A peek into the 5th CD: more typical Chicago politics or a true representative

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Chad Rubel

If you can't get enough of the stench of Chicago and Illinois politics, yet the Blagojevich nightmare isn't your cup of tea, boy do we have good news for you.

The dates are set to replace Rahm Emanuel in the 5th Congressional District. Emanuel got the promotion to being President-Elect Barack Obama's chief of staff. The primary will be March 3 and the general election will be April 7.

During the last special election for a Congressional seat, there were 2 major players for each major party, and the best-known names going into the race were both Republican (Democrat Bill Foster won the special election and the subsequent election this past fall). The race for the 5th District will have a lot of Democrats and maybe a couple of Republicans.

Now as we saw in California a few years ago, a lot of people running for a seat means almost anyone can win (Arnold??). So the forces in the Democratic Party in Chicago are trying to narrow the field to make sure one of them gets in.

The main people we have heard so far for the seat include Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley and State Representative Sara Feigenholtz. These are well-known, well-qualified people, but they aren't part of "the establishment."

Chicago Ald. Pat O'Connor (40th) wants the Democratic Party's endorsement. Even though O'Connor is Mayor Richard M. Daley's unofficial City Council floor leader, the mayor hasn't yet stepped into the race.  

But what I read next gives an insight into how the system in Chicago works. From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Ald. William Banks (36th) said Monday he will convene the slatemaking session in two or three weeks, giving a field that once included 22 candidates a last chance to narrow.

"Whoever has the weighted vote becomes the candidate of the party. If nobody does, it becomes an open primary," Banks said.

"Right now, it seems to be fairly fragmented. If it stays every man for himself, virtually anybody could get elected. . . . It could be somebody totally unrepresentative of the district. That would be unfortunate."

What Banks means by "totally unrepresentative" is not someone that they want, even if that person is likely more involved in the happenings of the district.

The voters of the 5th Congressional District didn't have much say in picking Emanuel, a carpetbagger whose election in the words of the Sun-Times "was secured by Daley's endorsement and the political foot soldiers commanded by the now-convicted former First Deputy Water Commissioner Donald Tomczak."

Voting for 22 candidates or 15 candidates does make things a bit more difficult, especially in a short period of time with a special election. But those people who truly live in the district and care about what happens there (including me) have to pay more attention to make sure the Democrat ends up being someone who isn't in someone's pocket.

I lived in the 9th Congressional District in 1998 when there was a solid 3-person race to replace the retiring Sidney Yates. The Democratic Party primary came down to state Sen. Howard Carroll of Chicago, state Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston, and financier and hotel heir J.B. Pritzker. Though I had a favorite in the race (Schakowsky), I knew that if Carroll had won, the views of the district would be reflected in Washington. And even if Pritzker had won, the district would have been in okay hands.

The two representatives that have held the 5th Congressional District since I moved there, Rod Blagojevich and Emanuel, aren't people I would say reflect the district in any reasonable way. Blagojevich voted for the Iraq War in 2002 and Emanuel voted for the bailout in 2008. There are other votes but these stick out more than most.

I thought I had moved into Schakowsky's district when I moved to my current apartment in 2003. But when I went to check, it turns out I was in Emanuel's district by a couple of blocks. Damn drawing of the Congressional districts from the census results.

In the next 55 days, we will see who wins out. No, not who comes out the winner of the Democratic Party primary. But we will see whether typical Chicago politics rears its ugly head (once again) or if the people of the 5th District can finally elect someone who truly represents the views of the people, not "the establishment."

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

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