Rahm: If feds wants 'El Chapo' trial in here, 'We will be ready'

WASHINGTON – If the federal government wants to try Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Monday, “we will be ready.” Emanuel flew here Sunday night for a panel hosted by GE/Bloomberg and will be at the White House on Tuesday with Gov. Pat Quinn, Sen. Dick Durbin and others for President Barack Obama’s official announcement of Chicago’s soon-to-be launched “Digital Lab.”

Sun-Times federal court reporter Kim Janssen reported that “the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Chicago said he’s aiming to bring Guzman here to stand trial. “I think we have the strongest case,” Chicago’s DEA boss Jack Riley said Saturday. “I fully intend for us to have him tried here.”

Guzman in Mexican custody the process of where he goes next should take awhile. But if Chapman is tried in Chicago, can the city handle any extra security costs it may face?

Emanuel said Chapman’s arrest “is a big step forward by the Feds, nabbing him. It’s a big, big step forward for the United States and most importantly, for Chicago as well. ….Where they do it (the trial) is some the federal (government) will decide, but we will be ready if they decide.”

RAHM BREAKFASTED WITH MEXICO AMBASSADOR

Emanuel went to breakfast this morning with the Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. who will be coming to Chicago in April.

“We talked about a number of things as it relates to economic and cultural ties.”