IN EARLY DECEMBER, Ben Joravsky interviewed mayoral candidate Amara Enyia. She has a PhD in educational policy and a law degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and at only 35, she’s perhaps one of the better-known mayoral candidates in Chicago thanks to her endorsement by Chance the Rapper. This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.
There’s a segment of the city that gets very cautious when it comes to a mayoral election—they fear if a person who comes into office is an outsider who’s not enshrined by corporate Chicago, things will fall apart. I think it’s because people have this notion of the mayor as this all-powerful human being. Do you agree with me that this is a prevailing attitude and, if so, what can you do to combat that?
I’m old enough to remember Ed Burke’s role in the 80s Council Wars, how he led the white aldermen against Harold Washington in a Trump-like, nationalist uprising. I cannot forgive him until he at least publicly addresses the role he played. When you go out on the campaign trail, do you hear other old-timers like me talk about these things?
I was at the City Council meeting where Chance was standing with organizers who have been talking about this. No Cop Academy is sort of the movement that has formed to talk about why we do so much investment in police infrastructure, but the investment that actually builds strong individuals and communities—it’s almost nonexistent.
