Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel outdistanced a lesser-known challenger to win a second term and the daunting prize of steering the third-most-populous U.S. city away from financial collapse.

Emanuel, a former chief of staff to President Barack Obama, had 56 percent and Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy'' Garcia had 44 percent with 96 percent of precincts reporting yesterday, according to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.

The campaign, the first runoff since Chicago switched to nonpartisan elections in 1999, was shadowed by the prospect of insolvency. With the city burdened by $20 billion of unfunded pension debts, Emanuel has scant opportunity to celebrate.

"In an era of hard choices, I can't promise that everybody will be pleased with every decision,'' Emanuel, his voice hoarse, told supporters last night. "But the challenges we face, we face together as one community, one city, one voice where every voice counts.''

Although the specter of fiscal ruin hangs over the city, the candidates offered few specifics during the six-week campaign about how they'd resolve the crisis. Under state law, Chicago is required to pay $600 million next year into pension funds. The source of that payment is unknown.

Emanuel, 55, and Garcia each endorsed broadening the sales tax to include some services, and the incumbent endorsed the construction of a casino with revenue dedicated to pension debts. Both those plans, though, would require legislative approval. Neither man committed to raising property taxes, the levy the city directly controls.

Garcia used his concession speech to laud Chicago as a city that nurtures immigrant children like him and said attracting new residents was the key to overcoming its challenges.

"Yes, we have a debt crisis and a pension crisis. But that's because of the one thing: We have a growth crisis,'' he said, noting Chicago's decline in population, which fell 6.9 percent to 2.7 million from 2000 to 2010. "We can't tax our way out of this crisis. We can't keep borrowing our way out of this crisis.''