Less than a week after Amara Enyia received Chance the Rapper's endorsement in her bid for Chicago mayor, Kanye West made a donation to her campaign.
The rap star and Windy City native on Monday donated $73,540 to Friends of Amara Enyia, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.
The donation pays off the exact amount of fines Enyia incurred since she ended her mayoral bid ahead of the last election and didn't close her campaign account.
"The $73,540 debt to the Illinois State Board of Elections has been paid in full," her campaign noted in a statement. "The Amara Enyia campaign thanks Chicago native, Kanye West, for his generous action."
West announced last month that he was moving back to Chicago "and never leaving," crediting Chance the Rapper for "bringing me back." West revealed that he and Chance are working on a new album together.
Further committing himself to the city he named his third child after, West has said he plans to open a “Yeezy office” in Chicago and later added he wants to restore the Regal Theatre, though nothing has been confirmed.
Most recently, he was spotted at a Naperville taco restaurant.
For his part, Chance the Rapper ended speculation that he might run for mayor by announcing his support for Enyia, a Chicago attorney and community activist.
"All the candidates started sweating because Chicago politics is about people knowing what’s possible," he said. "Nobody wants to vote for who should be mayor everybody wants to vote for who could be mayor."
Enyia announced her campaign before Mayor Rahm Emanuel revealed that he would not seek re-election, giving way to a crowded and growing field of candidates.
When asked why he would support Enyia, who was not widely considered to be a frontrunner, Chance said the odds of her victory did not factor into his decision.
"I'd like to say, very narcissistically, if I back you you have a chance absolutely and I want to work with somebody that’s about change, somebody that’s about our community, somebody that’s about equity, somebody that’s about fairness," he said.
He added that he's "got a lot of money - so it'll be scary."
Enyia ran for mayor in 2015 before exiting the race to back then-Ald. Bob Fioretti’s unsuccessful bid.
With a doctorate in education policy, she has worked as a public policy advisor in various capacities, recently for lieutenant governor candidate Ra Joy, who fell short in the Democratic primary alongside Chris Kennedy. Enyia, 35, lives in Garfield Park and is the director of the Austin Chamber of Commerce. She founded a social lab to educate on economic development, according to her website, and co-authored a book on municipal funding in Chicago.
Enyia called Chance's announcement "not your typical flash in the pan endorsement."
"Today is the beginning of Chicago's next level," she said.
