Rahmses Listening Tour

Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel began his listening tour--part of his campaign for mayor of Chicago.

Rahm started that tour at a Roosevelt Road EL station this morning, which was really more of a photo op. Reporters were there--but Emanuel wasn't talking to them. How long will that last? WLS-AM's Bill Cameron says a campaign spokesperson will "Keep this up for a week or two."

As for the listening tour, well, I'm not sure if the Green and Orange Line riders were doing that-- not all of them were interested in shaking his hand. But he did respond to WLS-AM's Bill Cameron on the charge that he hasn't been a Chicago resident long enough to run for mayor.

"People are enthusiastic, energized. They love their city. They know it's got challenges and I think that's what they want to talk about,” Emanuel said.

Emanuel says he’s pretty confident he’s got the qualifications to run for mayor.

“Yes, I am, but look, they'll judge that. But in the meantime the main thing isn't about my residency. It is about the residents of the city of Chicago. The issues that motivate them, that they care about and their love for the city," he said.

Then he ducked into a grocery store and took no more questions.

So -- First test: he acknowledges that he hasn't followed the rules. He leased his house while he was in D.C., and therefore was not a proper resident of Chicago. He just said he doesn't care about the law. Well, he's qualified to be Mayor of Chicago, then.