Hinz tells Rahm: "Talking with a big mouth, not always smart..."

Rahm & Brizard strut.

Greg Hinz covers politics from Crain's Chicago Business. Today, following the press conference where CTU Pres. Karen Lewis officially announced that 90% of its 25,000 members voted YES on a strike authorization vote, Hinz lit into Rahm and Brizard. 

If Mr. Emanuel and schools chief Jean-Claude Brizard want to know why the figure was that high, they might start by looking in the mirror.

Ouch! Hinz continues:

Given a choice between following its leader or the outsider promising longer hours and little (if any) pay hike, members voted with their leader, telling Mr. Emanuel what he could do with his advice. As Homer would say, "D'oh!" No big surprise there. But perhaps the lesson will be learned now that talking with a big mouth isn't always smart public policy.

It might be interesting to speculate who Hinz is speaking for here, besides himself. Aside from his bungled approach to handling things with city teachers (who are also voters), Rahm is also hearing some angry voices around Chicago's powerful Civic Committee grumbling over his overly-aggressive behavior. His NATO follies, which killed business in the South Loop, have also drawn some open criticism from those circles in recent weeks..

With elections coming up and the nation's eyes focused on Chicago, are there some in the business community who would like to see this contract battle go away, even if it means Rahm knocked down a peg? You bet.