By John Dempsey, WLS-AM News

(CHICAGO)  Former Chicago top cop Garry McCarthy is sounding more and more like he is going to run for Mayor next year against Rahm Emanuel, the man who fired McCarthy in 2015.

McCarthy held a fundraiser Sunday at the Irish American Heritage Center on the Northwest Side, telling the crowd that he will make his plans official sometime next month.   McCarthy told the gathering that under Emanuel,  “The crime rate is out of control. The economy of the city is horrible. The taxes are through the roof. ”

McCarthy never mentioned Emanuel’s name during the 13 minute speech but he said homicide levels have surged higher since the Mayor fired him.   Emanuel dismissed McCarthy after the release of the police dash cam video showing white police officer Jason Van Dyke pumping 16 shots into the body of black teenager LaQuan McDonald.   Emanuel had fought the release of the video in court.

Emanuel campaign spokesman Pete Giangreco issued a statement tying McCarthy to President Donald Trump.

“This is more proof that Garry McCarthy and Donald Trump are two peas in a pod — a couple of New Yorkers more interested in trashing Chicago for their own political gain than finding solutions,” Giangreco said. “Chicagoans would rather work to resolve our challenges with leaders who love Chicago than someone who thinks the ‘Second City’ means second to New York in everything.”

​McCarthy has taken a campaign donation from Trump supporter and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and he has refused to say whether he voted for Trump in the 2016 election.

@ 2018 WLS-AM News