Rahm Emanuel On His First 100 Days in Office

Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel is offering a handful of specifics about what he'll accomplish in his first months on the job.

In the first question of a 70-minute interview before an audience Wednesday night at the Field Museum, Emanuel was asked to set some benchmarks he'll no doubt be judged on later: what he will have done 100 days after taking office.

"You want to rush forward all 100 days and I haven't even gotten 100 hours in yet," Emanuel said to the interviewer, Chicago Tribune editorial page editor Bruce Dold. The paper endorsed Emanuel in his campaign for mayor.

Emanuel highlighted some of the things he's done in the transition, most notably key staff announcements.

Among his first moves in office, he said, will be to appoint a board to oversee economic development funds, reorganize some of city government and close what he called the "revolving door" for public employees who take jobs as lobbyists.

Emanuel on Wednesday night also mentioned something he says would not be accomplished quickly.

"I want the culture and the mindset in city government to be one of, we all...deliver a service to the people who are paying the bills," he said.

Emanuel told the audience that won't happen in 100 days - or even in a thousand.