Elected officials in Thornton Township will convene a late-night public meeting Thursday in a last-ditch effort to meet a midnight deadline to choose a replacement for Frank Zuccarelli, the longtime supervisor who died Jan. 3.
The township board is set to meet at 10:55 p.m. Thursday at the township hall, 333 E., 162nd St., South Holland. The four-member board remained deadlocked after meeting for 3 1/2 hours Tuesday night.
The final hour of Thursday is the last chance for township trustees to select someone to serve the three years remaining on Zuccarelli’s term and collect an annual salary of about $250,000. The board has 60 days to fill the vacancy, and Thursday is the 60th day.
After that, state law empowers township citizens to choose a new supervisor by voice vote during a special town meeting. That creates potential for a chaotic scenario in which politicians try to turn out as many supporters as possible to win a popularity contest.
Community leaders Tuesday night urged township officials to choose one of their own to replace Zuccarelli and avoid the potential mayhem of a town meeting.
“The appointment must come from this board and be from among you, those who were hand-picked and currently sit in the seat of trust, because Frank Zuccarelli saw something in you that you may not have even seen in yourself,” said the Rev. William H. Fleshman, pastor of Immanuel Bethel United Church of Christ in Dolton.
State Sen. Napoleon Harris of Harvey, a former NFL player, and Calumet City Mayor Thaddeus Jones, who also is a state representative, are among those who could potentially try to seek the supervisor post at an open meeting, if it comes to that.
Donkor W. Parker, a longtime football and wrestling coach at Thornridge High School in Dolton, said township workers were like family.
“These four trustees owe it to all of us out here to go into the backroom and come out here with someone victorious no matter who it is, as long as it’s one of our family members that we need to get behind for reelection and support,” Parker said.
“Us being divided is unacceptable,” Parker said. “They want what we got. We worked hard for this.”
Zuccarelli consolidated political power over the decades as township supervisor, Democratic Party committeeman and chair of the South Suburban College Board. He parlayed his influence to fill dozens of taxpayer funded township jobs and command an army of workers known as the “Z Team.”
Zuccarelli, 70, was township supervisor since 1993, committeeman since 2001 and chair of the public community college board since 1987. Gov. J.B. Pritzker and others spoke at a memorial service for Zuccarelli in early January.
South Suburban College tabbed Phoenix Mayor Terry Wells to chair its board, and Democratic Party representatives have said voters will decide the committeeman post in the June 28 primary.
The supervisor post guarantees someone a paycheck of about $4,800 per week for the next three years. It’s a plum post, so it’s no wonder there is a fight to finish over who gets the job.
If township trustees are unable to reach consensus on a replacement, they risk surrendering control of the selection process. Thus far, that risk apparently has not been enough to break a stalemate.
The lateness of Thursday’s meeting is because Tuesday’s meeting was recessed so late and because of Open Meetings Act requirements.
“We have to give 48 hours notice,” township attorney Stanley Kusper said. “We’re stuck with it.”
Tuesday’s session was a continuation of a meeting that began Feb. 22. The board has met for several hours, mostly in closed session, presumably debating options to fill the supervisor job.
During open session Tuesday, the four board members considered Trustee Gerald “Jerry” Jones and township Assessor Cassandra Elston for the supervisor post, but both nominations failed due to insufficient support.
Trustee Christopher Gonzalez nominated Elston, but his motion failed for lack of a second. Deputy Supervisor Joyce Washington nominated Gerald Jones, who seconded the motion. The two voted for Jones to be supervisor, but Gonzalez voted no and Trustee Darlene Gray-Everett abstained.
Three yes votes were needed, Kusper said.
“No one is elected,” said Kusper, a former Cook County clerk.
“We have to go back into closed session,” township Clerk Loretta Wells said.
Some community members at the meeting said the proceedings amounted to palace intrigue as participants engaged in a power struggle. Many township employees attended, and some said the lack of leadership is affecting morale within the organization.
Gerald Jones has been a trustee since 2013 and is longtime coach and president of the Dolton Bears youth football organization.
Elston told reporters Zuccarelli had selected her with the intention she would succeed him after he retired.
“He had already started bringing me in, training me, taking me to different events,” she said. “He made the announcement at our swearing in last May.”
Zuccarelli had publicly named Elston as his chosen replacement at several meetings with mayors and at Democratic Party functions, Elston said.
Elston recently married and previously ran for office as Cassandra Holbert. She was first elected township assessor in 2013. She began her public service career in 1973, she said, and previously worked for Chicago aldermen Bennett M. Stewart and Eugene Sawyer.
Sawyer was selected mayor of Chicago when Harold Washington died in 1987. The power vacuum created by Zuccarelli’s unexpected passing is reminiscent of the “Council Wars” era of Chicago politics in the wake of Washington’s death.
“I’ve been doing this since 1961, and I remember that well,” said Kusper, a protégé of late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley.
Ted Slowik is a columnist with the Daily Southtown.
