This racist mayor cannot be rewarded by this administration

There's absolutely no reason why Rahm Emanuel should be rewarded with a public office after his awful mayoral tenure, especially one in which he is representing the United States on a global stage. 

Dear MoveOn member,

This Wednesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will be holding a hearing for former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has been nominated to be ambassador to Japan—and we need to act now to stop his nomination. 

Wednesday, October 20, is also the seven-year anniversary of the Chicago Police Department's murder of a 17-year-old Black child, Laquan McDonald—and as mayor, Emanuel suppressed the video footage of his murder in order to aid his re-election campaign.¹

Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen are on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Click here to send them an email urging them to vote against Emanuel's nomination in his upcoming hearing.

Emanuel's track record speaks for itself: In addition to hiding the footage of McDonald's murder, he made history by closing 50 public schools across Chicago, primarily in the majority-Black South and West Sides of the city—the most school closures at one time in any school district in the nation.² During his first year in office, his administration shut down half of the public mental health clinics across Chicago.³

Emanuel had an absolutely disastrous record as mayor between 2011 and 2019. His decisions and policies had a disproportionate and racist impact on Black communities, and his agenda aided corporations and the wealthy at the expense of working Chicagoans. He should not be rewarded with an ambassadorship, and the members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (especially the Democrats) have the power to send a clear message by rejecting his nomination.

Can we count on you to send Sens. Cardin and Van Hollen an email calling on them to reject Emanuel's nomination as ambassador? 

After taking office, Emanuel eliminated the city's Department of Environment, causing environmental regulation to drop considerably. Communities of color throughout Chicago have borne the brunt of this decision, and thousands of people (primarily Black families) have been exposed to chemical hazards and irritants as a result. And while his administration was consistently slashing public services and utilities, the city funded the construction of a brand-new $95 million police academy in Chicago's West Side.⁴

In addition to closing 50 schools, Emanuel repeatedly attacked public unions by supporting legislation that would make it harder for teachers to strike, laid off hundreds of school staff, and threatened to lay off hundreds of city employees in order to privatize some city services.⁵

We need to raise our voices about Rahm Emanuel—and it starts with your contacting Sens. Cardin and Van Hollen and demanding that they reject Emanuel's nomination on Wednesday, the seven-year anniversary of Laquan McDonald's murder, which Emanuel tried to cover up for his own political benefit.

There's absolutely no reason why Rahm Emanuel should be rewarded with a public office after his awful mayoral tenure, especially one in which he is representing the United States on a global stage. 

Thanks for all you do.

–Arvin, Mohammad, Emma, Jaira, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Rahm Emanuel's coverup of Laquan McDonald's death can't be forgotten," MSNBC, August 24, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/159335?t=10&akid=308490%2E53570607%2EmRT4Q5

2. "Rahm Emanuel's schools legacy: Record grad rates, but he also closed 50 schools," Chicago Sun-Times, May 10, 2019
https://act.moveon.org/go/147117?t=12&akid=308490%2E53570607%2EmRT4Q5

3. "Rahm Emanuel closed half of Chicago's mental health clinics. What was the impact — and will Lightfoot reopen them?" Chicago Tribune, June 6, 2019
https://act.moveon.org/go/147118?t=13&akid=308490%2E53570607%2EmRT4Q5 "Mayor Rahm

4. Emanuel's controversial plan for $95 million police academy sails through City Council," Chicago Tribune, March 13, 2019
https://act.moveon.org/go/147120?t=15&akid=308490%2E53570607%2EmRT4Q5

5. "Transport unions say Rahm Emanuel leading DOT would be a 'betrayal'," The Intercept, December 1, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/147121?t=17&akid=308490%2E53570607%2EmRT4Q5

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