Chance The Rapper Or Garry McCarthy: Who Should Run For Chicago Mayor?

CHICAGO, IL — We live in an era when a billionaire land baron and reality TV star with no previous political experience now leads the free world. So why couldn't Chicago's next mayoral race in 2019 be a battle between the city's former top cop and its current top musical star? In recent weeks, former Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy and Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist Chance the Rapper both have been the subject of conversations urging them to make a bid for public office.

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On "The Big John and Ray Show" on WLS-AM (890) last week, McCarthy said he's been asked to run and unseat Rahm Emanuel. But while he's certainly no stranger to public service, he admitted that he's ill-suited to the political arena:

"A lot of people are encouraging me to do that. Politics is not in my DNA. I’m not very good at that as you guys know, I’m very straightforward."

McCarthy was fired as police superintendent in December of 2015 after the release of a department dash cam video that showed the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by CPD Ofc. Jason Van Dyke in 2014. Desipte pressure from community activists, the city fought the video's release for a year and was finally ordered by a judge to make it public.

Since his firing, McCarthy hasn't been shy about speaking his mind. During a September speaking engagement, he stood by the decision to withhold the McDonald tape, claiming such an action maintained the integrity of an ongoing investigation. McCarthy also said the U.S. Department of Justice's recent civil rights investigation of the Chicago Police Department had created a chilling effect on officers, making them afraid they would reprimanded for doing their jobs.

RELATED: Anti-Cop Mentality Helps The Bad Guys: Chicago's Ex-Police Superintendent

Chicago does have another theoretical mayoral candidate who some residents are trying to recruit. And who hasn't ruled out the — albeit unlikely — possibility of a running for office. A Chance the Rapper candidacy has been receiving traction thanks to a website, Twitter account and hashtag — #ChanoForMayor.

"Hey Chance, We think you’d be a great mayor," states the website, which also features a selection of on-the-nose lyrics from the South Side native's oeuvre. "We love your music — we’ve been following your career from the first 10 days. We also love the work you’ve done to give back to the city that raised you. You represent Chicago on the world stage, and you do us proud.

"We know you don’t think of yourself as a politician, and we respect that. But this election is an opportunity for Chicago that we don’t want to miss."

RELATED: Chance The Rapper Says He'll Donate $1M To Chicago Public Schools

Chance has built a reputation that is as much about community activism as it is about hip hop. During last year's election, he organized "Parade to the Polls," an event that combined a free concert with a literal parade to a downtown Chicago polling place so voters could cast ballots early. Last month, the rapper parlayed his recent Grammy wins into a sit-down with Gov. Bruce Rauner to discuss helping financially strapped Chicago Public Schools. Frustrated over a lack of solutions at that meeting, Chance turned around a few days later and announced he was donating $1 million to CPS arts programs, and he pledged that SocialWorks, his local nonprofit arts organization, would donate $10,000 to a Chicago public elementary or high school for every $100,000 raised for CPS.

So far, Chance the Mayor has received one big-name endorsement, although it comes from someone who not only isn't a Chicago resident, he's not even a U.S. citizen. When asked last week by paparazzi if Chance would make a good mayor, Canadian rapper Drake replied, "Yes, I do," according to TMZ.

Ever gracious, Chance thanked his fellow musician online for the support. But he didn't tip his hand if a mayoral race was in the cards for him.

With a little less than two years until the Feb. 26, 2019, election, consider the speculation season for the next mayor of Chicago to have officially begun. Potential candidates for mayor can file between Nov. 19, 2018, to Nov. 26, 2018.

Chance the Rapper and former Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy (Chance photo by Frazer Harrison | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images; McCarthy photo via Patch archive)

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