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At the ABC7 debate Thursday, the candidates for mayor were asked whom they would name to their “kitchen” cabinets—their unofficial group of advisers. Not surprisingly, Gery Chico named two men whose endorsements are crucial: Congressman Luis Gutierrez and the Reverend B. Herbert Martin, Sr., longtime pastor of the Progressive Community Church in Bronzeville. Martin, 68, is best known for being Harold Washington’s close friend and pastor—and for standing with Steve Cokely in 1988 after Cokely, then 37, made inflammatory recorded lectures at Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam headquarters.

Rahm Emanuel and his surrogates have been pounding relentlessly on Gery Chico for accepting—sort of—the endorsement last month of the Chicago Tea Patriots, an offshoot of the main Chicago Tea Party group. But late last year, before a new campaign finance reform law kicked in, Donald Trump contributed $50,000 to Rahm’s campaign for mayor. This is the same Donald Trump who appeared in Washington earlier this month before the uber-right group…

Last night’s ABC7/League of Women Voters mayoral debate, the final one before Tuesday’s primary, featured the same back-and-forth we’ve heard before. As usual, some of the most enlightening moments came post-debate, when the candidates descended into the “press room” for 10 minutes each.

On Tuesday night, Rich Daley delivered a 30-minute self-congratulatory and, at times, inspiring speech. It was also relentlessly upbeat, even sunny—“the future [of Chicago] is brighter every day,” he said. But the most intriguing aspect of the evening, for me, was what wasn’t said…