Mr. Emanuel says he also wants to improve the city's finances. Chicago is struggling with a budget deficit of more than six hundred fifty million dollars.

Rahm Emanuel was elected in February with fifty-five percent of the vote. He will be the city's first Jewish mayor. He defeated five other candidates.

RAHM EMANUEL: "What makes this vote gratifying is that it was built on votes from every corner of this city, from people who believe that a common set of challenges must be met with a common purpose."

But the election provided a fresh example of the rough politics for which Chicago is known. Rahm Emanuel had to go through a legal fight all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court just to get on the ballot.

Some Chicagoans accused him of failing to meet residency requirements as a candidate for mayor. Mr. Emanuel argued that he was still a legal resident of Chicago even when he was serving the president in Washington.

He helped Mr. Obama move from the Senate to the White House in the two thousand eight election. But he also has a lot of experience in local politics. He helped raise record amounts of money for Mayor Daley's election in nineteen eighty-nine.

FAITH LAPIDUS: American University Professor James Thurber says Rahm Emanuel will need the cooperation of the Chicago City Council to succeed. But Don Rose, a longtime political commentator in Chicago, says it remains to be seen if the new mayor will get the support of Alderman Edward Burke. Mr. Burke is sometimes called the most powerful alderman in Chicago.