Emanuel Makes Stealth Stops In The Inner City As He Tries To Rehabilitate His Image
(CBS) -- Mayor Emanuel is campaigning again, battling for the hearts and minds of Chicagoans, in the wake of the police killing of Laquan McDonald.
He's been making unscheduled appearances across the South and West sides, where members in the media can't get in the way of interpreting his message.
At one stop, Chicago City Council Budget Committee Chairman Carrie Austin asked people to give Emanuel a second chance.
"If given the opportunity, he will right the ship of the city of Chicago," Austin said in introducing the mayor.
CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine surprised Emanuel at the opening of a senior center, asking him what he's now trying to do.
He replied he was trying to "break down barrier" and "help restore the trust between me and the public."
Levine reports Emanuel is doing it because just eight months after sweeping to a second term, only 28 percent of voters questioned in a new poll say they would vote for him if there were an election today. Meanwhile, his approval rating is down to 40 percent.
Emanuel is trying to convince skeptics in the inner city that he's the one who'll end the systemic use of police deadly force, rather than the one to blame for it.
"Look, folks know this is not the first time anything's happened in the city as it relates to the police department and a shooting," Emanuel said.
The mayor's good will tour comes as Laquan McDonald protesters have demanded his resignation.