BY LYNN SWEET,Chicago Sun-Times
- Rahm has been out of the country to avoid questions
If you did not know the back story,you would not fully appreciate Rep. Rahm Emanuel’s resignation letter to Gov. Blagojevich,who is the subject of impeachment proceedings in the Illinois House,for,among other reasons,trying to auction off President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat.
Emanuel,first elected to the House in 2002,formally announced Monday he would end his House career Jan. 2 to join the Obama administration as White House chief of staff. He was the fourth ranking Democrat in the House,given the post after he ran the political operation that won back control of the House for Democrats in 2006.
He informed residents of his 5th Congressional District,anchored in Chicago’s North and Northwest Side neighborhoods,with robo calls on Monday. Emanuel is on a long-planned vacation to Kenya,Uganda and Zambia,traveling with his wife,Amy,their three children and friends.