March 30, 2005
"DIVIDE AND CONQUER" FAILS DEMOCRATS IN MAINE TOWNSHIP
After a bitter and bruising Republican primary, northwest suburban Maine Township Supervisor Bob Dudycz won renomination by 58 votes -- and then by just 22 votes after a discovery recount. He should be hanging by the proverbial political thread, ripe for a kick into political oblivion by the Democrat, Karen Dimond. But the perpetually bickering township Republicans have sort of united: the liberal faction, led by Committeeman Mark Thompson (who lost to Dudycz) and State Representative Rosemary Mulligan, have given Dudycz a lukewarm endorsement, and there are no defections to Dimond. Maine Township is trending Democratic, as both Al Gore and John Kerry narrowly prevailed. But Republicans have a solid local base, and Dimond has run an insipid campaign. There will be no "divide and conquer" Democratic upset in 2005. Full Article...
March 23, 2005
ORNERY OBSTINATE POLITICIANS BATTLE IN HARWOOD HEIGHTS
In the acrimonious 2005 municipal election in suburban Harwood Heights, the O-word abounds: Obnoxious, obstinate, obdurate, and ornery. Trustee Peggy Fuller and her "Gang of Four" trustees have done their utmost to emasculate Mayor Norb Pabich. But local voters, as they did in 2001, may decide that their officials should govern, not provide comedic relief. Whatever Pabich proposes, Fuller opposes; whatever Fuller's Gang passes, Pabich vetoes; whatever Pabich vetoes, they re-enact. "There's been a total failure of leadership," says the third candidate, Joe Scott. Pabich claims that Fuller will let developers "run wild" in the village, so as to fatten her piggybank, and then run for the state legislature in 2006. Fuller won't talk to this writer. Scott hopes that voters will throw all the bums out. If this sounds like Dumb and Dumber, it's Harwood Heights, not the movie. Full Article...
March 16, 2005
PARK RIDGE CONFRONTS HATE FACTOR, FEAR FACTOR
Most campaigns feature variations on the Hate Factor and the Fear Factor, and the Park Ridge mayoral election is no exception. The Hate Factor decrees that it is easier to make a voter hate a candidate than to love him/her. The Fear Factor decrees that voters are leery of change. Contenders in 2005 are two aldermen: Howard Frimark and Mike Tinaglia. Frimark wants stability, and Tinaglia wants change. But now there's the Deep Doo-Doo Factor. Tinaglia was sanctioned by a federal judge in 1996 for his "failure to be truthful and candid" and fined $185,143.53. On appeal, the court upbraided Tinaglia for his "brazenness" and "elastic definition" of his role in the case. Does this issue have "legs"? Does this go to Tinaglia's character and fitness to be mayor? Or will voters perceive that Frimark is going negative, and punish him accordingly? Frimark is a nervous favorite. Full Article...
March 9, 2005
MORTON GROVE POLITICIANS BATTLE OVER "REGIME CHANGE"
In international affairs, the quest for "regime change" is self-evident: The Bad Guys are the totalitarian dictators, and the Good Guys are the democratically-elected replacements. But it's not so evident in north suburban Morton Grove, where it is not at all clear which mayoral candidate will change the incumbent regime, since each has been both for and against that regime. Dan Staackmann, a Republican, opposed the current Democratic mayor in 1997, but then joined the mayor's Action Party, and is running for mayor on that ticket. His foe, Rick Krier, a Democrat, backed Mayor Scanlon in 1997 against Staackmann, but now is blasting Scanlon. Krier, who works for the Assessor, has some significant baggage: His Morton Grove home is under assessed, and he spent 28 years on the payroll of the Cook County Forest Preserve District, occupying a low-rent home at Chick Evans. Can voters figure out this puzzle inside an enigma wrapped in a conundrum? Full Article...
March 2, 2005
ALLIANCE PARTY BENEFITS FROM "LINCOLNWOOD LULL"
Residents of upper-crusty north suburban Lincolnwood, having suffered through the Era of the Lincolnwood Loonies (1985-93), are now blissfully snoozing through the Era of the Lincolnwood Lull. In fact, they fervently hope that the untumultuous race for village president between Jerry Turry and Bertha Gimble is yet another lull before the lull. When Gimbel talks about "primogeniture" and "arrogance of power," voters cringe, recalling the chaotic reign of Frank Chulay. They want quietude, not controversy. But, in this village where many homes are worth upwards of $1.2 million; where taxes are low, services adequate, and mortgages oppressive; and where politics (and political bickering) is distasteful, one fact is clear: The Establishment, descended from Proesel's Administration Party through the current Alliance Party, is thoroughly in control. Turry will win easily. Full Article...
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