CHICAGO – One would think in Chicago, naming a school after President Obama – the first president to call the city home – would be as uncontroversial as puppies and rainbows. Even candy gets more bad press.

But Mayor Rahm Emanuel took the opportunity to apologize again for deciding to name a yet-to-be-build school after the 44th president.

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The Sun Times reports:

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Wednesday he “made a mistake” in his “rush to honor” President Barack Obama — which is why he dropped plans to name a new, $60 million selective-enrollment high school on the Near North Side after his former boss.

The mayor seldom second-guesses himself in public for fear it might be viewed as a sign of weakness. It’s hard to remember the last time he uttered the words, “I made a mistake.”

“In my rush to honor our favorite son, I made a mistake. I heard the community. And it’s not gonna be named after the president. My goal is to have a library named after him here in the city of Chicago,” Emanuel said, according to the paper.

Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis – who is mulling a challenge to Emanuel next year – called it an example of his “top-down approach.”

The latest non-apology apology comes after Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett April announcement to build Barack Obama College Preparatory High School and open it in the 2017-2018 school year.

Emanuel announced last week the “community” had spoken and he canceled his decision, according to NBC 5.

“Over the last few months, my team has listened to questions and concerns from the community, ranging from location of the building to the naming of the school. We take that community input seriously, which is why — as we continue to look for a thoughtful way to honor President Obama — we will look for other possible names for this future school,” Emanuel said, according to the news station.

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The Sun Times notes Obama has “no ties to the Near North Side,” where the school will be located.

” … Black elected officials focused on the name. They called it an insult because Obama’s professional roots were on the South Side, where First Lady Michelle Obama was born and raised,” the paper reports.