June 29, 2011
SLATING NOT CRITICAL IN "BATTLE FOR THE BENCH"
Judges dispense justice. Ald. Ed Burke's judicial Democratic slating committee dispenses judgeships. In 2008, Burke put his wife on the Supreme Court. In recent cycles, however, gender, ethnicity (meaning an Irish surname), race and union and media endorsements have proven potent, often overcoming party slating. "There aren't armies of precinct workers anymore," said Mike Tierney, the county's legendary "judgemaker," who handles judicial candidates who are often un-slated. In the 2012 Democratic primary, which is tantamount to election, there will be at least 8 Appellate Court slots, up to 6 countywide Circuit Court nominations, plus the Supreme Court seat of a retiring justices, and a slew of sub-circuit vacancies. The scrambling among ambitious lawyers and sitting judges is already intense. The Supreme Court contenders include Joy Cunningham, Aurie Pucinski, Tim Evans, Bob Clifford, Larry Rogers Jr, Mary Jane Theis. Full Article...
June 22, 2011
HISPANICS WILL BE STIFFED AGAIN IN 2011 CHICAGO WARD REMAP
Unlike other legislative chambers, Chicago 50 aldermanic wards cannot be spoked, spiked, bleached or tinted. The reason? Racial segregation. The 2010 census pegged Chicago's population at 2,695,598, of which 944,000 (35%) are white, 890,000 (33%) are black, and 863,000 (32%) are Hispanic. There were 181,453 fewer blacks than in 2000, and 52,499 fewer whites. The 2011-15 council has 23 whites, 19 blacks, and 8 Hispanics. Based on population, it should be 17/17/16. In your dreams. Four Hispanic-majority wards have "gringo" aldermen (Mell, Burke, Quinn and Pope). That won't change. And no black ward will be eliminated. The only change: On the Northwest Side, a new Hispanic ward will be created around Belmont-Central. That will entail collapsing three wards -- Tim Cullerton's 38th, John Arena's 45th, and Nick Sposato's 36th -- into two. The remap must be passed with 41 votes before Dec. 1, 2011. Otherwise, there will be a citywide referendum. Full Article...
June 15, 2011
"NO WHITES WIN" IN COOK COUNTY'S 2012 DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
"No Whites Win." That's the reality of Cook County politics in 2012. The black/Hispanic minority vote is actually a 55.6% majority of the county's Democratic primary vote. The only way a white candidate can win is if both a black and black, or black and Hispanic, split the vote. In developing Cook County contests for state's attorney, Clerk of Court, Recorder, and 3 commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), white contenders are conspicuous by their absence. Here's the early outlook: For Clerk, it's two blacks -- the tattered, tainted and oft-rejected incumbent Dorothy Brown vs. Ald. Leslie Hairston. Unless P.J. Cullerton runs, Hairston wins. For Recorder, it's two blacks in a geographic tug-of-war. Incumbent Gene Moore is retiring. It's the west suburban blacks behind Karen Yarbrough vs. the south suburban blacks behind Al Riley. Incumbent State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, who has plenty of baggage, will face a black opponent. MWRD president Terry O'Brien, who got a desultory 23% in a 2010 bid for county board president, has had his balloon punctured; he faces at least two blacks and two female liberals. His future is eminently questionable. Full Article...
June 8, 2011
"TRIANGULISM" WILL BE EMANUEL'S GOVERNING STYLE
Clintonism has erupted in Chicago. Having learned all aspects of "triangulism" at the knee of ex-President Bill Clinton while a White House aide in the 1990s, new Mayor Rahm Emanuel has embraced the "third way" of governance. Already, City Hall is in the media's face 24/7, and Chicagoans are being treated to a Tweeter, Facebook-style regime, where every issue, crisis or controversy is a media opportunity. "Triangulism" means that Emanuel eschews taking a polarized viewpoint, positioning himself between, thereby minimizing political damage. The mayor's 55-point "Chicago 2011 Transition Plan" lays it out: Neither liberal or conservative, dollops of both, and doing what's beneficial, not detrimental. And Pat Quinn will be the demon. "Triangulism" kept Clinton in the presidency; Emanuel expects that "triangulism" will gain him the presidency. Full Article...
June 1, 2011
ILLINOIS' REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMEN SUNK BY "MADI-CULLOMANDER"
In Springfield, it's payback and payoff time. Call it the "Madi-Cullomander," an Illinois bastardization of Massachusetts' legendary gerrymander, a ploy designed to dissect, dismember, disembowel and destroy the opposition by creatively and convolutingly -- as opposed to compactly -- redrawing congressional district boundaries. Illinois' 19 congressional districts are now 11-8 Republican, with 4 Democrats ousted in the 2010 Republican wave. Under the new map -- in which the state loses one district due to declining population -- concocted by Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, both Democrats, it will revert to at least 12-6 Democratic, with 5 or more Republicans taking the pipe: Walsh, Dold, Schilling, Biggert, Kinzinger and perhaps even Shimkus and Schrock. A whole bunch of Democratic legislators, who are toadies and favorites of Madigan and Cullerton, have a ticket to Washington, with districts being drawn to elect them: Kotowski, Garrett, Chapa-LaVia, Frerichs. The lucky residents of Will County will have a black congressman (Jackson and Rush), who both live on Chicago's South Side, 40 miles away. This carnage is directly attributable to Bill Brady's (R) loss for governor in 2010. Were a Republican in the statehouse and able to veto the Madi-Cullomander, Democrats would have to deal, not dismember. Full Article...
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