Chicago politics reporter says voters will miss Rahm Emanuel

Chicago politics reporter Mary Ann Ahern said Tuesday on “Rising” that the city’s residents would miss retiring Mayor Rahm Emanuel. 

“People are going to miss Mayor Emanuel,” Ahern, a reporter for NBC5, told hosts Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton. 

“They actually came to like him even though he was tough and hard to deal with, especially as a reporter,” she continued. 

“I was just recently in City Hall, we went to do an interview with him, folks in the elevator said where are you going, we told them, and they said ‘you tell him he shouldn’t be leaving,” she said. “Of course on your way out, folks are saying wait a minute really? They don’t want change. They’re nervous about change.” 

Emanuel, who was previously chief of staff to former President Obama, announced last year he would not be seeking another term as mayor. 

Chicago voters will cast their ballots for the Windy City’s next mayor on Tuesday. 

There are fourteen candidates in the race, marking one of the largest elections in Chicago’s history. 

It is likely that no candidate will win 50 percent of the vote, meaning the two candidates with the most votes will face off in a runoff on April 2. 

— Julia Manchester