The
real electoral surprise last week was not in Chicago, where five tired, old
incumbent hack aldermen went down to defeat. The big shocker was the Carbondale
mayor's race, where Sheila Simon - the daughter of the late US Senator Paul
Simon - was trounced by Republican incumbent Brad Cole.
Simon
lost by a dozen points. Back in the multi-candidate February primary, Simon
scored well over 50 percent, with Cole finishing in the mid-30s. But Cole
staged a remarkable rebound with the help of the Illinois Republican Party and
top state legislators.
House
Republican Leader Tom Cross had made the race a priority because he was worried
that Simon might run for the House if and or when state Rep. Mike Bost
(R-Murphysboro) moves to the Senate. The Repubs dumped a ton of money and staff
into the race - a move that was almost completely ignored by the local media, which
instead concentrated on Simon's high-visibility support from people like Dick
Durbin and Lisa Madigan.
Cole
ran a very good, professional race, while Simon's effort was exposed as
amateurish and underfunded. Simon's campaign generated support from Democrats
from all over Illinois excited about the possibility of watching her move up
the ladder. But Cole was endorsed by both the Southern Illinoisan and Southern
Illinois University's student paper.
Simon
waited way too long to go negative, and when she finally did she muffed the
charge, criticizing Cole for some questionable expenses as mayor but then was
immediately forced to admit that she had approved those same expenses herself
as an alderman. Cole was a deputy chief of staff for George Ryan and had even
defended Ryan during the campaign on a Chicago radio show, but Simon failed to
use that hefty political bomb.
In
Chicago, five hack aldermen - Madeline Haithcock (2nd), Dorothy Tillman (3rd),
Shirley Coleman (16th), Michael Chandler (24th) and Ted Matlak (32nd) - all
lost their runoff bids.
The
biggest surprise may have been Matlak, whose ward was flooded with precinct
workers from just about every white political Machine organization in the city.
The 32nd has been controlled by the Machine for almost 80 years, going back to
former Congressman Dan Rostenkowski's father, but Matlak didn't bother much with
constituent services and was no longer a good fit in a ward that had completely
gentrified.
Tillman
lost by about eight points, despite being endorsed by just about every black
political leader in the city of Chicago, including Barack Obama. Haithcock was
trounced by more than 30 points.
Ald.
Berny Stone (50th) held on to defeat the hard-charging Naisy Dolar 53-47. Stone
ran a pathetic campaign in February's first round, but he brought in some top
notch people (including former House staffer and Statehouse lobbyist Mike
Noonan) and strongly defended his record, something he didn't do before the
February vote.
The
biggest Chicago winner was probably the unions, which backed several victorious
candidates by financing their races and providing precinct workers and direct
mail. While their candidates won, specific union issues weren't really part of
the actual campaigns. So, the unions have some new friends, but no clear
mandate for passing their agenda.
The
biggest loser was the old-time black political machine, which suffered
devastating losses with the ouster of Haithcock, Tillman, Chandler and Coleman,
and the loss of Darcel Beavers during the first round of voting back in
February.
Barack
Obama, who styles himself as the epitome of a young, black "new
politics" candidate, did not endorse a single one of the bright, new,
independent-minded aldermen who will be taking the helm of black wards on the
South and West Sides. Count him as a big loser.
Mayor
Richard M. Daley is also generally counted as a loser, mainly because of Ald.
Matlak's defeat. Daley had made that a race a top priority, sending in gobs of
troops and money. Daley did balance that loss by helping the broken down war
horse Berny Stone hold onto power for another term. Mostly, though, the mayor,
buffeted by scandals and several ongoing federal investigations of his
administration, had no political coattails. For the first time in his entire
career, he may have even been a liability.
-30-
Rich
Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and
thecapitolfaxblog.com