My guess is that many people in my general part of town (Lakeview, Ravenswood, North Center, the far NW side, etc., i.e. Rahm’s base), found Rahm’s behavior (and, by extension, that of CPD) acceptable. I believe Rahm could conceivably have won another term, in fact. That said—
— Rahm’s decision to not seek another term hints at just how exposed he considered himself politically, if not legally. Even winning another term would have proven a Pyrrhic victory; he might’ve spent much of his term in civil court and battling continued political fallout from the scandal. Still—
— there are probably enough voters even in Chicago who would be willing to let Rahm’s foul history pass, especially given how demoralized and debased the Democratic base has become since falling in line behind Biden/Harris’s live-streamed genocide and then fumbling another POTUS election to Trump.