Who will replace Mike Quigley?

by: Sandra_Verthein

Tue Mar 31, 2009 at 07:20:17 AM CDT


Did you hear one about Illinois politics? You know, that funny joke about how people get jobs because of clout, or nepotisim, or because they are in the "$25,000 club", instead of, you know, qualifications? Or ability to do the job? Or, for elected officials, as a response to the priorities of those they will represent?

On April 11th a group of Democratic Ward Committeemen will choose a successor for Mike Quigley should he win his election for Congress on April 7th and resign as 10th District Cook County Commissioner. His record as a reformer is well documented. But he was not only a Cook County reformer, he was a progressive leader who stood up against the powers that be while others remained silent. He is leaving some very, very big shoes to fill.

Two groups that I am involved with, Northside DFA and IVI-IPO, are working together to ask the potential shoe-fillers a few questions about  their positions and priorities for Cook County. For instance:

  • Do you support removing the cap on the number of abortions performed at Stroger Hospital?
  • Should County Board approval be required prior to the creation of TIF districts in Cook County?
  • What should be done by the County Board to foster affordable housing, including subsidized housing? 
  • Do you support the sale or transfer of forest preserve land to private interests?
  • Do you favor extending the Civil Service System to replace patronage in County employment? 

In addition, we are co-hosting a public forum for these potential candidates on Saturday, April 4th at 1:00 p.m. at Truman College, 1445 W Wilson Avenue, Chicago.

Sandra_Verthein :: Who will replace Mike Quigley?

One of the challenges of organizing this forum has been trying to figure out who the candiates are. People that we are told are candidates, when asked, become coy and say that they've "been asked" to run and are "considering" it.  Maybe this is part of the culture of making appointments -- not wanting too seem to eager? But the fact of the matter is that at the April 11th appointment meeting they will have to make their candidacy public, so why not come out now and make their case?

Working on this forum has also been extremely rewarding. It is exciting to think that, before the appointment happens, I will be able to learn where potential candidates stand on the issues, will be able to ask them questions in a pubilc forum, will hear them talk about their vision for Cook County government, and then can advocate for my now well-informed choice of candidate to my committeeman.  And do it all prior to the appointment -- not as an after-the-fact complaint about a choice I disagree with.

And with any luck there will be some press at this event. The Chicago Tribune has already written two editorials on the subject of who will replace Mike Quigley, and it has been covered by others as well, so I know there is interest. And of course it will be covered on Prairie State Blue!

There is another big upside to this event  It is a chance to educate the public, and ourselves, about the fact that this is happening, and about the appointment process itself. When Mike won the primary there were conflicting reports about who would be making an appointment -- the committeemen or the Cook County commissioners. It took some time to figure out how it would all actually happen. Clearly we all could stand to learn more about the mechanisms of our own government.

Ultimately the decision will be made by the committeemen.  But that doesn't mean that we, as activists and consistuents, need to stand idly by. We can participate, we can make our voice heard, and we can work to change this process for the future -- legislatively if need be. I'll have some more ideas to share about that in a future post.

In the meantime, tell your friends and neighbors about this event. You can download an event flyer, which includes the breakdown of committeemen votes, here:

http://democracyforamerica.com/uploads/0006/6244/10th_Cook_County_Forum_Flyer.pdf

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Who will replace Mike Quigley? | 9 comments
The questions ... (4.00 / 1)
Below are the issue questions on the IVI-IPO candidate questionnaire. Some are yes/no, some are essay questions. You can see the whole thing at:
http://www.iviipo.org/10CCB_qu...

1. Do you support removing the cap on the number of abortions performed at Stroger Hospital?

2. Is the distribution of County funded health facilities sufficient?

3. Does your district need additional health care facilities?  

4. How would you solve the budget gap while still ensuring that health and other basic human services would continue to be provided?

5. Do you favor a freeze in the property tax rate?

6. Do you support renewing the 7% property tax cap?

7. Should County Board approval be required prior to the creation of TIF districts in Cook County?

8. What should be done by the County Board to foster affordable housing, including subsidized housing?

9. Will you support equitable geographic distribution of affordable housing throughout the county?

10. Will you support an amendment to the County Human Rights Ordinance to protect Section 8 voucher holders from discrimination in housing in buildings of any size without exemptions?

11. if owner occupied buildings of 6 or fewer units were exempted?

12. Do you support the sale or transfer of forest preserve land to private interests?

13. Do you support separating violent from non violent offenders in County jail?

14. Do you support separating juvenile from adult offenders?

15. Do you favor work release, electronic monitoring and other alternative sentencing programs?

16. Do you support drug testing of potential or current County employees?

17. Do you support Affirmative Action?

18. Do you favor restructuring the wage scale of county employees to correct disparities based on gender by instituting equal pay for jobs of comparable worth?

