July 20, 2011
"BUMBLER" SCHULTER EYES COMEBACK FOR BOARD REVIEW

ANALYSIS & OPINION BY RUSS STEWART

If, according to an old proverb, no good deed goes unpunished, then the obverse is that no bad deed is unrewarded.

Former 47th Ward alderman Gene Schulter is the exception. By bungling his aldermanic succession and fumbling his attempt to secure appointment to Joe Berrios' vacancy on the Board of Review, Schulter proved that deceitful deeds are punished and boneheaded judgment is not rewarded.

Nevertheless, as if a glutton for more punishment, Schulter is poised to embark on another journey into the quagmire of political fantasy, subjecting himself to yet another humiliation. According to sources in the 47th Ward, Schulter will seek reelection as the ward's Democratic committeeman and run in the 2012 primary for Board of Review commissioner from the 2nd District. The incumbent, appointed to replace Berrios, is Mike Cabonargi.

A protege of political powerhouse Ed Kelly, Schulter was elected alderman from the Ravenswood/Lincoln Square ward in 1975. Although Mayor Harold Washington ousted Kelly as Chicago Park District superintendent in 1986, Schulter's assiduous attention to constituent service kept him secure in his gentrifying ward.

In the early 1980s Schulter was part of the "Vrdoylak 29," the City Council majority dedicated to thwarting Washington. However, in 1987 Schulter had an epiphany and endorsed Washington, while Kelly backed Tom Hynes, creating a rupture in the 47th Ward. In 2000 Schulter challenged Kelly for committeeman, losing narrowly, and he finally ousted him in 2004.

Having won reelection as alderman with 64.1 percent of the vote in 2003 and with 78.5 percent in 2007, Schulter looked unbeatable in this year's election. He had $830,272 in his campaign account at the end of last year.

But, at age 62, having maxed out his city pension after 36 years, Schulter decided he wanted Berrios' post on the powerful Board of Review, which hear appeals of assessed values set by the Cook County Assessor's Office. Berrios, the county Democratic chairman, was elected assessor in November, beating independent Forrest Claypool by 220,211 votes. Claypool, who resides in the 47th Ward and who, as a county commissioner, shared an office with Schulter, had Schulter's endorsement -- much to Berrios' outrage.

Berrios, who resigned on Dec. 6 as a board commissioner after he was sworn into office as assessor, had no input into the succession. Under state law, the chief judge of the Cook County Circuit Court, Tim Evans, has that power. And, coincidentally, Evans was Washington's City Council floor leader, a 1989 mayoral contender and an arch-foe of the "Vrdolyak 29." Surely Evans would pick his old council crony, who renounced the Vrdolyakers. In addition, Schulter's brother-in-law is Paul Biebel, chief judge of the criminal court, who surely had "clout" with Evans.

But Evans dawdled. He asked for applications, with more than 20 submitted. But Schulter couldn't dawdle. He filed for reelection as alderman on Nov. 15, and he arranged for one of his precinct captains, Tom O'Donnell, an aide to Sheriff Tom Dart, to file on the last day as a backup, should Schulter get the Board of Review appointment. Three other candidates, Ameya Pawar, Matt Reichel and Tom Jacks, also had filed for alderman; none was deemed formidable.

The last day to withdraw was Jan. 17, and Evans had made no pick. If Schulter was the pick, as he expected, he would resign as alderman, but he would still be on the February aldermanic ballot, would generate a lot of votes, and would create chaos in the 47th Ward, endangering O'Donnell's seamless succession. So, in a leap of faith, Schulter withdrew.

And, lo and behold, on Jan. 31 Evans appointed Cabonargi, an obscure and politically unconnected U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission senior attorney and prosecutor, to the Berrios vacancy. Cabonargi, who lives in Logan Square, had worked as an aide to Democratic U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Paul Simon and as a law clerk to a federal judge. But he had zero local "clout." "Obviously, Judge Evans wanted the best qualified candidate," Cabonargi said.

Now Schulter not only looked like a fool, but in the 47th Ward he was viewed as a huckster, attempting to manipulate the system to deny voters an opportunity to choose his replacement. Had he honorably announced his retirement, dozens of prominent residents of the ward would have run.

