Reality TV no match for Council runoffs
Reality TV no match for Council runoffs
BY LAURA WASHINGTON
Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times
March 26, 2007
'American Idol,'' move over. You can't beat the City Council's aldermanic runoffs for pure entertainment value. Mr. "I'm a new kind of politician" Bigfoot himself has deigned to dip his gold-plated and unsullied toe into the muddy waters of the 3rd Ward.
Senator and presidential wannabe Barack Obama is stepping into the aldermanic fray to help rescue Ald. Dorothy "The Hat" Tillman from oblivion. Tillman's got an iron grip on every nickel that rolls into the 3rd Ward and has pulled in the backing of virtually every black big shot in the city.
Everyone except Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.). He's one of Obama's most prominent Illinois supporters, but Jackson is plowing money, troops and his extensive political machinery in support of Pat Dowell, a top-notch urban planner.
Obama's campaign mailers aren't going to mention Tillman's deployment of city resources to hire her family and reward campaign contributors, nor her abject neglect of the ward.
Jackson understands Obama wants to return a favor. Tillman endorsed Obama in his 2004 bid for the U.S. Senate. But Jackson's indefatigable polling apparatus shows that the people in Bronzeville and environs have a different take from the politicians. He recently polled likely voters in the 3rd Ward. Sixty percent said that after 23 years, it's way time for Tillman to go.
Talk to President Bush about it. Tillman's favorable ratings are even lower than W's. Maybe she can declare war on neighboring Hyde Park to improve her standing in the polls.
Still, you can be sure that Tillman has a few rabbits left in her legendary hat. Her campaign "literature" is graced with crude depictions of Dowell as a marionette with "The Man" pulling her strings. Tillman proponents are calling Dowell a "black snake." Right, Barack. That's some new kind of politics.
Dowell -- just keep your cool and don't let Tillman get under your brim.
In the 2nd Ward, the accusations are flying like cat dander. Veteran Ald. Madeline Haithcock pulled a paltry 21 percent of the primary vote -- the worst showing of any incumbent in the Feb. 27 primary. She came in second to challenger Bob Fioretti.
No worry: This is Chicago, so there's still time to play the race card. Haithcock is black, and her opponent, white. The ward is gentrifying and is now about 25 percent white.
Haithcock says Fioretti is a stalker. He has knocked down that charge and has won the endorsement of the Chicago Chapter of the National Organization for Women.
Last week, Fioretti fired back after fellow challengers Larry Doody and David Askew endorsed Haithcock in the runoff. In a press release, Fioretti claimed, "Madeline Haithcock continues her career of dirty politics by paying for political support" from Doody and Askew.
He notes that Askew and Doody had previously attacked Haithcock as inaccessible and ineffective. Through a spokesman, Haithcock would only say that "Doody and Askew are working with the alderman to make the ward a better place."
Her miserable showing should spell doom for her. Don Rose, the respected political consultant, tells me Haithcock will pull this one out. No white aldermanic challenger has ever knocked off a black incumbent in Chicago, Rose notes. What does Fioretti need to do to win? "Get a paint job," Rose replied.
This political observer disagrees. Both black and white voters have had it with Haithcock's do-nothing ways and will show her the door on April 17.
In the 50th Ward on the Far North Side, the antediluvian Ald. Bernie Stone is still stomping around like a dinosaur. After 34 years in the City Council, the iconic Stone says he still has much to do. Stone, 79, wants to beat the record of legendary 25th Ward Ald. Vito Marzullo, who retired at 88. His campaign printed up T-shirts touting, ''It's the Stone Age, and Age = Wisdom.''
Stone's stomping grounds are shifting beneath him. The 50th Ward is no longer a Jewish enclave -- about half of the ward is a polyglot of Asians, Latinos and African Americans.
Opponent Naisy Dolar, 34, was born in the Philippines but grew up in the ward. Vying to become Chicago's first Asian-American alderman, the human relations professional and coalition builder has lined up a rainbow of endorsements that include Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth, U.S. Rep. Mike Honda, former U.S. Rep. Abner Mikva and the city's major newspapers.
Dolar is gunning for Stone. "We're going head-to-head against this political machine," she rasped on the phone the other day, her voice gritty from countless stump speeches. Her charm and chutzpah will roll you over.
Who needs reality TV? We've got Chicago politics. Stay tuned.
