You may not know it, but there is an election Tuesday.
Except for a few heated aldermanic races, the upcoming election of a mayor and entire City Council hasn’t sparked much public chatter–even though these people decide how to spend 4.6 billion city dollars, regulate everything from building construction to parking and have a say in residents’ lives in countless other ways every day.
Talk of war, threat of terrorism and general unrest in the world may detract from local elections, but none of the mayoral candidates challenging Mayor Richard Daley has been able to drum up enough controversy to attract the public spotlight as of yet.
Daley “is the candidate of the lakefront, of Hispanics, of white ethnic groups and of half of the black population,” said Paul Green, a Roosevelt University political science professor.
“There ain’t a hell of a lot left to build up competition on,” he said.
Of the three challengers for the office of mayor, Rev. Paul Jakes has been the most visible in questioning the current administration.
But unseating an incumbent is difficult in Chicago, Green said.
“Indictment, death or losing–that’s our definition of term limitations in Chicago,” Green said.
Julian Green, communications director for Daley’s campaign, said the mayor has been running a regular campaign.
“The mayor does not take the voters of Chicago for granted,” Julian Green said.
Tuesday’s election may not immediately determine who takes office. If no one candidate in a race captures 50 percent of the vote Tuesday, then a runoff election will be held April 1 for that office.
The current Chicago balloting system, introduced last year, is believed to provide some of the fastest returns in the nation, city elections spokesman Tom Leach said. Voters feed their own ballot into the machine to be tallied, and when the polls close, a modem in that machine transmits the totals to the main election offices.
“We start receiving returns within two to three minutes,” Leach said. “Within an hour, we’re usually at 90 percent of the total.”
While it’s been hard for Chicago to shake its notorious voting history (stories of dead people voting, etc.), local election officials have made a number of changes recently in an attempt to strengthen the city voting system.
Since the confusion and frustration of the 2000 presidential election, vendors have developed even newer systems, which the Chicago election commission is reviewing, Leach said.
“We are anticipating more changes in the future, we just don’t know exactly when,” he said.
CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR
Richard M. Daley
Age: 60
Neighborhood: Bridgeport
Occupation: Mayor, city of Chicago
Relevant experience: Four terms as mayor, Cook County state’s attorney
Issues: Improve the learning environment in schools through increased focus on reading. Reinvest in community anchors such as libraries, schools, parks, police and fire stations.
Paul L. Jakes Jr.
Age: 44
Neighborhood: South Side
Occupation: Pastor, Old St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church
Relevant experience: Co-chairman of Concerned Citizens of Targeted Schools, president of West Side branch of the NAACP
Issues: Appoint a new superintendent of Chicago Public Schools. Address police brutality. Says taxpayer money has been mismanaged through projects such as Millennium Park.
Joseph McAfee
Age: 62
Neighborhood: Chatham
Occupation: Pastor, Central United Community Church
Relevant experience: Member, Local School Council, led community outreach programs through church
Issues: Encourage suburban companies to move back into the city with tax incentives. Appoint a female police superintendent and reorganize police department to saturate neighborhoods with drug problems.
Patricia McAllister
Age: 50
Neighborhood: North Loop
Occupation: Computer software engineer and consultant
Relevant experience: Entrepreneur in the city for last 10 years, volunteer for Junior League of Chicago
Issues: City must redirect funds to build more affordable housing. Also wants to increase number of African-American police officers in African-American neighborhoods.
