In a meeting open to the public, except for the deliberation of the committeemen, the Democratic committeemen of the 10th district of the Cook Co. Board choose Bridget Gainer as the successor to Mike Quigley.
The committeemen cast their weighted vote according to the scheme listed in Sandra's earlier e-mail here.
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.
Here's part of an email that I received from Sandra Verthein:
if Mike is elected, is how will his replacement on the Cook County Board be chosen? The answer is that it will be an apointment done by a weighted vote of the Democratic Committeemen for that district. Here is the breakdown:
Ward Committeeman # Votes Percentage
=============================================
44 Tom Tunney 12923 20.6%
48 Carol Ronen 12545 20.0%
46 Tom Sharpe 12013 19.2%
43 Michele Smith 10786 17.2%
40 Pat O'Connor 5527 8 .8%
39 Randy Barnette 3629 5.8%
50 Ira Silverstein 2384 3.8%
49 David Fagus 1463 2.3%
32 John Fritchey 1208 1.9%
45 Patrick Levar 217 0.3%
41 Mary O'Connor 210 0.3%
The appointment goes to whoever gets the most votes -- even if that is not a majority. This decision, for obvious reasons, will not happen until after the April 7th general election, however Northside DFA will be working with IVI-IPO to have an informational candidates forum prior to that where the general public can hear from t! he candidates. Though we won't get a vote, we will be able to, after that meeting, express our preference to our committeemen. There are likely to be a number of qualified candidates seeking the position. The key is that whoever they pick MUST be a vote and a voice for reform as strong as Mike Quigley was. Anything less than that this WILL be an issue when the Committeemen face re-election in 2012.
