Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel took a secret trip to Washington D.C. Wednesday afternoon to hold unscheduled meetings with cabinet officials.
The Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet has the story and sums up what's wrong with ducking out of Chicago unannounced.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has booked meetings with a variety of cabinet officials on Wednesday, though none of this was on his official schedule--not even the trip here. My view: If the mayor travels on official business on the taxpayer tab, the trip should be noted on the public schedule--even if the meetings are closed. Emanuel seems to model a lot of his City Hall operation on the White House--he was chief of staff to President Barack Obama. When Obama travels--his trips are announced.
Emanuel, who was apointed a co-chair for President Obama's reelection campaign Wednesday, reportedly went to the capitol to talk NATO/G8.
We reached out to the Mayor's office for comment on this sneaky trip, but they would only confirm, on background, that he did, in fact, go.
It's worth noting that Rahm Emanuel has pledged to make his administration among the most transparent in Chicago history. This trip runs counter to that sentiment.
