By Kari Lydersen
Haymarket Books, 2013.
Praise for Mayor 1%:
"I urge everyone to read Lydersen's book. Over the last few months, many Chicagoans have told me they didn't realize who they were voting for when they cast a ballot for Emanuel. Thanks to Lydersen, they'll have no excuse in 2015."
—Ben Joravsky, Chicago Reader
"A meticulous dossier of the mayor's privatization deals and other achievements at the head of the rightmost flank of the Democratic Party."
—Micah Uetricht, Salon
"Lydersen has shown herself to be a keen observer of the Chicago scene."
—Chicago Magazine
"This book provides deep insight into the political career of Rahm Emanuel. Painstakingly researched, Mayor 1% provides the reader with the ability to understand the hard line, neoliberal mindset that blinds the man to the harsh realities of entrenched poverty and disenfranchisement. The relentless attacks on Chicago's working class, from the janitors at O'Hare to the librarians, mental health workers and members of the Chicago Teachers Union have shown the true nature of a man who will have plenty of money from the billionaires to run his re-election campaign,but none of the love of the people who will not pull the lever for him. Kari Lydersen ends on a hopeful note. That Mayor 1%'s brutal reign can actually lead to a better Chicago as people get up, stand up and fight the 'power.'"
—Karen Lewis, President, Chicago Teachers Union
"While banks and corporations continue to enjoy record-breaking profits, working families across Chicago continue to face school closings, foreclosures, and devastating privatization. Lydersen's book lifts up the extraordinary power of everyday people to stand up, fight back, dream big, and join together to make transformative change. Rarely does a journalist do such justice to the in the trenches organizing work that is vital to undermining oppressive city policies and abusive corporate influences."
—Amisha Patel, Executive Director, Grassroots Collaborative
"Lydersen's book demonstrates the type of thorough investigative journalism we need in Chicago to keep all politicians and public servants accountable. It exposes the public policy that the City of Chicago and its constituents didn't expect from a Democratic Mayor of the City that Works. Lydersen's book shows the real Rahm Emanuel, leading the race to the bottom by killing off good middle class jobs instead of upholding job standards that help build a strong workforce and the robust economy our city desperately needs."
—Tom Balanoff, President, SEIU Local 1 and SEIU Illinois State Council
"In Mayor 1% Kari Lydersen surveys the expansive and deeply contested first term record of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Her work touches every flashpoint of Emanuel's kinetic drive to govern the city as he sees fit. Along the way, Lydersen admirably and poignantly gives voice to the activist community that has become the mayor's fiercest critic, while calling out his staunchest business allies."
—Robert Bruno, University of Illinois at Chicago
Interviews and Reviews
