CITY HALL — President-elect Donald Trump called Mayor Rahm Emanuel to "pick his brain" about how best to handle his transition and structure the White House, sources said.
The two men — on opposite side of the political spectrum — spoke recently.
Emanuel acknowledged Trump had called him after helping to break ground on the Theater on the Lake renovation in Lincoln Park Monday, but offered precious few details.
"I don't talk about my conversations with presidents [or] president-elects," Emanuel said.
Emanuel suggested, however, that Trump had asked him about the logistics of the presidential transition as Trump prepares for his inauguration in January.
"I've worked for two presidents," Emanuel said. "And I've worked on their transitions.
"I was honest, upfront," Emanuel added. "We talked about a range of issues."
Emanuel, who served as President Barack Obama's first chief of staff and as an aide to President Bill Clinton, offered the president-elect insights from his time in the White House during the cordial call, sources said.
Trump also has spoken in recent days with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio, and Emanuel cited those calls as well.
"I'm also not a shrinking violet," Emanuel said. "I'm also clear about what's important for the City of Chicago, about our values."
The mayor told Trump that Chicago would remain a sanctuary city despite the president-elect's promise to withhold federal funds from municipalities that protect undocumented immigrants from deportation, sources said.
Emanuel hinted at that Monday.
"He's an investor in the city," he said. "He's an investor in a city that is also — let me be clear — a sanctuary city, and there's a reason it's a sanctuary city."
Emanuel shared with Trump the story of his grandfather's journey as an immigrant to Chicago, emphasizing his personal commitment to the issue, sources said.
On Friday, Emanuel pledged to use $1 million in city money to defend immigrants threatened with deportation.
The fund, in partnership with the National Immigrant Protection Center, will provide immediate legal information, screening and consultations for undocumented immigrants, according to a statement from the mayor.
Trump made immigration a central issue of the presidential campaign. He has vowed to build a wall between the United States and Mexico, to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants and to ban Muslims from entering the country.
Emanuel — although he stayed on the sidelines for much of the presidential election — criticized Trump as unfit to lead America during the campaign.
Emanuel has said he was not worried about Trump taking revenge on Chicago officials, who ordered early this month that a street sign honoring him outside Trump Tower be taken down and blasted him as a racist who should not be allowed to occupy the White House.
During the campaign, Trump held up Chicago as the embodiment of all that is wrong with urban America — a "war-torn country" rife with voter fraud and consumed with violence and poverty.
Trump said he could put an end to the gun and gang violence that has wounded more than 4,000 and killed 700 people in Chicago "in one week" if only the police were allowed to get "tougher."
The news of the call was first reported by Politico Illinois.
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