2 Pastors May Run For Mayor
One is the pastor of a mega-church. The other runs a 10,000-member ministry. Both are thinking seriously about running for Chicago mayor.
They are Pastor and state Sen. James Meeks and the Rev. Wilfredo de Jesus. Both talked with CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine on Friday about juggling the duties of mayor and minister.
It would be pretty difficult -- some say impossible -- but both say they'll continue to preach, at the very least.
James Meeks already juggles roles. He said he already has 25,000 signatures on petitions and expects to decide whether or not to run in the next week or 10 days.
When it comes to preachers, Meeks is among the most powerful. His South Side church, started with 200 members back in the 1980s, is now 20,000 strong.
"I don't run the church on a daily basis now, so I would be committed to being mayor of Chicago 24 hours, seven days a week," Meeks said. "And guess what I would do on Sundays? Go to church like everybody else."
De Jesus took over New Life covenant church from his father-in-law 10 years ago with less than 100 members. It has 10,000 members today.
He serves some of the members with the River of Life Shelter for the homeless. New apartments will be dedicated Saturday for single mothers; another building will be renovated for homeless teenagers.
If he's elected, "there will be a group of pastors that will deal with the day-to-day operation, but I will continue to preach," de Jesus said.
Mayoral candidate Gery Chico, who has pledged to give up his law practice if he's elected, doesn't see how that would work.
"This is such a multi-dimensional job that affects the entire fabric of the city, I don't see how you can do it without making a full-time commitment," said Chico.
Meeks says his commitment would be full-time -- kind of.
"Anybody with any responsibility knows how to prioritize, and the city will be my number-one priority," Meeks said.
Maybe we're splitting hairs when we try to distinguish between number- one priority and only priority. But Pastor Meeks seems to want to leave himself some wiggle room while promising to readjust should there be conflicts.
Meeks says he's on his own listening tour, trying to reach out to all groups and sections of the city, prior to making the formal announcement of his candidacy.
The separation of church and state isn't the only issue looming for Meeks and de Jesus. Some gay-rights advocates are skeptical religious leaders can be fair as office-holders if they preach about the immorality of some lifestyles.
"I think it would be difficult," says Rick Garcia of Equality Illinois. "But if he makes it to the fifth floor of City Hall, he has a responsibility not just to his parishioners, not just to his religious denomination, but all of us."
De Jesus says he doesn't discriminate.
"I feed over 200 people on Saturday here in this church, for years," he said. "I don't say are you straight or gay? No, I give them food."
Meeks met this week with Garcia and others at Equality Illinois.
"I want to know what are the concerns of every facet of the city of Chicago, and the only way to do that is to go and meet with people," he said.
