Toni Preckwinkle testing the waters for possible mayoral run

Is Toni a sleeping Tiger?

Sneed is told Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who has insisted privately for eons she had no interest in running for mayor, is now eyeing the job.

“She’s been making phone calls,” said a top Dem leader in the African-American business community.

“Toni is definitely checking out the lay of the land now that [Mayor] Rahm [Emanuel] has decided not to seek a third term,” said a second top Dem party source who is a powerhouse in his own right.

“Look, Toni is tough, she’s head of the Cook County Dem party, and she is an established fundraiser who could raise money quickly,” the second source said.

“So many of the mayoral contenders were running against Rahm for vengeance reasons,” the source said. “Toni may not like Rahm very much, but Rahm has now taken himself off the ballot. And other contenders may drop out now that Rahm’s gone.”

Described as a woman who handles the race issue well, but suffers the sting of the soda tax aftermath, Preckwinkle is also considered a candidate who could make the money heading to gay mayoral contender Lori Lightfoot, a Rahm foe, fade away.

“If I were a betting man, I’d say Toni could pull it off,” said a top Springfield powerhouse from Chicago. “I think now that Rahm’s out, others will pull out.”

Preckwinkle has also been a close friend of legendary former Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis and this/close to Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.

Preckwinkle did not return Sneed’s phone call Tuesday.

Stay tuned.

Daley Schmooze

Top tip! Sneed hears rumbles former U.S. Commerce Secretary Bill Daley, who was President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, is this/close to announcing his bid for Chicago’s mayor. Daley, brother of former Mayor Richard M. Daley, has never hidden his intense dislike of Mayor Emanuel, and the way he has treated his brother’s legacy.

Sneedlings . . .

Today’s birthdays: Michael Keaton, 67; Lance Stephenson, 28; and Kim Yuna, 28.

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