I'm going to go out on a limb and make a public prediction. Rahm Emanuel will be Chicago's next mayor.

 

How do I know this? I'm not an expert, political heavyweight or a Chicago insider. I know Rahm will soon be called "His Honor" because I have something all the experts and political pundits are lacking: common sense and an ability to connect the dots.

Rahm Emanuel is the quintessential political insider. He is one of the premier power brokers of the notoriously corrupt Chicago political machine. The same machine that was responsible for a lowly community organizer named Obama going from unknown nobody to President of the free world in the space of a few years.

 

Based on Emanuel's stellar political rise, I have to ask myself: Why would this man give up one of the most powerful jobs in the world in order to roll the dice that he, one of over a dozen contenders in Chicago's Mayoral race, would indeed become the elected mayor of Chicago? My answer: He wouldn't - unless the fix was in.

The only significant requirement for running for Chicago Mayor states that candidates must have “resided in the municipality at least one year next preceding the election.” 

 

Under the law, Rahm Emanuel missed out by over half a year, because he resided in Washington DC until October. How then could the Board of Elections have ruled that he was eligible?  

 

A day before the Board of Elections ruled that Rahm was, indeed, a Chicago resident, a hearing officer jumped the gun and told the media how the Board would rule, before the Board actually ruled. It's quite possible the Board's decision was not determined in advance. It's possible that the video that surfaced of Rahm's Chicago home posted for sale on You Tube was, as Rahm said, a "typo."

It's also possible that Rahm actually left boxes in storage at his old abode, despite his tenants declaring otherwise. Tenant Lori Halpern said: “There have never been boxes in the house that were not my possessions.” No-one has proof that the photo of stored boxes Rahm provided was not genuine.

 

No-one can prove that the Board of Elections ruling was a foregone conclusion, despite the fact that their ruling was based on a novel concept: "The question is not whether the candidate resided there during the prior year at all, but whether or not the candidate, once having held residency, whenever it occurred and however long ago, had ever renounced it."

 

No-one can prove anything. But one can draw conclusions based on series of coincidences.

 

The day after the Board of Elections defied their own written requirements and gave Rahm the go ahead to run for mayor, Illinois state Sen. James Meeks, in a surprise Christmas week announcement, withdrew his candidacy for Chicago mayor. No-one can prove that this wasn't just plain old good luck for Rahm.

 

More good luck for Rahm followed two days later:  

Again, it can't be proven that Rahm had anything to do with this "mystery." I'm sure in the coming days, more "mysteries" or scandals or discrepancies will surface that will further pare down the list of candidates. And eventually Rahm will be the only viable candidate left standing.

 

Since I'm not a resident of Chicago, why should I care that the fix is in? I guess I'm just plain fed up with being manipulated and deceived by the good old boys who give voters the illusion of democracy when in fact, most decisions are still made behind closed doors. And, no - I can't prove it. I just rely on history and common sense. And the voters in Chicago should, also.

Not that it will do them any good. His Honor Emanuel is a foregone certainty. No matter how they vote. The fix is in. I can't prove it. It's possible I'm wrong. But not very probable.