Emanuel was born and raised in Chicago. But politically, his Chicago contact is minimal. From 2003 until his resignation in 2009 to join President Obama’s Staff, Emanuel acted as a U.S. House Representative for Illinois’ 5th Congressional District. The District was 77.5% White, 2.3% Black and 23% Hispanic during Emanuel’s reign, according to the 2000 Census. Before that, Emanuel worked as a senior advisor to former President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1998.
In 1998, after leaving Clinton’s administration, Emanuel took a position with investment banking firm Wasserstein Perella (now Dresdner Kleinwort), where he worked until 2002. It is reported that he did not have an MBA degree or prior banking experience when he went to Wasserstein Perella. According to Congressional disclosures, Emanuel made $16.2 million in his two-and-a-half-years as a banker.
While at Wasserstein, Emanuel was named to the Board of Directors of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) by President Bill Clinton in 2000. In that position, Emanuel earned him at least $320,000, including later stock sales according to the Chicago Tribune, although he sat on no working committees and the Board is said to have met not more than six times per year.
While serving on the Freddie Mac board, Freddie Mac came under fire for improper campaign contributions and accounting irregularities.
Progressive Democrats have come out aggressively against Emanual’s run for Mayor as early as January 2010, when the Progressive Change Campaign Committee began circulating a petition to “Hold Rahm Accountable” at BoldProgressives.org. “I will not support Rahm Emanuel in any future election for Congress, Mayor of Chicago, Governor, or other office,” the petition reads. “He sold us out on the public option and is a weak Democrat who caves instead of fighting conservatives and corporate power. We won’t forget the choices you’ve made, Rahm.” Presently, the petition has over 3,000 signatures.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee cites a New York Times story regarding the healthcare reform negotiations as partial basis for its position. The New York Times reported:
“Joseph Lieberman, the independent Connecticut senator, had announced on CBS’s ‘Face the Nation’ that he would not support the Senate health care plan, which meant that Reid did not have the 60 votes he needed [for a public option compromise]… ‘He double-crossed me,’ Reid said stiffly, associates later recounted. ‘Let’s not do what he wants…’ Rahm Emanuel, the president’s chief of staff, arrived at Reid’s office not long afterward — casually dressed, a cup of coffee in one hand — and after a brisk meeting, a decision was reached: Reid would abandon his compromise, which was intended to appease proponents of a government-run health insurance plan.”