Trying to stay in touch several times a day via cell phone calls, Amy and Rahm Emanuel kept their marriage and family on a solid foundation while he worked in Washington, D.C. As Mayor of Chicago, there will still be long work hours for Rahm and the need to stay in touch with one another.

Here is information about the marriage of Amy Rule and Rahm Emanuel.

Born:

Rahm Israel Emanuel: November 29, 1959 in Chicago, Illinois.

Amy Merritt Rule: Abt. 1958.

How Rahm and Amy Met:

Amy and Rahm met on a blind date in 1990. According to the Chicago Tribune, the date was set up by a mutual friend, Antonia Contro.

Wedding Date:

Rahm and Amy were married in 1994. David Axelrod signed the ketubah at Amy and Rahm's wedding.

Children:

Amy and Rahm have three children.

• Zacharias Emanuel
• Ilana Emanuel
• Leah Emanuel

Occupations:

Rahm: Mayor of Chicago, Illinois; White House chief of staff; U.S. Representative from Illinois; investment banker; top adviser for President Clinton.

Amy: Stay-at-home mom; has worked with disadvantaged youth at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Residence:

Amy and Rahm have a home built around the turn-of-the-century on the North Side of Chicago in the Ravenswood neighborhood.

While working in Washington, D.C.: "He [Rahm] keeps a small basement apartment in Washington and tries to fly home every weekend."
Source: John M. Broder, Bernie Becker. "Commute or Relocate?" NYTimes.com. 11/06/08.

Quotes About the Marriage of Amy and Rahm Emanuel:

Rahm in his inaugral speech: "I have big shoes to fill. And I could not have taken on this challenge without Amy, my first love and our new First Lady, and our children, Zacharia, Ilana, and Leah.
Source: Rahm Emanuel. "Mayor Rahm Emanuel's Inaugural Address." ChicagoBreakingNews.com. 5/16/2011.

Jeff Coen: "She [Amy] is, in Emanuel's words, the rock of the family, but in personality and public persona the two are strikingly different. In more than two decades together, as Emanuel's reputation for political bravado grew, Rule remained the steady hand behind him, caring for their three children and eschewing the spotlight ... by any description given by her husband, she is the glue that holds them all together."
Source: Jeff Coen, Rex W. Huppke. "Emanuel's wife prefers life outside spotlight." ChicagoTribune. 2/23/2011.

Rahm on his decision about the Chief of Staff role: “I got a lot to weigh: my commitment to my country, as well as what I want to do as a parent. I have a decision to make about my family ... This is a personal choice about what my wife and I want to do for our family."
Source: Tom Baldwin. "Rahm Emanuel's commitment to family and country is weighed up after White House offer." TimesOnline.co.uk. 11/07/08.

Rahm: “I tell my wife I love her —- she says I’m likable enough.”
Source: Anne Schroeder Mullins. "Rahm Emanuel just a heartbeat away from having a heart." Politico.com. 2/14/2008.

Rahm: "Our wives say we go right back to when we were 16, 14 and 13. Every spouse not only marries her partner, she gets the other two [brothers] shmegegges with us."
Source: Elizabeth Bumiller. "The Brothers Emanuel." The New York Times. 6/15/1997.