanuel and the validity of his candidacy.”
Coli noted that polls have shown Emanuel was the “clear front-runner” in the campaign for the Feb. 22 mayoral election. A majority of Teamsters preferred him in a recent internal survey.
Coli accused the two appellate court justices who ordered Emanuel off the ballot in a 2-1 ruling Monday of “subverting democracy.”
Emanuel stood quietly as his newly minted ally attacked the unfavorable ruling. He avoided questions about his legal strategy to try to reverse the decision, saying only that his lawyers filed an appeal to the state’s high court earlier Tuesday.
And Emanuel declined to say whether he thinks Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke should recuse herself from taking part in the case. Burke’s husband, Edward M. Burke, is a powerful alderman and Democratic ward boss whose organization has helped Gery Chico‘s mayoral campaign.
“The Supreme Court and the individuals there will make their own decision of their position,” Emanuel said. “Obviously, the Illinois Supreme Court is the highest court for the state and the people up there have the capacity to make this judgment.”
The Teamsters represent about 3,000 city workers, including drivers of garbage trucks and snow plows. In a proposal that has raised fears among city workers, Emanuel has said he would give city garbage crews 9 months to show that they can perform more efficiently than private companies that would bid to do the same tasks.
Coli said he thought the Emanuel plan would “reform and improve garbage collection.”
The Teamsters leader also said he did not think Emanuel would cut pensions for current city workers as well as new hires. Coli contradicted leaders of other labor groups, including the police union, who cited Emanuel’s pension stand as they endorsed Chico or remained neutral in the mayor’s race.