List of potential candidates for Chicago mayor grows, includes anti-gay Meeks
Fri. September 10, 2010 1:05 PM by Kevin Wayne
Chicago, IL -
With Mayor Richard M. Daley's decision not to run for another term, the speculation has begun as to who will run to become Chicago's next mayor.
One of the most high-profile possibilities is White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
"If Mayor Daley doesn't [seek re-election], I would one day like to run for mayor," Emanuel said in April. "This is a great city. Everybody would love to be Mayor of the City of Chicago."
One potential candidate causing concern in Chicago's LGBT community is Rev. James Meeks (D-Ill), who's anti-gay stance is in sharp contrast to the gay-friend Daley administration.
"Of the many, many names circulated to run for mayor Senator James Meeks is the most troubling," Equality Illinois public policy director Rick Garcia told ChicagoPride.com. "Meeks has been an ardent foe of equality and fairness for LGBT people."
Meeks, an Illinois state senator, also serves as the pastor of Chicago's 22,000 member strong Salem Baptist Church.
In 2007, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) named Meeks one of the "10 leading black religious voices in the anti-gay movement." The Illinois Family Institute, an anti-gay group, lauded Meeks in 2006 for leading African Americans in ‘clearly understanding the threat of gay marriage.' Meeks was criticized for calling homosexuality "an evil sickness."
Meeks also actively campaigned to defeat SB3186, an Illinois LGBT non-discrimination bill, while serving in the Illinois state legislature. He was the only African American in the Illinois Senate and House to vote against the bill.
The 54-year-old Meeks is allied with Americans for Truth, a Naperville organization which the SPLC labeled as a hate group earlier this year.
In 2006, Rev. Meeks made headlines when he attacked Mayor Daley in an inflammatory sermon.
"We don't have slave masters. We got mayors. But they still the same white people who are presiding over systems where black people are not able, or to be educated," Meeks said from the pulpit. "You got some preachers that are house niggers. You got some elected officials that are house niggers. And rather than them trying to break this up, they gonna fight you to protect this white man."
An early poll taken for the Chicago Sun-Times found 10 percent of the 600 surveyed would vote for Meeks. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart was the favorite with 12 percent. The poll taken on Wednesday, one day after Daley's announcement, had an error margin of 4.3 percentage points.
Dart, Cook County Assessor James Houlihan, U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) are all potential candidates.
Chicago aldermen being discussed include Robert Fioretti (2nd), Sandi Jackson(7th), Thomas Allen (38th), Scott Waguespack (32nd), Pat O' Connor (40th), Brendan Reilly (42nd) and openly-gay Tom Tunney (44th) who serves the Lakeview neighborhood including Boystown and Wrigleyville.
To date, only City Clerk Miguel Del Valle has committed to a run.
The election filing deadline is December 13.
One of the most high-profile possibilities is White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
"If Mayor Daley doesn't [seek re-election], I would one day like to run for mayor," Emanuel said in April. "This is a great city. Everybody would love to be Mayor of the City of Chicago."
One potential candidate causing concern in Chicago's LGBT community is Rev. James Meeks (D-Ill), who's anti-gay stance is in sharp contrast to the gay-friend Daley administration.
"Of the many, many names circulated to run for mayor Senator James Meeks is the most troubling," Equality Illinois public policy director Rick Garcia told ChicagoPride.com. "Meeks has been an ardent foe of equality and fairness for LGBT people."
Meeks, an Illinois state senator, also serves as the pastor of Chicago's 22,000 member strong Salem Baptist Church.
In 2007, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) named Meeks one of the "10 leading black religious voices in the anti-gay movement." The Illinois Family Institute, an anti-gay group, lauded Meeks in 2006 for leading African Americans in ‘clearly understanding the threat of gay marriage.' Meeks was criticized for calling homosexuality "an evil sickness."
Meeks also actively campaigned to defeat SB3186, an Illinois LGBT non-discrimination bill, while serving in the Illinois state legislature. He was the only African American in the Illinois Senate and House to vote against the bill.
The 54-year-old Meeks is allied with Americans for Truth, a Naperville organization which the SPLC labeled as a hate group earlier this year.
In 2006, Rev. Meeks made headlines when he attacked Mayor Daley in an inflammatory sermon.
"We don't have slave masters. We got mayors. But they still the same white people who are presiding over systems where black people are not able, or to be educated," Meeks said from the pulpit. "You got some preachers that are house niggers. You got some elected officials that are house niggers. And rather than them trying to break this up, they gonna fight you to protect this white man."
An early poll taken for the Chicago Sun-Times found 10 percent of the 600 surveyed would vote for Meeks. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart was the favorite with 12 percent. The poll taken on Wednesday, one day after Daley's announcement, had an error margin of 4.3 percentage points.
Dart, Cook County Assessor James Houlihan, U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) are all potential candidates.
Chicago aldermen being discussed include Robert Fioretti (2nd), Sandi Jackson(7th), Thomas Allen (38th), Scott Waguespack (32nd), Pat O' Connor (40th), Brendan Reilly (42nd) and openly-gay Tom Tunney (44th) who serves the Lakeview neighborhood including Boystown and Wrigleyville.
To date, only City Clerk Miguel Del Valle has committed to a run.
The election filing deadline is December 13.