Mr. Nice Guy
Is Miguel del Valle tough enough to be mayor? And does toughness matter?
By Ben Joravsky
Miguel del Valle before a news conference January 11 at Telpochcalli Elementary School
When I interviewed city clerk Miguel del Valle about his mayoral campaign, he met me at the door of his near-west-side campaign office, introduced me to staffers and other visitors, and then ushered me into his room for a 90-minute on-the-record talk.
But when I asked to interview Rahm Emanuel—oh, brother, what an ordeal. I started with one aide who sent me to another who told me I was only getting five minutes of Emanuel's time and wanted to know what questions I planned to ask. And then she told me I couldn't ask about the tampons—more on that later.
It's a classic contrast of campaigns—one open and conciliatory, the other closed and hard-assed.
As I write this, Emanuel's presence on the ballot is in doubt—because the Illinois appellate court ruled on Monday that he hadn't met the city's requirement that candidates reside in Chicago for the year before an