When Rahm Emanuel takes office on the fifth floor of City Hall as Chicago’s new mayor he will have on his desk a host of problems and issues to address - many of them explicitly having to do a great deal with Latinos. That’s when Emanuel’s carefully crafted image as a man of the people will be put to the test. 

“He hasn’t shown a history of being in the neighborhoods, in direct contrast to what he shows in his commercials,“ civic and political leader Guillermo Gómez tells EXTRA. “His commercials show him as this neighborhood guy. He’s not a neighborhood guy.”

Gómez is co-founder of the Mexica Political Organization, as well as a leader in the nonprofit world. He worked against Emanuel’s election and advocated for a run-off, where he hoped that one of the two Latinos in the race, Gery Chico or Miguel del Valle, would get a chance to challenge him one-on-one. Gómez was formerly a top aide for Juan Solíz, one of the first Latinos to emerge in the late 80s and early 90s. Solíz would go on to become alderman of the 25th Ward. 

Emanuel has plenty of issues that affect all Chicagoans and Latinos in particular challenging him from the get-go. Murders are up in Chicago by about 27 percent this year, but the police department says that total index crimes are down by a net of eight percent. 

Crime and Education
One response that the next mayor can take is a “tough on crime” one. But Gómez wants to see Emanuel lead with prevention strategies — keeping young people occupied with well-funded schools and involved in productive activities.

“Everyone says we need to get more police, that’s one idea. But I think that neighborhoods have to have more resources ...