19. Do you support patronage?

20. Do you favor extending the Civil Service System to replace patronage in County employment?

21. What should be done to eliminate patronage abuse in county government?

22. Do you favor permitting county employees to hold other public sector jobs concurrently?

23. In what circumstances should the County contract for outside professional services?

24. In what circumstances should competitive bidding for contracts be required? Please comment on any existing abuses.

25. Would you support contracting for outside services with companies located outside of Cook County? Why or why not?

26. Will you accept campaign contributions from current or potential suppliers, employees or outside contractors?

27. Is the County Ethics Ordinance adequate?  Why or why not?

28. Do you support public financing of campaigns for this office?

29. Do you support a campaign expenditure limit?

30. Will you be a full time Commissioner?

31. What other employment, if any, do you intend to hold?

32. Will you open an office in your district?

33. What will you do to ensure community involvement in identifying the concerns of the residents of your district?

34. Should candidates for Board President be prohibited from running concurrently from a district?

35. Will you support a redistricting process that prohibits consideration of incumbency or political affiliation?

Basic stuff: The common wealth should be used for the common good, not to enrich the well-connected few.  

I fear you have neglected the key question. (1.00 / 2)
That question, of course is,

"If selected to fill the Quigley vacancy, will you be the loyal lackey that Richard and John Daley want to give them a working majority on the Cook County Board, enabling their top butt-kisser Todd Stroger to have free rein over the last 19 1/2 months of his term?"

That is the only question that truly matters here.  

I regret that I will not be able to attend the April 4 forum, due to scheduling conflicts.  I trust that I will be able to read all about it on this blogsite later.  I do hope to be present at the April 11 meeting of the committeemen, as that will be the big kickoff event for the 2010 Democratic Primary free-for-all.

I'm a little confused, (0.00 / 0)
maybe others are too. There are two events.

The first event, April 4, is a public forum about, for and including potential appointees hosted by NDFA and IVI-IPO.

The second event, April 11, is a public meeting held by the Democratic Cook County Board District Committee, where candidates will appear and present their bona fides.

Michelle Smith, 43rd Ward committeeman, sent a helpful email this week explaining the application process:

The Democratic Cook County Board District Committee for the 10th District of the Cook County Board of Commissioners will meet on Saturday, April 11, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. at Truman College, located at 1145 W. Wilson, Chicago, IL, 60640, for the purpose of organizing and appointing a person to fill a vacancy in office caused by the anticipated resignation of Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley."

Those people interested in filling Commissioner Quigley's seat on the County Board will give a presentation to the Committeeman and answer their questions.  This meeting is open to the public and I encourage you to attend and hear from these individuals, including me, about how they intend to serve and what their qualifications are.  

You must apply by April 9.

If you are interested in applying, you must follow this process:   "Any person interested in appearing before the Committee to be considered for appointment must submit: (1) a current resume; and (2) a completed Statement of Economic Interests form.  The Statement of Economic Interests form is available at the office of the Cook County Clerk, 69 W. Washington, Suite 500, Chicago, IL, Zip Code 60602, or through the Clerk's website: http://www.voterinfonet.com/su...

There is a deadline for submitting the information to be considered by the Committeemen: "Submissions must be made to the office of the Cook County Democratic Party, 134 N. LaSalle, Suite 1420, Chicago, IL 60602 no later than 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 9, 2009."  You will not be considered if you don't apply.

The Committeemen will deliberate in private after the public presentations have been made.

The possibility of open, participatory process is heartening but may be illusory. It has been reported that Sara Feigenholtz is already a lock for this position. If this is correct, what is the purpose of the Committeeman's meeting?

they do actually have to vote (3.00 / 1)
and until the vote happens anything can happen.  Sara may be a lock for it -- but votes have been known to change at the last minute.  
[ Parent ]
If I understand correctly... (0.00 / 0)
...it will only take a plurality of the weighted vote of the committeemen to elect Quigley's replacement on April 11, not a majority.  A "no endorsement" vote (as was the case when the committeemen voted on slating in the 5th Congressional District race) is not an option.

This means that if there are a half dozen or more serious contenders presenting themselves for the County Board seat, the winner may get far less than a majority of the vote.  That factor poses the potential for some serious electoral mischief by the committeemen.  We could see the prospect of several favorite sons getting the votes of their committeeman (instead of the committeemen voting for your perceived frontrunner, Sara Feigenholtz).  This will make it easier for the party bosses to elect the compliant hack that they want so badly.

[ Parent ]
no, the relevant statute (0.00 / 0)
reads majority, not plurality.  
[ Parent ]
Understood (0.00 / 0)
though my question was meant more to ask what it means to cheer publicly for process while counting and committing votes weeks before they've heard from candidates.

As for votes changing, I'm sure that happens somewhere but on the north lakefront, I honestly can't recall one instance. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen, just that I can't put my finger on an example.

The IVI-IPO / NDFA forum differs. It's purpose is far more genuine--introduce voters to the aspirants, engage them in the process, illuminate some county issues and provide network opportunities.  

[ Parent ]
I think (0.00 / 0)
votes were changing during the slating meeting for the 5th CD, if I read the story correctly.  I think Pat O'Connor went into that meeting thinking he had it locked up, and Schulter and Banks switched over to Fritchey just before the meeting.  
[ Parent ]
Katz earns Trib and ST endorsements (0.00 / 0)
Kimberly Walz, Quigley's chief of staff, has gotten the endorsement of both the Trib and the Sun-Times.
Who will replace Mike Quigley? | 9 comments
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