Mayor Rahm Emanuel reported making $554,000 in 2017 — by far his highest income since taking office, according to a newly released tax return from the mayor.
In addition to his $201,000 public salary, Emanuel reported making an additional $353,000 from interest, dividends and capital gains from investments, the records show. The mayor claimed $104,000 in deductions and paid $118,000 in taxes for an effective tax rate of 26 percent.
Emanuel released his tax return in response to an annual request from the Chicago Tribune. The mayor now has released his full tax records for 13 years, dating back to 2005.
In his first six years as mayor, Emanuel had an average income of about $365,000, with a high of $389,000 in 2015. His 2017 income represents an increase of $189,000 over the previous average. Emanuel filed jointly with Chicago first lady Amy Rule, who was listed as a homemaker and reported no income. The couple, who became empty-nesters in September, claimed their three college-aged children as dependents.
Emanuel claimed $1,281 in tax credits tied to $22,000 in foreign income. Spokeswoman Shannon Breymaier said that is tied to the fact that some mutual funds Emanuel owns hold securities issued by companies based in other countries, which can trigger foreign tax obligations. She said the mayor does not hold any overseas accounts.
Emanuel and Rule claimed deductions on $9,984 in home mortgage interest and reported giving $27,675 to charity. About $7,000 of that was in unspecified cash or check contributions to charity while another $20,500 came in the form of investments donated to the Emanuel Rule Charitable Trust.
Emanuel reported $118,000 in interest and dividend income from investments with JPMorgan Chase Bank and Golub Capital Partners private equity funds. He reported $219,000 in capital gains after selling off JPMorgan Chase investments, his tax returns show.
Emanuel made $16 million during a three-year period as an investment banker before winning his North Side congressional seat in 2002. He made an additional $320,000 as a director of mortgage giant Freddie Mac during a 14-month period.
Financial transparency has become an issue in the race to replace Emanuel, as some candidates have criticized others for not disclosing their tax returns.
On Nov. 1, the Tribune asked 16 declared candidates for their full tax returns, including all schedules and attachments for the last four years. So far, six have released their full tax returns while 10 have not.
Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, state Comptroller Susana Mendoza, state Rep. LaShawn Ford and Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown all released their full returns. City Hall veteran and attorney Gery Chico released the top two pages of his Form 1040 for all four years while Daley released those two pages for just 2017.
(Editor’s note: The following paragraph has been updated to correct Jerry Joyce’s name.)
The candidates who have refused to release their tax returns are businessman Willie Wilson, former Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, tech entrepreneur Neal Sales-Griffin, activist Ja’Mal Green, public policy consultant Amara Enyia, former Ald. Bob Fioretti and attorneys John Kozlar and Jerry Joyce.
When Emanuel first ran for mayor in 2010, he released five years of full tax returns from 2005 through 2009.
Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified Jerry Joyce as Jerry Joyce Jr. Joyce said his full name is Jeremiah E. Joyce II, but he’s known professionally as Jerry Joyce.
Twitter @BillRuthhart