BY LAURA WASHINGTON
Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times
March 26, 2007
'American Idol,'' move over. You can't beat the City Council's aldermanic runoffs for pure entertainment value. Mr. "I'm a new kind of politician" Bigfoot himself has deigned to dip his gold-plated and unsullied toe into the muddy waters of the 3rd Ward.
Senator and presidential wannabe Barack Obama is stepping into the aldermanic fray to help rescue Ald. Dorothy "The Hat" Tillman from oblivion. Tillman's got an iron grip on every nickel that rolls into the 3rd Ward and has pulled in the backing of virtually every black big shot in the city.
Everyone except Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.). He's one of Obama's most prominent Illinois supporters, but Jackson is plowing money, troops and his extensive political machinery in support of Pat Dowell, a top-notch urban planner.
Obama's campaign mailers aren't going to mention Tillman's deployment of city resources to hire her family and reward campaign contributors, nor her abject neglect of the ward.
Jackson understands Obama wants to return a favor. Tillman endorsed Obama in his 2004 bid for the U.S. Senate. But Jackson's indefatigable polling apparatus shows that the people in Bronzeville and environs have a different take from the politicians. He recently polled likely voters in the 3rd Ward. Sixty percent said that after 23 years, it's way time for Tillman to go.
Talk to President Bush about it. Tillman's favorable ratings are even lower than W's. Maybe she can declare war on neighboring Hyde Park to improve her standing in the polls.
Still, you can be sure that Tillman has a few rabbits left in her legendary hat. Her campaign "literature" is graced with crude depictions of Dowell as a marionette with "The Man" pulling her strings. Tillman proponents are calling Dowell a "black snake." Right, Barack. That's some new kind of politics.
Dowell -- just keep your cool and don't let Tillman get under your brim.
In the 2nd Ward, the accusations are flying like cat dander. Veteran Ald. Madeline Haithcock pulled a paltry 21 percent of the primary vote -- the worst showing of any incumbent in the Feb. 27 primary. She came in second to challenger Bob Fioretti.
No worry: This is Chicago, so there's still time to play the race card. Haithcock is black, and her opponent, white. The ward is gentrifying and is now about 25 percent white.
Haithcock says Fioretti is a stalker. He has knocked down that charge and has won the endorsement of the Chicago Chapter of the National Organization for Women.
Last week, Fioretti fired back after fellow challengers Larry Doody and David Askew endorsed Haithcock in the runoff. In a press release, Fioretti claimed, "Madeline Haithcock continues her career of dirty politics by paying for political support" from Doody and Askew.
He notes that Askew and Doody had previously attacked Haithcock as inaccessible and ineffective. Through a spokesman, Haithcock would only say that "Doody and Askew are working with the alderman to make the ward a better place."
Her miserable showing should spell doom for her. Don Rose, the respected political consultant, tells me Haithcock will pull this one out. No white aldermanic challenger has ever knocked off a black incumbent in Chicago, Rose notes. What does Fioretti need to do to win? "Get a paint job," Rose replied.
This political observer disagrees. Both black and white voters have had it with Haithcock's do-nothing ways and will show her the door on April 17.
In the 50th Ward on the Far North Side, the antediluvian Ald. Bernie Stone is still stomping around like a dinosaur. After 34 years in the City Council, the iconic Stone says he still has much to do. Stone, 79, wants to beat the record of legendary 25th Ward Ald. Vito Marzullo, who retired at 88. His campaign printed up T-shirts touting, ''It's the Stone Age, and Age = Wisdom.''
Stone's stomping grounds are shifting beneath him. The 50th Ward is no longer a Jewish enclave -- about half of the ward is a polyglot of Asians, Latinos and African Americans.
Opponent Naisy Dolar, 34, was born in the Philippines but grew up in the ward. Vying to become Chicago's first Asian-American alderman, the human relations professional and coalition builder has lined up a rainbow of endorsements that include Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth, U.S. Rep. Mike Honda, former U.S. Rep. Abner Mikva and the city's major newspapers.
Dolar is gunning for Stone. "We're going head-to-head against this political machine," she rasped on the phone the other day, her voice gritty from countless stump speeches. Her charm and chutzpah will roll you over.
Who needs reality TV? We've got Chicago politics. Stay tuned.
posted by Carlos T Mock @ 4:47 AM
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