Rahm Emanuel promises unity -- but serious fiscal reform -- as Chicago mayor

Rahm Emanuel, the former Obama administration official known for his aggressive partisanship, was sworn in as mayor of Chicago today with a promise to unite the city as it confronts its challenges.

At the same time, Emanuel directly challenged Republican-led attempts at fiscal reform in states like Wisconsin and Ohio, saying that Chicago residents should take another course.

"New times demand new answers; old problems cry out for better results," Emanuel said in his inaugural address. "We simply can't afford the size of city government that we had in the past. And taxpayers deserve a more effective and efficient government than the one we have today."

As the 46th mayor of Chicago, Emanuel faces a $1.2 billion budget shortfall. Emanuel explicitly criticized the approach taken to address similar shortfalls by governments in Wisconsin and Ohio, where budget problems this year turned into political battles over union rights.

Leaders in those states, he said, were "exploiting their financial crisis to achieve a political goal. That is not the right course for Chicago's future."

Still, Emanuel called his city's financial situation "difficult and profound."

The former White House chief of staff and former Illinois congressman has said he will freeze the city budget and make $75 million in cuts right off the bat, CBS News' Cynthia Bowers reported on CBS' "The Early Show" today. He's also confronting teachers unions, calling on teachers to work longer hours and improve Chicago's graduation rate, which currently stands at 55 percent.

In his speech, Emanuel said he has big shoes to fill. A generation ago, he said, Chicago was written off by many as a dying city, but outgoing Mayor Richard M. Daley turned the city around over his 22-year tenure. Emanuel's turn as mayor marks the apparent end of the Daley dynasty: a Daley ran the city of Chicago for 43 of the last 56 years.

Daley "challenged all of us to lower our voices and raise our sights," Emanuel said. "Chicago is a different city today than the one Mayor Daley inherited, thanks to all he did."

The inauguration ceremony drew many high-profile national and local politicians, including Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, current White House Chief of Staff William Daley (brother of the retiring mayor), Republican Sen. Mark Kirk and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin.