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SEIFFE:  Oberweising Claypool

Wednesday, June 7 , 2006

By Ralf Seiffe

Republicans were scandalized last election when the party’s choice for United States Senate was assassinated by gossip columnists. When the nominee withdrew, the party refused to do the right thing and put the next highest vote-getter into the race.  Jim Oberweis was the obvious choice but the party forfeited and the result was a walk-over by the empty suit that now serves as the junior senator from the Land Of Lincoln .  But there is good news; local Democrats facing a similar situation are acting just as dumb.  

The massive stroke Cook County Board President John Stroger suffered is a kind of waking death that may be fate’s way of disciplining an ego that named the County Hospital after himself.  That’s an honor usually reserved for the actually dead but, it should be remembered that in Chicago , death does not necessarily present an impediment to suffrage. 

As much as one personally hopes President Stroger recovers, the business of the County of Cook must transcend the President’s personal situation.  In the meantime, common sense obliges the County Board to concede the obvious and replace John Stroger as its President.  In addition, it should probably find a new Commissioner for the County’s Fourth District because Mr. Stroger has moved from his district and no longer has a constituency.  The folks who live there have a right to a representative who lives in their district and shows up for meetings. 

Tony Peraica (R-Riverside), apparently one of the few adults serving on the county board, recognized the significance of 6-6-06 and tried to exorcize the ailing president yesterday, unsuccessfully.  Perhaps Peraica’s only alternative is to enlist the Office of the State Guardian and appear in probate court for a competency hearing for the entire Cook Count Board.  The Board should qualify for legal incompetence as it is evidently unable to manage its own affairs and should have a conservator appointed--preferably from out of state. 

Regardless of the official dereliction going on at the Board, there is also an election coming up.  These events are scheduled regularly and are billed as the voter’s way to remedy such public deficiencies.  Forrest Claypool challenged the President and managed to earn the votes of 45% of Democrats who showed up.  If the Democrats don’t want to look as venal as the Republicans did when they snubbed Oberweis, they will substitute Claypool for Stroger.  

But where the Republicans proved themselves simple back in 2004, the Democrats are proving themselves crooked, now.  Alderman Bill Beavers and the ministers (a group that sounds like a Battle of the Bands challenger to another Cook County Commissioner, Jerry “Iceman” Butler) made a mercy mission to President Stroger’s bedside to essentially misdirect the voter’s attention by falsifying Stroger’s condition. Phrasing in their report with sentence parsed as elegantly as any of Bill Clinton’s, they tell us the stricken politician “realizes” he’s the County Board President. 

They then had the gall to demand an apology to the Black Community.  

Apparently, these visitors have the opinion that the County Board President is reserved for African-Americans and that others need not apply.  This is offensive.  Everybody knows that the only qualifier is that seat is reserved for crooked politicians and is open equally to any Democrat, black, white, Hispanic.  

©2006 Ralf Seiffe

Ralf Seiffe advises business start-ups and product launches from Chicago, Illinois and is a political analyst and columnist for the Illinois Leader and Illinois Review.