Chicago is racing the clock.
Nowhere will political power evaporate more dramatically at noon on Jan. 20 than in the third-largest U.S. city, a bastion of Democratic power that’s enjoyed special access to Washington during President Barack Obama’s eight years in the White House.
When Donald Trump becomes the 45th president, Chicago will trade a first family and top advisers with deep ties to the city for a chief executive who has repeatedly called it a violent mess embodying the failed policies of his predecessor and the Democratic Party.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel is urgently seeking $1.1 billion in federal grants to renovate mass-transit lines. The city and state of Illinois are trying for $110 million in U.S. Department of Transportation grants for grade-crossing improvements to speed trains through the nation’s busiest rail hub. They also want federal financing for improvements to Union Station, a downtown landmark.
Not since the era of Abraham Lincoln have Chicago and Illinois enjoyed such strong ties to the White House and Washington. Obama’s exit will bring an end to that, as he leaves along with fellow Chicagoans including Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett.
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