‘I hear ya,’ Rahm says in latest TV ad

Mayor Rahm Emanuel will close the runoff campaign with a TV ad in which he tells voters that Chicago is a great city that can be “even better and, yeah, I hear ya. So can I.”

After being forced into Chicago’s first-ever mayoral runoff, Emanuel cut an extraordinary mea culpa commercial.

In the ad, the mayor who seldom, if ever, admits mistakes, looks straight into the camera and acknowledges that his “greatest strengths” are also his “greatest weakness.” He admits he can “rub people the wrong way” and can often “talk when I should listen.”

The spot that will be the last impression TV viewers get before going to the polls is not quite that direct about the mistakes that Emanuel hopes to correct in a second term. It manages to work in what the mayor views as his greatest hits, then closes with a rare dose of humility.

“Everywhere I go, I hear the same message. We now have all-day kindergarten for every child, not just some. But we have miles to go to deliver a quality education for all our students,” Emanuel says in the latest in a never-ending string of commercials.

“And crime may be down, but there are still too many families ripped apart by senseless violence. We’re attracting new businesses to our city. We’re raising the minimum wage. Still, we need to bring more jobs to all our neighborhoods. Chicago is a great city, but we can be even better. And yeah, I hear you – so can I. I ask for your vote on April 7.”

To bankroll the closing ads, Emanuel reported raising another $1.25 million on March 30. He has now raised more that $32 million since 2010, when he stepped down as White House chief of staff to run for mayor of Chicago.