CHICAGO, CHICAGO – AT 8:17 A.M. ET:  Chicago goes to the polls today to elect a new mayor.  If no one gets 50%, a runoff will be held on April 5th.

Car services have already started taking voters from the cemeteries to the polls.  For those of you who live in Chicago and want to see Aunt Gladys again, go to her polling place.

The overwhelming favorite is Rahm Emanuel, the boisterous former chief of staff to President Obama.  No other candidate even comes close in opinion surveys.  But will Rahm get the 50%?  His poll numbers have been hovering just below that level.  If he doesn't win outright today, the runoff could get ugly, with ethnic resentments playing a major part.  The race card is not just played in Chicago, it is embraced and relished. 

But no one seriously believes that Rahm Emanuel won't be the next mayor, anointed either tonight or on April 5th.  Some of his opponents are rumored to be seeking political asylum in Wisconsin.  Since Illinois gave asylum to escaping Democratic legislators from Wisconsin, who crossed state lines to avoid voting on Governor Scott Walker's reform package, it's only fair that Wisconsin reciprocate.  Displaced candidates' camps are already being established in Madison.

Stand by for the vote count tonight. 

February 22, 2011