At the el station at 95th Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway, a teddy-bearish campaign worker is hollering through a bullhorn. “Mayor Sawyer and Jesse Jackson say good morning! Good morning! Punch eight on February 28!”
“Gene, Gene,” Jackson says, a slight annoyance in his voice. He thrusts the young man toward Sawyer.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
“I enjoy campaigning,” he says between bites, “but it is different from running for alderman. We had it down to a science. You’ve got to remember, I ran five times; I’ve never lost an election. I’m a committeeman too, and I’m one of the best.”
“I never thought I’d run for mayor–I thought Harold would be mayor for 20 years and then I’d be too old,” Sawyer continues. He gladly confesses that there’s probably some truth to a popular story about how he pinches himself every morning to make sure he’s still mayor. “I had some thoughts about running for Congress. I thought about it a lot after Ralph Metcalfe died, but the day I finally sat down with a consultant to talk about it, I also got the news that my wife had breast cancer.”
It’s well-known that Sawyer huddled with his family and minister, but he also spent some time alone. “I had to think about Harold, what Harold would have wanted,” he says. “You know, Harold wouldn’t have left the gavel to me [as president pro tempore of City Council] if he didn’t have confidence in me. Three out of the last four council meetings under Harold, I chaired. You know Harold, in my position, would have taken it and then fired 500 people the next day, just like that.” He laughs at the idea.
