April 26, 2006
O'BRIEN, HDO EMERGE WITH BIG PRIMARY WINS
Obscurity can be bliss. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) treats solid waste and effluent for 10.1 million people in Cook County; it also controls 2,100 jobs and has a budget of $800 million annually. The $3.2 billion Deep Tunnel, which is nearing completion, has been a bonanza for Daley-connected contractors. The MWRD has 9 commissioners (3 elected every two years). In the 12 Democratic primaries since 1984, 12 non-slated candidates have won, and five incumbent commissioners (including two presidents) have lost. The 2006 primary was half-a-loaf. MWRD president Terry O'Brien proved to be an Ironman -- having now won primaries in 1988, 1994, 2000, and 2006. One sitting commissioner, Jim Harris, lost; and the third slated Democrat, Barrett Pedersen, also lost. The winners for the three nominations were O'Brien, feminist/lesbian/environmentalist Debra Shore (who finished first), and Patricia Horton, a black political operative out of West Side State Senator Rickey Hendon's organization. The big loser was Frank Avila, whose father (M. Frank Avila) is an MWRD commissioner. A large black vote aided Horton, and doomed Avila. Another winner was the Hispanic Democratic Organization (HDO), a pro-Daley entity. They won every contest. Full Article...
April 19, 2006
TWO ELECTIONS AREN'T OVER 'TIL THEY'RE OVER
In some political contests, defeat is a stake in the heart, and the loser buried forever. In others, a wound or a nick brings the loser back, again and again. It's the latter for Republicans in northwest suburban Maine Township (Park Ridge, Des Plaines, and parts of Glenview, Niles and Mr. Prospect). It's like a ping-pong contest between moderates led by Committeeman Mark Thompson, and conservatives led by Supervisor Bob Dudycz. Dudycz dumped Thompson as Supervisor in 2001; Thompson beat Dudycz ally Bill Darr for committeeman in 2002 by 153 votes; Dudycz beat Thompson in the 2005 supervisor primary by 22 votes; and Thompson kept his committeeman's job by 319 votes in 2006, beating Dudycz ally Bob Provenzano. While Republican claw and squabble, Democrats are making inroads. Republicans beg: Will somebody please win and take charge? In west suburban Proviso Township (Maywood), black State Representative Karen Yarbrough has done just that. She lost for Democratic committeeman to incumbent Gene Moore by 1,162 votes in 2002; in 2006, she won by 2,701 votes. That's a stake in the heart for Moore, who is the Cook County Recorder of Deeds. Since he can't even control his township, he will surely be dumped as Recorder by Democratic slatemakers in 2008. Full Article...
April 12, 2006
"WHEEL OF JUSTICE" PICKS RANDOM WINNERS
Like TV's "Wheel of Fortune," contests for judicial office in Cook County for the Supreme Court, Appellate Court, and Circuit Court (including local sub-circuits) are a predictably unpredictable "Wheel of Justice," wherein random selection prevails. In races for judge, legal qualifications or bar association ratings pale before such factors as gender, party endorsement, ethnicity, name familiarity, and Irish surnames. Of 270 Democratic primary races from 1990 to 2006, women were victorious in 116 (42.9%). Of Republican primary races since 1990, women won 8 (21%). Women won a majority of Democratic primaries in 1996 and 2000, but 2006 was the "Year of the Men," with 65% of the nominations going to men. In a huge upset, Joy Cunningham, a black supported by the forces of anti-Daley Jesse Jackson Jr. and Luis Gutierrez, won by an unofficial 497 votes in the Appellate Court race, defeating David Erickson. In the other Appellate contest, Judge Mike Murphy won. In a key countywide contest, Judge Aurie Pucinski -- who wanted to be a countywide judge so she could move to the Loop -- won; and locally, 2004 loser Jim McGing won in the 10th subcircuit, but 2004 11th subcircuit loser Larry Andolino, despite the backing of Alderman Bill Banks, got obliterated in his race. Full Article...
April 5, 2006
BLAGOJEVICH-TOPINKA RACE MAY BE COUNTER-CYCLICAL
Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich and Republican challenger Judy Baar Topinka both underperformed in a primary with an underwhelming turnout. In fact, Illinois may prove to be counter-cyclical in 2006: electing a Republican governor despite an evolving national political environment that favors the Democrats. Blagojevich beat his primary foe by 342,249 votes (70.1%), but turnout was down 400,000 from 2002, and nearly a third of those Democrats voting in the collar counties and Downstate opted for Ed Eisendrath. Blago's margin was huge in Cook County's suburbs, where he got 65%, and in Chicago, where he got 66.5%. But if black James Meeks runs for governor as an independent, Blago's in trouble. Without a solid black vote, the governor is doomed. Topinka limped to a 38% primary win, and will be hammered as a "George Ryan insider" by Democrats. In a two-way race, Blago's favored; but in a three-way race, Topinka wins. Full Article...
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