CITY HALL — No matter how cozy they might have once been as friends, Mayor Rahm Emanuel can't count on Gov. Bruce Rauner to save his job if it comes down to that.
The governor announced Monday at an Oak Brook media event that he would sign a Chicago mayoral recall bill if it reaches his desk and passes the General Assembly.
State Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) introduced the bill in the General Assembly a month ago. It would establish an admittedly complex process to recall the Chicago mayor, but as of now there is no such process.
Those seeking to recall Emanuel — or any other Chicago mayor — would have to declare their campaign to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, then get a recall petition signed by 15 percent of the most recent mayoral vote count — currently translating to about 86,000 signatures after April's runoff — with at least 50 signatures from each of the city's 50 wards.
The election board would then validate the petition signatures and, if approved, would hold a recall vote within 100 days asking voters simply, "Shall (mayor's name) be recalled from the officer of mayor?"
Before the bill could get to Rauner, though, it still would have to be approved by both the state House and Senate.
Opinion polls have suggested Emanuel would have lost the runoff to Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia (D-Chicago) if the Laquan McDonald video of the 17-year-old being shot 16 times by officer Jason Van Dyke had been released before the election.
Emanuel and Rauner have acknowledged their friendship in the past, but their relations have been strained since Rauner's inauguration a year ago and the ensuring the state budget impasse, the city's record property-tax increase and Chicago Public Schools' request for more state funding.
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