Rahm Emanuel did not indulge in ‘celebrity schmoozing’

While both he and Lori Lightfoot took trips during their first months as mayor, Emanuel’s first trip was to Washington to attend a mayor’s conference, which he used to bring money back to Chicago, a Sun-Times reader writes.

A Sun-Times story, by Fran Spielman, that suggests Mayor Lori Lightfoot is repeating former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s mistakes regarding things like early travel and “celebrity schmoozing” is itself mistaken.

While both mayors took trips during their first month in office, Emanuel’s first trip was to Washington D.C. to attend a mayor’s conference, which he used to meet with federal department heads and cabinet secretaries to bring money back to Chicago. It’s how we got resources for the South Side branch of the Red Line and unprecedented money for the CTA. In contrast to Lightfoot, Mayor Emanuel was not traveling to Los Angeles and New York to hobnob with Oprah or talk to Stephen Colbert. In fact, Emanuel didn’t appear on any late night show until three years into his term. When he did, it was on the Tonight Show because its host, Jimmy Fallon, had come to Chicago to highlight the Special Olympics after Emanuel challenged him to come here.

Finally, whereas the current mayor openly discussed an unsubstantiated rumor that the Fraternal Order of Police told members to “do nothing” over Memorial Day weekend, Emanuel never speculated publicly about rumors. He would never have gotten caught playing fast and loose with facts.

Alana G. Baum, Chicago

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The things we say follows us forever

There seems to be a lot of controversy surrounding Harvard’s decision to rescind a young man’s admission as a result of some offensive media posts he made as a 16-year-old.

No matter what one’s opinion is on the matter, there’s a lesson to be learned. What is said in print, online, remains forever. If those comments are negative to the point of possibly violating another’s civil rights, there can be consequences.

Now if we if could only teach this lesson to politicians.

Dan Pupo, Orland Park