CHICAGO VOTES – AT 11:30 A.M. ET:  Chicagoans are going to the polls today to choose a mayor.   If traditions hold, many of them will vote early and often.  If other traditions hold, the dearly departed will be seen at the polls, making one more appearance for democracy.

This is a runoff election that has Mayor Rahm Emanuel, once Barack Obama's White House chief of staff, competing against Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, who is a fellow Democrat.  Neither got the required 50% in the first round of voting in February. 

The election is important, and not only for Chicago.  The mayor of Chicago has substantial political power that can be employed in the presidential election of 2016.  Illinois is generally a safe Democratic state, but elected a Republican governor in November.  In a close presidential year the mayor of Chicago can use his resources, including an army of field workers, to get out the vote on election day.  Emanuel is close to the Clintons, and Hillary will depend on him for support...assuming he's re-elected today. 

Polls show Emanuel ahead.  But he underperformed in February, so we'll be watching closely.  From CNN:

Washington (CNN) The toughest battle of Rahm Emanuel's career comes to a close on Tuesday as Chicago voters head to the polls to choose their next mayor.

And though President Barack Obama's notoriously hard-charging former chief of staff has weathered many difficult fights before, Emanuel's allies aren't predicting victory yet.

Public polls show the mayor leading challenger Jesus "Chuy" Garcia by double-digit margins, but the historic nature of the election — it's Chicago's first-ever runoff, sparked when Emanuel failed to top 50% in the first round of voting in February — and unusual timing has the city's political observers guessing.

"We're heading into spring break. There's two days after Easter. It's right in the middle of Passover. I mean, we've never had a runoff before in the city of Chicago for a citywide office," Election Board spokesman Jim Allen told reporters this weekend.

The race has seen a huge surge in early votes, with more than 142,000 Chicagoans submitting their ballots early, up from just about 90,000 before the February vote, which saw unusually low turnout to begin with. Turnout was particularly high in wards with contested aldermanic races, but it was low in Hispanic-majority wards, a less-than-ideal early signal for Garcia.

COMMENT:   Hillary will be watching.  So will one of the finest men in the U.S. Senate, Republican Mark Kirk of Illinois, up for re-election next year.  He will not want an effective Chicago machine against him.

April 7, 2015