Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel made the announcement, despite previously insisting he would run again and raising more than $10 million toward a reelection bid. | Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he won't seek reelection 'This has been the job of a lifetime,' Emanuel said at a surprise news conference.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel made a surprise announcement on Tuesday that he will not seek reelection to a third term, opening up the city’s venerable Fifth Floor to an outsider candidate for the first time in decades.

“I’ve decided not to seek reelection. This has been the job of a lifetime,” Emanuel told journalists gathered at City Hall. His wife, Amy Rule, stood at his side, tears in her eyes. It was in the same spot that former Mayor Richard M. Daley announced he wouldn’t seek reelection eight years ago, after which Emanuel came to the job with Daley’s connections and insider background.


Emanuel’s announcement comes as the trial begins in the shooting case of Laquan McDonald. The death by a Chicago Police officer prompted a federal civil rights investigation and criticism that City Hall covered up the shooting.

Emanuel paused frequently during the news conference, at one point seeming to choke back tears. Rule’s eyes were wet throughout the event.

The former three-term congressman and chief of staff for President Barack Obama has been mayor of Chicago for eight years, and has faced heavy criticism over the high level of violence that has afflicted the city.

Obama on Tuesday praised his former aide in a statement, calling him a “a tireless and brilliant public servant” and applauding his work on education issues, despite Emanuel's blemished record on improving Chicago's public schools.

“Chicago is better and stronger for his leadership, and I was a better President for his wise counsel at a particularly perilous time for our country,” Obama said.

The mayor had already been campaigning for a third term, but his unpopularity had drawn an unusually high number of challengers.

Emanuel did not say what his next move would be, but that "I’ll always be here for the future of this city — not as mayor, but in the most important role anyone can play, as citizen," and said that he and his Cabinet would "sprint for the finish line" next May to accomplish his priorities before he leaves office.

His leadership has drawn the ire of President Donald Trump, who frequently tweets about the skyrocketing crime rates in the city and has threatened to “send in the Feds!” if Emanuel is unable to "fix the horrible ‘carnage’ going on.”

