Dillard: “I Will Be Able to Tell Mayor Rahm Emanuel No”

"You've got to be able to tell the mayor of Chicago no," Sen. Kirk Dillard said Tuesday

Dubbed one of the most powerful men in Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel isn’t the easiest man to say no to.

At the GOP gubernatorial candidate forum Tuesday, republican candidates were asked about their relationship with the mayor and how they would work with him if they were elected.

Bruce Rauner, who has been criticized for his relationship with the mayor before, said while he has worked with the mayor previously, the two don’t always see eye to eye.

“Mayor Emanuel and I disagree on most things,” he said. “But he wants a better business climate in Chicago, he needs that, he needs major pension reform, he wants school choice so I’ll find common ground and I’ll work with him to solve problems together.”

But the criticism on his work with the mayor continued Tuesday with Sen. Kirk Dillard.

“Unlike Bruce Rauner, I don’t vacation with Mayor Emanuel, I did not make Mayor Emanuel a wealthy man by probably giving him $16 million to a firm that he worked for right after he left the White House,” Dillard said. “The difference between Bruce Rauner and myself is I will be able to do what I did with Mayor Daley as Gov. Edgar’s chief of staff-- I will be able to tell Mayor Rahm Emanuel no. You've got to be able to tell the mayor of Chicago no.”

And even State Treasurer Dan Rutherford touched on the issue.

“[Rahm Emanuel and I] are conversant,” he said. “I’ve called him, we’ve talked on the phone, we’ve met in his office… We don’t go out to Chicago Cut or any places like that for dinner.”

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