The apparent ouster of five incumbents from the Cook County Board could lead to stronger challenges to Board President John Stroger, though some commissioners said Wednesday Stroger would still have his way on most issues.
“I think he’s going to have his chance now to show he can work with independents and free-thinkers,” said Commissioner Bobbie Steele, who typically votes with Stroger. “It’s going to be interesting.”
Chief among the upsets in Tuesday’s primary was Forrest Claypool’s apparent victory over three-term incumbent Ted Lechowicz in the Northwest Side’s 12th District. According to unofficial results, Claypool received 51 percent of the vote.
Lechowicz was a strong ally of Stroger’s and his honorary campaign chairman was Commissioner John Daley, brother of the mayor and chairman of the board’s influential Finance Committee.
Claypool and Larry Suffredin, who upset incumbent Calvin Sutker in the 13th District, said they plan to align themselves with Mike Quigley. An outspoken Democrat from the lakefront’s 10th District, Quigley has not been shy about publicly sparring with the administration on issues such as the Forest Preserve District’s finances or the need for a new domestic violence courthouse.
“How many folks are going to align themselves one way or another? It’s hard to say. It’s probably going to be issue by issue,” said Carl Hansen, one of five Republicans on the 17-member board. “There’s no way to anticipate that Stroger won’t have a majority. … The closer you are to getting to a one-vote swing, the closer you are to getting at some issues that you may not have before.”
For example, Hansen hopes the board will now be more receptive to exploring the idea of creating a separate board for the financially plagued Forest Preserve District.
Republican Commissioner Gregg Goslin hopes to use the momentum of Tuesday’s election in the coming weeks to introduce a proposal for a compensation review board that would determine the pay for elected officials.
The County Board two years ago increased the pay of commissioners to $85,000, effective in December after the new board is sworn in.
“Sometimes it takes a galvanizing moment like this to make things happen,” said Goslin, noting that he hopes the board’s attitude toward spending can be altered through compromise as opposed to fractious debates. “The fact that five incumbents lost in the primary–that in and of itself is significant.”
Yet some commissioners cautioned that Tuesday’s results cannot be read as a blanket repudiation of the Cook County administration. South suburban Democrat William Moran, a frequent Stroger opponent, for instance, lost to Joan Murphy, who is a county employee.
And Republican Herb Schumann lost to a political unknown, Elizabeth Ann Doody Gorman of Orland Park. During the campaign, Schumann contended that Doody Gorman’s campaign was being directed in part by Board of Review Commissioner Robert Shaw, noting that her brother-in-law is Shaw’s chief of staff.
Also defeated Tuesday was longtime incumbent Al Carr who lost in the Republican primary to lawyer Tony Peraica of Riverside. The Peraica victory sets up what is expected to be a hotly contested race between Peraica and Melrose Park Mayor Ron Serpico, who beat three Democratic candidates.
