Mayor Rahm Emanuel is visiting Washington, D.C. Monday for a series of meetings related to “priorities and issues facing the City of Chicago,” including crime and infrastructure.
“Today the Mayor will be in DC for a series of meetings with agencies and senior administration officials about our ongoing partnerships with the government,” Emanuel spokesman Matt McGrath said in an email. “Among the topics he’ll be discussing are several priority projects that would invest in Chicago’s infrastructure and put people to work.”
Although Emanuel’s office didn’t provide a full agenda for Monday’s meetings, a top mayoral aide told the Chicago Sun-Times that Chicago's crime would absolutely be discussed.
Sources also told the Sun-Times that Emanuel was scheduled to meet Monday with President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, as well as U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and White House Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, the former chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs.
According to the report, the mayor was also hoping to arrange meetings Monday with White House chief-of-staff Reince Priebus and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who promised increased prosecutions against Chicago gun crimes during his Senate confirmation hearing.
Since taking office last month, Trump has repeatedly made an example of the city’s spiking violence, warning local authorities in January that he would “send in the Feds” if they can’t get a handle on the “carnage.”
Emanuel shot back earlier this month, urging Trump to "just send them."
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“Send more FBI, DEA, ATF agents,” Emanuel said during a news conference. “We don’t have to talk about it anymore.”
Days after Trump’s warning, Emanuel reportedly spoke to Priebus about the issue. The mayor's meetings in D.C. Monday come on the heels of yet another violent weekend in Chicago that left two innocent girls, aged 11 and 12, shot in the head.
Last week, Mayor Emanuel announced the next phase of his sweeping infrastructure plan, vowing to add 40,000 jobs through a variety of projects — including an “express rail” to O’Hare International Airport and a new CTA Green Line station.
During his speech, the mayor also said he was “making it a priority” to complete an estimated $1 billion redevelopment of Chicago’s Union Station, which he hopes to get federal funding for.
The project is reportedly being vetted as part of Trump’s yet-to-be-announced federal infrastructure program, according to McClatchy. A preliminary plan, circulated by Trump’s team to the National Governors Association, included the $1 billion Union Station upgrade, which would reportedly create an estimated 1,000 direct jobs.
Another project put forth in Trump’s plan would modernize North Side CTA Lines at a cost of $2.1 billion. That project would create an estimated 2,100 jobs.
This story will be updated as more details on the mayor's trip become available.
