On Tuesday, September 4, Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel announced that he will not run for a third term in as mayor. This decision has left citizens of Chicago wondering who will replace him in office. Emanuel has been the Mayor of Chicago for the past eight years and has been involved with politics of different types for the past 23.

In an interview with “The Chicago Tribune,” Emanuel said, “This has been the job of a lifetime, but it is not a job for a lifetime.” Emanuel said that throughout his years in politics his wife and children have made many sacrifices for him, and he is now ready to move on to the next chapter of his life with his family. During Emanuel’s time in office, he has extended Chicago Public School school days, increased the minimum wage, led an increase in construction throughout the city, as well as oversaw the largest teachers strike and set of school closures and experienced an increase in gun violence throughout the city.

With Emanuel not running, citizens of Chicago are now, more than before, needing to look at the candidates in the race currently. At the moment, there are 12 candidates in the race for Mayor of Chicago, including the current Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, former White House chief of staff Bill Daley, Chicago Treasurer Kurt Summers, city Clerk Anna Valencia, 2011 mayoral candidate and lobbyist Gery Chico, Lakeview Ald. Tom Tunney, and Michael Sacks, Emanuel’s close friend, confidant and top campaign donor who is the wealthy CEO of the investment firm GCM Grosvenor.

During his press conference, Emanuel told the Chicago Tribune that he is confident that he could get re-elected for a third team, but has decided to allow Chicago to see a change and lead through a different lens.