EX- EMANUELAIDEEXPLAINSGOLFCOURSEROLE

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s former campaign manager came out of the shadows Monday to make the case for merging the Jackson Park and South Shore golf courses into a single, championshipcaliber course.

Michael Ruemmler’s role as a founding director of the Chicago Parks Golf Alliance has fueled speculation that the fix was in for a project that gained momentum when President Barack Obama chose Jackson Park for his presidential library.

That conspiracy theory was further fueled by Emanuel’s private emails. They showed that City Hall was laying the groundwork for the $ 30 million project nearly five months before Emanuel and the Chicago Park District went public about the project.

On Monday, Ruemmler spoke publicly about the project for the first time.

He categorically denied that his role as director of the nonprofit charged with raising private money to cover 80 percent of the cost has anything to do with his history as a City Hall operative whomanaged Emanuel’s 2011 and 2015mayoral campaigns.

“I am doing this because . . . it’s a passion of mine. Golf has been something I grew up with. I was given a special opportunity by a family friend when I was a kid to get me into the game. It was a positive thing forme— something that’s been a big part of my life. I would love to see that continue with kids here inChicago,” Ruemmler said.

“I have been talking to friends about this for a long time. It’s something that started as a daydream and really just a cool possibility and now, it’s inching closer to reality. It’s not something that the mayor asked me to do.”

Ruemmler said he would await the outcome of a $ 1.1 million design and engineering study before deciding if the golf course merger would require closing Marquette Drive between Cornell and Lake Shore Drive. Email: fspielman@ suntimes. com Twitter: @ fspielman