Gay Leaders Endorse Emanuel

A group of LGBT Chicagoans and their allies announced their support for mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel at a press conference Friday morning, Windy City Timesreports.

About 50 of them turned out at the event at the Center on Halsted, Chicago's LGBT community center, for which Emanuel helped secure federal funding when he was in Congress. Some 200 people have signed on to the group, called the LGBT and Allied Committee for Rahm Emanuel, according to the Times.

Emanuel, who most recently was chief of staff to President Obama and was also an aide to President Clinton, overcame a barrier to his candidacy Thursday, when the Illinois supreme court ruled that he met Chicago residency requirements.

At the news conference, Emanuel mentioned his accomplishments on LGBT issues while in Congress and in the Obama administration, and pledged to work for further progress in Chicago and Illinois. The mayoral election will be February 22, with a runoff April 5 if no candidate wins a majority.

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