Issues Rahm Emanuel Will Take on as Possible Chicago Mayor

President Barack Obama welcomed the press "to the least suspenseful announcement of all time." Rahm Emanuel left his position as Chief of Staff on Fri., Oct. 1, and he's returning to Chicago to "explore other opportunities" but hasn't gone on record to say he's running for Chicago mayor. His site, ChicagoforRahm.com, was made available on Sat., Oct. 2.

On Mon., Oct. 4, when he hits the streets to start his mayoral run to replace Mayor Richard Daley, here are some of the challenges he may be faced with.

The home he owns is one he can't move back into because the new tenant Robert "Rob" P. Halpin extended his lease until June 2011. Six days before Mayor Richard Daley announced he wasn't running, Halpin renewed his original lease that was from Sept. 1, 2009 to Sept. 1, 2010. Although Emanuel has found another place of residency on Chicago's north side, he will face challenges about not living in Chicago. The city requirement to run for mayor is maintenance of a residence in the city for one year before the election, Feb. 22, 2011.

However, although Halpin and his wife Lori maintained residency while the Chief of Staff was in Washington, he never sold the home. There are mixed arguments about whether Emanuel will be kicked out of the upcoming mayoral run because of that, but Election Board spokesman Jim Allen confirms that as long as the property was kept up, Emanuel voted absentee in elections and maintained Illinois voter registration, then Emanuel would be treated like a soldier going overseas. Although he wasn't physically there, he'd still be considered a resident.

Voters will want to know how Emanuel plans to deal with the $654.7 million debt that still hasn't been fixed by Mayor Daley. Although Mayor Daley has intentions of balancing the budget before he leaves office, there's still the likelihood that that won't happen. However, Emanuel is no stranger to money management. In 1989, he was a senior adviser and chief fundraiser for Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley's campaign. He was also the national finance director for the 1992 Clinton campaign from 1993 to 1998. President Obama acknowledged Emanuel's work with helping to rebuild the economy and the middle class.

Jesse Jackson Jr., who was initially rumored to run for Chicago mayor, challenged the idea that Emanuel would end up running a national campaign instead of a local campaign. Emanuel, who is no stranger to Chicago but has insider White House knowledge, may have to prove that he can separate his experiences with the White House with just taking care of only Midwest issues.

For the Chicago voters who are anti-Obama, anti-health care reform, pro-war and those who paid attention to what Gloria Steinem said about her opinions of his views on women's rights, he'll be asked to explain those topics, too. And although Emanuel was never called to the witness stand in the Blagojevich trial, opposers will be gunning for information on his involvement with the former Governor.

Sources:
"Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel" (The White House site)
"Gloria Steinem Weighs in on Potential Chicago Mayor and Governor Candidates"
"Goodbye, Rahm" (The White House blog)
"Jesse Jackson Jr. Mute on Blagojevich Case but Plenty to Say About Rahm Emanuel"
"Rahm Emanuel kept out of Chicago home by tenant?"
"Rahm Emanuel plans mayoral campaign day Monday. Cabinet members at send off"