New Campaign Urges Chance The Rapper to Run for Mayor of Chicago

Chance The Rapper pretty much solidified his status as the people's champion of Chicago when he donated $1 million to Chicago Public Schools about a month ago. Presumably inspired by Chano's recent combination of philanthropy and advocacy, a few folks have launched a campaign to have the Coloring Book artist run against Mayor Rahm Emanuel for mayor in the February 2019 mayoral race.

Enter chano4mayor.com, the website responsible for crystallizing the "Chano for Mayor" movement. The site notes Mayor Emanuel's perceived failings in his efforts to manage the city's school system and decrease police brutality as reasons Chano should usurp him and become Chicago's next mayor.

"Rahm Emanuel has been in office since 2011," reads the site. "In that time we’ve seen the closure of 50 public schools, the largest in history. The city shut down 6 of its 12 mental health clinics. The Department of Justice found a pattern of civil rights violations by the Chicago Police Department, including but not limited to the murder of Laquan McDonald. It’s time for change."

Bea Malsky, a 23-year-old game designer and writer involved with chano4mayor.com, told The Chicago Sun-Times she and other believers would love for Chano to become a more active part of Chi-Town's political climate even if he doesn't end up challenging Mayor Emanuel.

“We would be very happy if he ran,” Malsky explained. “We would be very happy if he’d become more politically involved and he endorsed a candidate who stands up for the same things that he stands up for in his music.”

Chance himself alluded to the possibility of running for mayor on his 2015 track, "Somewhere in Paradise," when he rapped, “They say I’m saving my city, say I’m stayin’ for good/They screamin’ Chano for mayor, I’m thinkin’ maybe I should." Maybe it's not so far-fetched. Even Drake wants to see it happen.

See Photos of Chance The Rapper's Different Looks Over the Years