Setting the Record Crooked: Emanuel Again Takes Credit for Activists’ Work

Back in November 2014, Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel aired a commercial taking the credit for shutting down the coal-fired power plants that were poisoning the South Side. But community groups, including Bridgeport Alliance, fought back—we, not Emanuel, are the folks who battled for ten long years to close the plants. Bridgeport Alliance released a strong position statement and joined several of its allies in front of the mayoral office for a press conference to set the record straight.

In his usual style, Emanuel hasn’t let the objections of the citizens of Chicago stop him. In March 26’s mayoral debate, he was at it again: “Let’s take the neighborhood of Little Village that Chuy’s represented for 30 years. Working with community leaders, I finally closed the coal plant that was there spewing pollution.” His challenger, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, laughed and responded, “You single-handedly closed it? People worked on it for 10 years before you were ever elected. You were still in Washington. . . . Before the mayor ever moved into Chicago right before he ran for mayor, people worked in Little Village, in Pilsen and in Canaryville and Bridgeport to close the coal-burning plants. They protested. They testified. They signed petitions. . . . He’s grandstanding. He’s trying to claim credit for work that he didn’t do.” 

Bridgeport Alliance would like to clear the air once again. It's the citizens of Chicago—residents of the neighborhoods, not city hall—who make up the city, and we fight for our rights, and for rightful recognition. We object to Emanuel's appropriation of our work. As our chair, Ruby Pinto, says, "Grassroots organizing is about forming relationships with the people around you and creating a powerful community. The connections that were made during the fight to close the coal plant remain in place today." But, she notes, "I look forward to standing with my community no matter who the next mayor is."   

Official Bridgeport Alliance Statement: Rahm's "Clean Air" Pollutes Our Reputation

November 21, 2014

For immediate release:

Earlier this week Chicago Together, Rahm Emanuel’s campaign for reelection, released a video titled Clean Air. It highlights the closing of Fisk and Crawford, a pair of South Side coal-fired power plants that had been exposing residents to harmful pollution for decades. Local residents and community groups worked for years to close these plants, but the 30 second ad spins the story differently, implying that Rahm was the true hero. In his attempt to take credit for the closures, it is the opinion of Bridgeport Alliance that Emanuel is claiming a victory that belongs to the communities, exploiting their success to bolster his campaign.

The video also implies that Emanuel has the support of local community activists. In fact, he does not. Community member and lawyer Jerry Boyle commented, “The people who struggled to close those toxic coal plants were arrested by Rahm Emanuel, who only showed up to take credit for their victory.” In a similar vein, Bridgeport Alliance Chair Ruby Pinto expressed anger, stating, “Our neighbors fought tirelessly to restore our air quality, and that meant going against Emanuel and his corporate favoritism. To see our efforts distorted into support for Rahm feels like a bully taking our lunch money and buying votes with it.”

Though we are happy that the clean-power victory was won under his mayorship, his one  positive decision (in response to community pressure) is outweighed by other decisions that have devastated our communities. School closings, cuts to mental health services, and the enactment of policies that consistently favor large corporations over the people he claims to serve have earned our outrage, not our support.