April 17, 2024
RETROGRESSION PROGRESSION AS WHITES REPLACE OF-COLOR DEMOCRATIC OFFICEHOLDERS
It may sound strange in identity-obsessed Illinois or Cook County Democratic political circles, but it looks like Whites are displacing and/or replacing non-White Democratic leaders in some key elected offices.
Latinos have been ousted from three major countywide offices – State’s Attorney (Anita Alvarez), Assessor (Joe Berrios) and Clerk of Circuit Court (Iris Martinez) – in 2016, 2018 and 2024, respectively. The Latino population in the county (including Chicago) is 26.2 percent, but the only remaining Latino officeholders are MWRD commissioner Marcelino Garcia, city clerk Anna Valencia and comptroller Susanna Mendoza. That’s retrogression.
Eileen O’Neill Burke will reclaim the office of state’s attorney from Kim Foxx next year and Alexi Giannoulias succeeded the iconic Jesse White as IL Secretary of State in 2022. That’s “retrogression 2.0.” A White man is also a sheriff and the assessor and now a White woman is likely to be the clerk of court. A Black woman is IL lieutenant governor (Juliana Stratton) and a Black man is attorney general (Kwame Raoul). When JB Pritzker (D) retires, likely in 2030, the Dem primary may be Giannoulias vs. Raoul.
Non-retrogression is a concept conceived by the federal courts in enforcing the mandates of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. It means that on the congressional level once a district becomes majority-minority it must remain so forevermore. Once a district goes Black/Latino it can never go back. Illinois has 17 U.S. House seats, of which 5 are minority-minority, meaning the minority vote is less than half, but a majority in a Democratic primary.
What really infuriates some Far Left progressives is that the VRA does not affect voters who don’t care about voting retrogressively in Chicago, county and state Democratic primaries. Not one single identity group owns any office anymore although some will say that is not true.
But that theory will soon be tested as the Democrats pick a candidate to run on Nov. 5 to fill the county clerk vacancy created by the April 7 death of Karen Yarbrough.
The county Democratic committeepersons will meet April 22 to re-elect Toni Preckwinkle as county chair – a sure sign that Preckwinkle is running for re-election as county board president in 2026. The Dems will set another session for mid-May to pick the election nominee and the interim clerk. A law was passed by the legislature 2 years ago granting the party who last won the office the right to pick the new officeholder. But there is no weighted-vote like normal slating or legislative picks. Each committeeperson gets one vote, so there will be 50 Chicagoans and 30 suburbanites doing the choosing. State law also mandates a special election if more than 28 months remain in the 4-year term.
And that absolutely infuriates Proviso Township Democrats who think that they now have the county clerk’s office, as well as suburban committeepersons who whine because Yarbrough was the only suburbanite and township committeeperson to occupy a major countywide office, excepting Assessor Fritz Kaegi from Oak Park. In actuality, Yarbrough was first elected clerk in 2018, so the ownership is only 8 years.
There is a possibility that Preckwinkle, with 80 Chicago committee votes, could put one of her South Side allies, alderwomen Pat Dowell (3rd), or Michelle Harris (8th) – into the office. Both want to move up and out before time catches up with them.
Proviso Township, which includes Maywood, Hillside, Westchester and Broadview, is majority Black and the candidates were elected and re-elected to the late Recorder’s office, which was merged into the Clerk’s office effective Dec. 2020. Yarbrough was elected recorder in 2012 after being elected Proviso’s committeeman in 2010, ousting Eugene Moore, who was then recorder, and getting him dumped in 2012 in favor of herself. Moore was appointed recorder in 1999. The recorder handles close to one million annual filings of property deed transfers, mortgages, releases and liens on the county’s 1.2 million parcels and puts them in an on-line database.
So while a Proviso Democrat was recorder for 20 years, and now clerk for 6 more, having absorbed the recorder as a separate division with separate office space, the office has fielded African Americans in the merged office since 1988, a total of 36 years. Carol Moseley Braun won and got elected U.S. Senator in 1992. Jesse White, a Lakefront 42nd Ward state rep, won and ran for Secretary of State in 1998 (and held the office for 24 years). Then followed Moore and Yarbrough. Although the Recorder’s office is totally inoffensive with no policy decisions, and minimally visible, it was a steppingstone to higher office for many occupants.
The office was established in 1872, before the Chicago Fire. After Anton Cermak founded the modern Democratic “machine” in the early 1930s and the recorder was Clayton Smith, later CCBC president, after whom the forest preserve at Devon-Milwaukee is named. Later during the 1940s and 50s it was Joseph Baran and Joseph Ropa, both Polish. A Polish Republican, Edmund Kucharski, held the post 1956-60, and was beat by Sid “The Swede” Olsen, who lasted until 1984 despite the fact that there was a negligible Scandinavian voter base in the county.
Olsen was renowned for his practice of requiring that the countermen in his office, who did Torrens closings, share their tips with him. “Give Sid a tip” was the watchword.
The clerk’s office has staffers performing marriages and creating death and marriage certificates. The clerk has no thorny or mentally-taxing decisions, no policy decisions. The clerk is a people-pleaser. No constituent gets offended.
The office was created in 1857. In the 40 years between 1910 and 1950 only 2 men held the job: German-American Robert Sweitzer for 24 years and Irish-American Michael Flynn for 16 years. Then along came the legendary Richard J. Daley, who aspired to be mayor. Daley lost for sheriff in 1946, soon became 11th Ward committeeman, then county chairman, then got mayor Martin Kennelly dumped and himself slated.
Next came lifelong political hack Eddie Barrett, briefly state treasurer and auditor in the 30s and Secretary of State 1944-52. Daley got Barrett appointed to his old job in 1955, and Barrett lasted until 1993, when he was convicted of bribery, tax evasion and mail fraud. Next was Stanley Kusper, Vito Marzullo’s protégé, thought to be the new Polish superstar; but he fizzled. Alderman David Orr (49th) won in 1990 and kept the job for 28 years. My prediction: The county clerk seat will continue to be a minority seat.
POGO DOES NOT WANT TO GO: MWRD commissioner Dan “Pogo” Pogorzelski is in a pickle. He won a 2-year term in 2022 by 1,500 votes and lost a 6-year term by 10,000 votes on March 19 despite being on the slate.
“I had bad ballot position,” Pogo said, noting that he was fourth of four and winner Sharon Waller was first. That happened in 2018 when Marty Durkan lost.
But the real fault lies partly with the county party, which didn’t pressure minority committeepersons to deliver, and partly due to his surname, ethnicity and gender.
“I got 11 percent in the 17th Ward,” he said, recognizing that Black primary voters and liberal women in general will likely not vote for an identifiably ethnic Polish White man.
“I’m trying to save my job,” Pogo said, meaning that he wants the governor to appoint him to the imminent MWRD vacancy of commissioner Mariyana Spyropoulos, nominated for Circuit Court Clerk. It would be a 2-year term.
My suggestion: Run in 2026 as “D.A. Pogorzelski.” And ditch the “Pogo” shtick.
Read more Analysis & Opinion from Russ Stewart at Russstewart.com
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