Chief of Staff Could Come Back to Lakeview Home as Mayor

When Chicago native Rahm Emanuel was appointed President Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff and moved to Washington, he rented out his piece of Chicago real estate instead of selling it.

Rahm Emanuel

Now we know one reason why: Emanuel would like to be Chicago’s next mayor.

“I hope Mayor Daley seeks reelection,” Emanuel told PBS talk show host Charlie Rose. “But if Mayor Daley doesn’t, one day I would like to run for mayor of the city of Chicago.

“That’s always been an aspiration of mine even when I was in the House of Representatives.”

Built in 1895, Emanuel’s 2,719-square-foot home in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood has four bedrooms, three baths, a half bath, three fireplaces, a finished lower level and a screened-in sunroom.

Emanuel is renting out his Lakeview home.

He bought the home at the end of 1998 for $695,000. He listed the house for rent in January 2009 at $5,800 a month. The following month he increased the asking price to $6,000. Over the summer, he cut that price to $4,995 per month and that is what he ultimately rented it out for a few months later on a one-year lease.

Emanuel was a chief fundraiser for Mayor Daley’s first election in 1989 and later served as an aide. He represented the fifth district in Illinois in the House of Representatives before joining President Obama’s administration.

Mayor Daley hasn’t confirmed whether or not he will seek reelection in 2011.