Kanye West Donates more than $70,000 to Amara Enyia
Less than a week after Chance the Rapper threw his support behind her campaign for Chicago mayor, Amara Enyia received support from another big name in Chicago music - Kanye West.
West donated $73,540 to Enyia’s campaign on Monday afternoon, specifically the amount Enyia needed to pay off her debt to the Illinois State Board of Elections from fees and fines accrued during her brief mayoral bid in 2015.
Amara Enyia speaks at her campaign launch at the Co-Prosperity Sphere in Bridgeport. Photo by Aaron Cynic.
“The $73,540 debt to the Illinois State Board of Elections has been paid in full,” Enyia’s campaign said in a statement. “The Amara Enyia campaign thanks Chicago native, Kanye West for his generous action. Amara’s campaign is energizing people around the city with bold ideas and solutions that move Chicago forward.”
West has yet to make a public statement about the donation, merely tweeting a donation link for Enyia’s campaign Monday night.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1054563804040888330
Prior to the donation Enyia had just a little over $65 in her campaign account.
While West’s donation is helpful financially, it could prove politically complicated. Earlier this month the rapper met with President Donald Trump at the White House sporting the trademark “Make America Great Again” hat. Trump has relentlessly targeted Chicago with well worn right wing authoritarian tropes about crime and policing, and has advocated for “stop and frisk” policies. Enyia meanwhile, has pushed for increased measures of police accountability alongside neighborhood investment to combat crime in the city.
Some supporters of Enyia said they’re hopeful the money would be used to “resist Trump.” The People for Amara Enyia, a volunteer-run Facebook group wrote “Any and all monies donated will be used to resist Trump at all ends” in a post on Monday. “Thanks for the donation and we gone still pray for you. No returns or refunds.”
Enyia meanwhile will appear at an event alongside Chance Tuesday afternoon in Woodlawn at 63rd and Cottage Grove to discuss “concerns around gentrification & displacement in the neighborhood.”
Emanuel on CNN: Trump is “the issue” in the 2018 Midterms
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said that President Donald Trump is “the issue” and predicts what he calls a “blue wave with a red undertow for the 2018 midterm elections.
In a wide ranging view with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Monday, Emanuel touched on his own legacy as outgoing mayor of the city, education, transportation, political strategy, and Donald Trump.
Zakaria opened the interview with Trump, mentioning the president’s open disdain for the city.
“Donald Trump really doesn’t seem to like Chicago,” said Zakaria. “Well, guess what? Chicago doesn’t like Donald Trump. So we’re even,” responded Emanuel.
The mayor went on to explain that Trump’s fixation on Chicago was “to distract you,” and a tool for energizing the Republican base during an election cycle where voters aligned with the party in power are typically not as motivated to head to the polls.
“...Part of the elections are because the president’s party at that point, the base is depressed. That’s not the case right now,” said Emanuel. “I would describe this moment as a blue wave with a red undertow that is happening.”
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks on violence in the city in 2016. Photo by Aaron Cynic.
Emanuel told Zakaria Democrats should not talk about impeaching Donald Trump for fear of alienating what he referred to as the “mea culpa vote,” referring to what he said were people “who didn’t turn out at the full level for Hillary Clinton,” but are now energized to go to the polls.
“I wouldn’t, that is because it creates a rift with the very vote of the mea culpa vote,” Emanuel said. “Your goal in an election is to keep your base not just energized, but motivated. It’s a different piece.”
Zakaria also asked Emanuel about his decision not to seek a third term and if he might run for President to which the mayor responded with “100 percent certainty” that he had no interest in returning to the White House.
Emanuel also said that Trump was “playing politics” when it comes to his constant rhetoric on crime in Chicago.
“Look, Donald Trump is trying to play politics with an issue that is literally life and death and matter issues,” Emanuel told Zakaria. “We’re professionalizing our police department to represent the whole city, and making progress in fighting crime. And it’d be nice to have a justice department that works with you than try to exaggerate problems. And that’s what they’re trying to do. And I know it’s through politics, and I’m not – as I told the press the other day in Chicago, he’s playing you.”
You can watch the full interview below or read the transcript published here by the Sun-Times.
https://youtu.be/nAmf58HZjqk
WCPT 820 AM, one of Chicago’s last independently owned radio stations that advertises a progressive lean, will add a new show to its roster on Sunday.
“To the Left with Sameena and Shana,” which its hosts call “a groundbreaking, boldly progressive, and community-centered radio show,” will premier on Sunday October 28th at 1:00pm. The show is hosted by Sameena Mustafa, who ran against 5th District Rep. Mike Quigley in the March primary election, and Shana East, a Chicago organizer who was a staff member on the Bernie Sanders campaign.
WCPT 820-AM operates at full power from sunup to sundown every day and broadcasts 24/7 online. The station features national shows like Democracy Now and the Stephanie Miller show, and local content like The Ben Joravsky Show.
East and Mustafa say the show will bring “the voices of the underrepresented front and center,” and they plan to host a “diverse array of activists, organizers, and candidates together through dialogue and coalition around common goals.”
“We are embedded in our communities and know how hard it is to get coverage for movement work,” said East in a press release. “That’s why we plan to have segments like, ‘This is What Intersectionality Looks Like,’ so activists can share their calls to action with our listeners.”
Sunday’s inaugural episode will feature 49th Ward aldermanic candidate Maria Hadden and community activist Erica Nanton of the Poor People’s Campaign.
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