海角大神

Two months into office as Chicago鈥檚 55th mayor, Rahm Emanuel is already under scrutiny 鈥� by labor and teacher unions, the city鈥檚 inspector general, and, now, the local media.

Mr. Emanuel rode into office with a huge margin of victory, but his tidal wave of popularity may be showing strains, observers say.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e looking at this as a baseball game, he鈥檚 had a very good first inning. But there are eight innings to go. The challenges get a lot more intense,鈥� says Andy Shaw, who leads a civic watchdog group.

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In his first media flap, Emanuel stormed out of an interview with NBC affiliate reporter Mary Ann Ahern, showing his famous temper for the first time since leaving Washington. Ms. Ahern had pressed the mayor to explain why his three children would be attending The University of Chicago Lab School, one of Chicago鈥檚 most elite and costly private schools, despite calling public school reform a priority of his administration.

After stating that his 鈥渃hildren are not in a public position鈥� and that he was 鈥渕aking this decision as a father,鈥� Emanuel dropped the microphone and walked off. On the video he could be heard saying, 鈥淚鈥檓 done. Especially after that.鈥� The mayor鈥檚 office declined to comment on the incident.

Some City Hall watchers point to this incident as the end of the honeymoon period for Emanuel, who entered office pledging more transparency in city government, a promise he has kept in spades.

The City of Chicago website now has a searchable database of employee salaries and all lobbyist activities, including campaign contributions, gifts, and loans. Emanuel also eliminated all petty cash funds and slashed 94 percent of the city credit cards. Reforms to the city鈥檚 contracting process now put the bidding online, in an auction format.

Open government was hardly a hallmark of his predecessor, Richard M. Daley, so any movement to modernize city hall in that fashion is 鈥渁 slam dunk,鈥� says Mr. Shaw, president of the Better Government Association, a civic watchdog group in Chicago. These transparency measures 鈥渨ere all very easy,鈥� he says. 鈥淎lmost anybody could have written that script.鈥�

The more complex issues, like solving the city鈥檚 $31 million budget hole and rescuing its embattled public school system, have less obvious solutions, Shaw notes.

In his opening salvos, Emanuel has taken the offense against the city鈥檚 teacher and labor unions. In June, the Chicago Board of Education 鈥� under his purview 鈥� axed a 4 percent pay raise for the city鈥檚 teachers, arguing that union members had received two similar raises since 2003 while their students 鈥済ot the shaft.鈥� The city鈥檚 public school system is saddled with a $724 million deficit, Emanuel says.

Emanuel is also threatening the city鈥檚 labor unions with a 625 job cuts unless they agree to work changes that he says will save the city $11 million by the end of the year.

Henry Bayer, executive director of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council 31 said neither Emanuel nor his legal team made any attempt to negotiate with union leaders 鈥� a claim the mayor rejects.

Emanuel's "attempt to blame union work rules for the city鈥檚 massive deficit is mere public-relations gimmickry,鈥� said Mr. Bayer in a statement.

Another power struggle is igniting between Emanuel and Inspector General Joe Ferguson. On Tuesday, Mr. Ferguson issued his quarterly report 鈥� accompanied by a letter complaining that his agency, tasked with overseeing waste and corruption in City Hall, is dangerously understaffed. Twenty of 72 positions are vacant, he wrote. He also highlighted a legal battle where the Emanuel administration was fighting to keep documents from the inspector general鈥檚 office.

This week, the city announced six new hires, three of which are investigator positions. Chris Mather, the mayor鈥檚 communications director, says the positions were approved at the time the report was made public. Ferguson told the Chicago Tribune he was 鈥済rateful鈥� but said he 鈥渟houldn鈥檛 have to play a game of chicken鈥� to get a response.

There will always be a 鈥渘atural tension鈥� between the mayor鈥檚 office and the inspector general鈥檚 office, says Chicago Alderman Joe Moore, but in this case, it seems unnecessary, as the watchdog agency is 鈥渕ost likely investigating incidents under the watch of his predecessor,鈥� Mayor Daley. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no potential for embarrassment, given that he鈥檚 only been in office two months.鈥�

Emanuel鈥檚 loyalty to Daley dates back to 1989, when Emanuel served as the former mayor鈥檚 fundraiser. That loyalty between was tested this month, after revelations about Daley鈥檚 five, 24-hour police bodyguards sparked public outcry. Critics say the security wastes taxpayer dollars, especially as the city cuts services and lays off police officers.

Last week, Emanuel said Daley鈥檚 security detail will be reevaluated later this summer. He also reduced the police protection of Alderman Edward Burke and City Treasurer Stephanie Neely.

Emanuel 鈥渋s now beginning to enter the end of the honeymoon period,鈥� says Dick Simpson, a former Chicago alderman who now teaches political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

His challenges will only increase later this year when his first city budget is due and the mayor must raise taxes, cut services, or lay off more workers, Professor Simpson says.

鈥淚n the first 100 days, he will still mostly be able to get his way,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut he will begin to [face] pushback, not just from unions, but from the city council.鈥�

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