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Rahm Touts Construction Plans, Union Benefits in Campaign Stops

By Ted Cox | January 29, 2015 1:59pm | Updated on January 29, 2015 3:53pm
 Mayor Rahm Emanuel picked up a bundle of union endorsements Thursday.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel picked up a bundle of union endorsements Thursday.
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DNAinfo/Ted Cox

RIVER NORTH — The mayor trumpeted a new round of city construction in what would be his second term Thursday, followed by picking up endorsements from unions that have benefited from the building boom.

Speaking on "the state of our city's infrastructure," Mayor Rahm Emanuel addressed the City Club at midday, followed by a campaign event in the West Loop at a union hall.

"Our work is not finished," Emanuel said. "If you're not constantly investing in the future, you're sure to be stuck in the past."

Emanuel laid out a three-pronged approach to that reinvestment, focusing on transit (including repaved roads), parks (which he said raise property values) and economic "anchors" in the neighborhoods.

 Mayor Rahm Emanuel spoke to the City Club Thursday.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel spoke to the City Club Thursday.
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DNAinfo/Ted Cox

Emanuel specifically said he wanted to expand bus rapid transit, protected bike lanes and "rails to trails" improvements such as the Bloomingdale Trail, to be completed this spring. He also spoke in support of designating a Pullman National Park.

He pointed to the Chicago Transit Authority's Red Line reconstruction on the South Side, but also the continuing work on the Blue Line to O'Hare International Airport. Emanuel also cited work done to update the water system and replace antiquated mains and sewers.

He said the city had repaved 1,000 miles of streets in his first term, with plans to do another 1,200 miles in his second, for a total of almost half the city's streets.

And after installing 100 miles of protected bike lanes, he promised another 50 miles of "better bike lanes." He also said Divvy would expand to 475 bike stations with 4,750 bikes.

He called the $12 million investment in Union Station from Amtrak announced Thursday a "down payment" on a planned five-year, $500 million overhaul for the nation's third-busiest railroad terminal.

"If you don't modernize Union Station, you're not gonna have high-speed rail," Emanuel said, adding that in his opinion "Union Station is fighting way below its weight class."

Emanuel set out his agenda to "invest in the city’s infrastructure" in the lunch address. Then he headed to the union headquarters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 600 W. Washington Blvd., where he picked up endorsements from 15 unions, most of them key to that construction, including ironworkers, painters and operating engineers.

Mayoral candidate Willie Wilson questioned the racial diversity of those unions, but when asked about that Emanuel lashed back that he is the only candidate drawing support from the entire city, not just one racial or ethnic group.

Emanuel also cited his endorsement by the firefighters' union, saying it was "based on trust," with a new contract, and not on any quid pro quo promises on pension reform.

Emanuel faces four challengers in the Feb. 24 municipal election: Wilson, Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia (D-Chicago), Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd) and William "Dock" Walls. He's trying to not only win, but earn more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff between the top two April 7.

Emanuel has boasted of a Downtown building boom, especially along the Chicago River, and said there were seven construction cranes operating when he took office, and more than 25 now, with an estimated 1,000 construction jobs a crane.

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