HOLY WATER

Mayor Rahm Emanuel knew he was stepping into the lion's den when he accepted Sister Rosemary Connelly's invitation to speak at the annual fund-raising breakfast for Misericordia — right after cutting off free water for Chicago's nonprofits.

The Rev. Jack Clair opened the breakfast for the North Side home for 600 children and adults with disabilities by saying, "Thank you, God, for the gift of water." He paused. "Oh, it's not a gift anymore."

Immediately after Emanuel proposed plugging a city budget hole by ending the practice of not charging nonprofits such as Misericordia for water, aldermen asked how he would deal with Connelly, whose ability to put the arm on people for donations rivals Emanuel's. Emanuel has always admitted being afraid of her.

"Every time I met Rahm in public, he told me he was afraid of me," Connelly said.

"The last time I met him, right before the inauguration, he said, and I quote — please remember the bad word used is his not mine — 'You scare me s-*-*-*-l-e-s-s,'" Connelly said, spelling out the last word of the quote.

The audience roared with laughter.

"To show you how courageous this man is, despite his fear, he is going to charge Mirsericordia for water, which will add to our projected $13 million debt," she said to more laughter. "We are one of the top users of water in Chicago. You see, we are very clean. The 610 children and adults along with staff who live here, use much water, especially those who are non-ambulatory and can do nothing for themselves. Sometimes we have to bathe them several times a day."

Looking at the mayor, she said, "Now, that should make an impression."

After talking about how the change in city policy could cause some schools, churches and synagogues to close, Connelly said, "Would you not think it would be the right approach for the mayor to join us each year in one fund-raising effort? He's off the hook for 2012 because this event will pay for our water bill."

Misericordia's annual water bill is $350,000. Thursday's fund-raiser brought in $100,000, which should cover the bill under Emanuel's five-year phase-in that requires nonprofits to pay 20 percent of the tab in the first year.

As the mayor took the podium, she gave him a kiss and said, "God bless you, Rahm."

Emanuel shook his head and said, "Prior to this event, I thought Jewish mothers had a corner on the market as it relates to guilt."

Emanuel said his legendary prowess at getting people to cough up money pales in comparison to Connelly's power.

"I do want to say where my fear of Sister Rosemary comes from," Emanuel said. Back when he was a congressman, he offered to get her a $500,000 congressional earmark for Misericordia.

"Sister Rosemary indicated to me that was not adequate, which is why it ended up being north of $500,000," Emanuel said.

It got to the point that when Connelly called, Emanuel would tell a staffer, "Just ask her for a number and a range. When it comes to fund-raising, I know when my pocket's picked. Somebody else handle it. The person who taught me, 'No, that's not good enough,' is Sister Rosemary. So for all of you in the room that think I'm a hard fund-raiser, where I learned that lesson, right over here," he said, pointing to Connelly.

Of course, Emanuel already had earned his reputation as a take-no-prisoners fund-raiser in the Daley and Clinton administrations, long before his years as a congressman.

Emanuel tried to shift some of the guilt to some of the well-heeled members of the audience, saying Ald. Edward Burke (14th) could use his juicy campaign fund to help with the first six months of fund-raising and the Walsh construction family, also in the audience, could help with the next six months. Emanuel said he would make a personal donation.

Connelly explained how nuns learn to put fear into people.

"Teaching, you had 50 students in your classroom," she said. "You had two types of students: those you knew would be good and just people because you have a part in convincing them that God loves them. . . . But there were always a few you were not convinced. . . . If you didn't want them to end up serving time, the fear of God was the only motivation. For them, the nuns were the messenger who represented God — who had the power to send them to hell."

That brought more laughter from the donors, just about all of whom except Emanuel raised their hands when asked if they had been taught by nuns.

Sister Rosemary ConnellyJean LachatSister Rosemary ConnellyMichael Jarecki 312.806.2415