Pawar, a 30-year-old Indian-American programming assistant at Northwestern University with no roots in the ward, got the major newspaper endorsements and emerged as the stick-it-to-Schulter candidate. In a stunning upset, Pawar got 8,572 votes (50.8 percent of the total cast), beating O'Donnell by 1,225 votes and winning outright. Pawar won a majority in 32 of the ward's 52 precincts, while O'Donnell won in eight.

"It was absolutely, positively a repudiation of Schulter," said one 47th Ward precinct captain. "These are intelligent voters, and they were enraged and insulted."

Now to the future: Schulter is going to run for reelection as committeeman, the precinct captain predicted, since he will need a big 47th Ward vote to defeat Cabonargi.

"There's going to be a 'progressive' candidate for committeeman," promised Pawar, who said he is not interested in the job. "We will find and I will support" a Schulter opponent, Pawar said. He has also endorsed Cabonargi.

Although Pawar has been the alderman for only 3 months, Schulter's precinct minions are already spewing negativity throughout the ward. The accusations: First, Pawar promised, in contrast to Schulter, to do fund-raising only during his reelection year, but he held a fund-raiser on the day he was sworn in. Second, Pawar promised to forego half of his $110,000 aldermanic salary. Since he has substantial student loans, being in a lower salary bracket defers payments, but the city cannot reduce salaries on request, and Pawar gets his pay. Third, Pawar promised to hire a "professional engineer" as the ward superintendent. Instead, he hired a Cook County Forest Preserve District laborer. Fourth, Pawar is palming off service requests to the 311 city number instead of having his staff handle them.

"All false," retorts Pawar. "I promised not to build a war chest like Gene. He had eight staffers. I have three. I'm raising money through the Friends of Pawar PAC so I can hire more ward staffers. After I took office, the city needed 3 weeks to install its 311 system, and Schulter shared no information and gave me no advice. We now handle all inquiries.

"I will take 60 unpaid furlough days in 2011, which, at $296.17 per day, means I am foregoing nearly $18,000, and, concerning the ward superintendent, there was minimal interest and few applications." Eric Norton, who lives in the ward, got the job.

The 2012 outlook: The county has three single-member Board of Review districts, with roughly 1.7 million people per district. The suburban 1st District encompasses most white areas plus parts of the 41st, 36th and 19th wards but excludes the North Shore and Hispanic west and predominantly black south suburbs; it is represented by while Republican Dan Patlak. The South Side 3rd District is heavily black, and it is represented by black Democrat Larry Rogers Jr.

The 2nd District was drawn to be safe for Berrios, with a 30 percent Hispanic population, including both the Southwest Side predominantly Mexican areas and Logan Square predominantly Puerto Rican areas. It also includes the Lakefront from Chinatown to Kenilworth, most of the Northwest Side, and the lower tier of north suburbs, from Evanston west to Des Plaines.

Berrios' huge fund-raising efforts stirred allegations of pay-to-play politics, with critics accusing him of raising money from attorneys and property owners who benefited from board decisions. According to statistics compiled by the Chicago Sun-Times, more than $2 billion in assessed valuation reductions went to 8 percent of the county's properties. Berrios raised $2.21 from June of 2009 to December of 2010. A new law now limits donations from lawyers to $750.

In the 2008 Democratic primary, which began Barack Obama's march to the White House, Berrios defeated Jay Paul Deratany, a white Lakefront liberal, by 153,053-107,889, getting 58.6 percent of the vote.

Cabonargi has been energetic, with 30 "outreach" meetings in his district, at which taxpayers can process property appeals. He has worked to make all forms bilingual and to implement online filing, and he encourages everybody to file an appeal. "If you don't try, you can't succeed," he said. "If your neighbor's assessed valuation is lower than yours, we can reduce yours."

But Cabonargi acknowledges that declining property values and assessed valuations don't necessarily mean lower taxes. It all depends on the tax levy. "If government units don't reduce their spending, then property taxes won't decrease," he said.

Cabonargi has raised $100,000 in 5 months, and he has been endorsed by many prominent Democrats, including Toni Preckwinkle, Tom Dart, Anita Alvarez and John Cullerton, but, notably, not by Berrios or any prominent Hispanic politician or North Shore liberal.

Sam Toia, whose family runs the Leona's restaurant chain, and former county commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno are likely to run in the primary, as will a North Shore contender. In a five-candidate contest, Schulter, provided he spends most of his $800,000, might just blunder to victory.