Rahm Emanuel declared victory in the City of Chicago mayor’s race Tuesday night. With 96 percent of precincts counted, Rahm Emanuel had 54.9 percent to 24.4 percent for Gery Chico. City Clerk Miguel del Valle had 9.4 percent and former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun was at 8.7 percent.
Mayor Richard Daley, who is out of town today, wasn’t on the ballot for the first time since 1989. The new mayor will be sworn in on May 16, 2011 as Mayor Richard Daley leaves office following his sixth term.
As Emanuel declared victory, he praised supporters and looked to the future for real solutions to challenges as the true victories.
“Thank you Chicago for this humbling victory,” Emanuel told supporters. “All I can say, you sure know how to make a guy feel at home.”
“It is easy to find differences, but we can never allow them to become divisions. Tonight we are moving forward in the only way we truly can. Together. As one city, with one future.”
“It’s you. It’s the hard-working, plain-speaking folks who share a love for their city and a determination to keep it strong. I share that love and I am determined with your help to meet our challenges head on and to make a great city even greater.”
“While this election was hard-fought, it was only the beginning. We have not won anything until a kid can go to school thinking of their studies and not their safety … Or until the parents of that child is thinking about their work and not where they’re going to find work, we have not won anything. The real work of building a better future begins tonight.”