Rahm Emanuel is the Mayor of Chicago. Before becoming mayor, Emanuel served as Barack Obama’s White House Chief of Staff, Congressman from Illinois, Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Clinton administration Senior Advisor for Policy and Strategy.
Harvard Political Review: You have worked as a congressman and in the White House, under both President Obama and President Clinton. How has your previous experience in the federal government informed the way you run Chicago?
Rahm Emanuel: I think I learned a tremendous amount from two great presidents, both on the policy and political side. Getting that experience was invaluable.
The other thing [is that] as mayor, you also preside over the City Council. So you are also head of a legislative body. Being in the legislative branch has helped me figure out how to work with legislators, and working in the executive branch has helped me understand the role of the mayor: setting the goals and putting things back together.
I can tell you that I’m glad to have had all those experiences before being mayor, and that I’m the mayor I am because I’ve had those experiences. I think I would have been a better chief of staff if I had been mayor first, because I would have had a better sense of how things roll out on the city level.
HPR: Since the mass shootings in Cornell Square Park, Chicago’s citizens have become increasingly concerned for public safety, and violence is once again a critical issue in the public eye. How will future attempts to reduce violence differ from past efforts?
RE: I don’t agree with you on the premise that crime is what Chicago is about; it’s an aspect of our city, but it’s not who we are. Look, our overall crime rate is down 24 percent, and I can give you the data. Shootings are down 23 percent.
We’ve had a flood of guns, and I’d like to have the same type of gun laws that Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York enjoy, laws that you don’t have with Wisconsin and Indiana. We take more guns off the streets in the city of Chicago than either New York or Los Angeles do, and we’re working to get a safer city.
HPR: What worries you most as a mayor? What are some of the toughest challenges Chicago faces in the foreseeable future?
RE: The biggest opportunity and the biggest challenge is education. It’s the biggest opportunity because it offers the greatest gains. We’re making major gains on our test scores and gains
on our graduation rate. More schools now than ever before are considered level one, and we added 53 this year alone to a total of over 170.
On the other hand, our graduation rate is 65 percent, and when I ran, it was 53 percent. We’re really moving, but having only a high school education is equivalent of being unemployed. You need a college degree to be competitive in the job market. And getting our kids college-ready is my biggest goal.
This interview has been edited and condensed.