Democratic Party - 49th Ward

Quality Judicial Endorsements

The Democratic Party of the 49th Ward believes that having integrity in our judicial system is essential to having a just society.  Our executive board has taken the time to review resumes and bar association evaluations for most of the candidates running and all of the candidates we have endorsed.  We don’t endorse judicial candidates that do not have solid evaluations so you can rest assured that if you vote for these candidates you will be supporting quality people who will make good quality judges.

Reaching a decision in some of the races was difficult because many of the candidates were exceptional.  The Nowicki and Disko vacancies are good examples of this phenomenon, but even in those races where all of the candidates would make excellent judges we have tried to determine who we think would be the very best.

Every voter has an opportunity to look at the evaluations. They are public information and available on the internet.  The Chicago Bar Association is the largest bar and the Alliance of Bar Associations represents the evaluations from 10 additional bar associations which are a diverse and comprehensive group of bar associations.

First District Appellate Court – Burke Vacancy
Alan J. Greiman                 Mark 70

First District Appellate Court – Campbell Vacancy
John O. Steele                      Mark 73

Cook County Circuit Court – Disko Vacancy
Dennis J. Burke                  Mark 78

Cook County Circuit Court – Glowacki Vacancy
Jesse G. Reyes                         Mark 81

Cook County Circuit Court – Healy Vacancy
Maureen Ward Kirby      Mark 84

Cook County Circuit Court – Keehan Vacancy
Marilyn  F. Johnson        Mark 86

Cook County Circuit Court – Lott Vacancy
Thomas J. Byrne               Mark 90

Cook County Circuit Court – Montelione Vacancy
Thaddeus Wilson              Mark 92

Cook County Circuit Court – Murphy Vacancy
Paula M. Lingo                    Mark 95

Cook County Circuit Court – Nowicki Vacancy
Brian Terrence Sexton  Mark 97

Cook County Circuit Court – Thomas Vacancy
E. Madeline O’Neill           Mark 103

Please print this post and take it to the polling place with you when you vote. 

Early voting is open from Jan. 14 to Jan. 31, 2008. 

Election Day is Tuesday Feb. 5, 2008

Early Voting Is Open Now!

One of the great things that the work of progressive leaders in Illinois has brought about is the creation of early voting.   This is no longer a new thing, but to many they have been afraid to try it.  It is safe, easy and you can get it out of the way so you don't have to worry about the lines on Election Day before or after work.

Their are 51 sites in Chicago where you can early vote and you can vote at any one of them.  You are not limited to your precinct in the 49th ward for the early voting.  You can vote at any of the 51 sites.

The closest sites to the 49th Ward are:

Edgewater Library
1210 W. Elmdale Ave.

Pottawattomie Park
7340 N. Rogers Ave.

Warren Park
6601 N. Western Ave.

If you work or are traveling downtown you can vote at the Board of Elections Headquarters at:

Chicago Board of Election Commissioners
69 W. Washington St.
Lower Level Conference Room

To Early Vote Remember To:
1) Bring a government photo ID.
2) You don't need an excuse or reason to vote early.
3) Use any Early Voting site, no matter where you live.
4) All sites open Mon.-Sat. 9 to 5, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
5) All Early Voting sites in Chicago are fully accessible.

Early Voting Hours:
Monday - Saturday, All Locations, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
All sites open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!
Sundays: Only at Election Board Headquarters, 9 a.m. to noon
Need more info? See below or call 312-269-7900 / TTY 312-269-0027

This is a great voting option. 

If you need a ride to get to early voting please call (773) 973-4949.

Start the New Year the Right Way

Do you care about Barack Obama?  The election in Iowa is now down to being just days away.   The Iowa caucus, and perhaps the Presidency, will be decided based on who wins the caucus January 3, not on any poll or survey.   And who wins the Iowa caucus will be determined by who shows up, on what will no doubt be a cold winter night, at the caucus. 

You can make the difference.  The Chicago campaign office is going to be making calls to make sure all of those Obama supporters identified over the last few months make it to the caucus to vote on January 3.  By committing some time and making calls you are going to make a real difference in the outcome of the caucus. 

I know that you are not  planning to just sit at home hopeful it turns out okay after we have come this far.  I also know you are concerned about the future of America and you are concerned about having Barack Obama at the helm as we move into Americas future.   You should be planning when you will be able to make some calls.

You can stop in and make calls for the day or for an hour at the Chicago headquarters.

Obama HQ is at: 300 W. Adams (10th floor) Chicago, IL 60606 just north of the Sears Tower

Obama HQ is open: Mon-Thurs 9am-9pm Fri 9am-5pm Sat 10am-5pm Sun 12pm-9pm

Please make some time and make a difference.  If you have any questions or problems please send me an e-mail or call the Obama campaign at:  (312) 506-0909

Board Meets and Makes Endorsements

The Board of the Democratic Party of the 49th Ward met on Saturday morning December 15 and reviewed the races sent to it from the December 8 endorsement session.  The Board has made the following endorsements in the remaining three contested races:

Board of Review
Jay Paul Deratany is endorsed over Joseph Berrios

Recorder of Deeds
Ed Smith is endorsed over Eugene "Gene" Moore

The final candidate selected to fill out the ticket for
Water Reclamation District Commissioner is
Mariyana Spyropolous

In the judicial races the Board has voted to have Judge Alan Grieman and Judge John Steele will be our endorsed candidates for the two openings  for  Judge of the Appellate Court.  In respect to the ten circuit court judge races on the ballot in February the Board will be meeting after the first of the year to begin our considerations.  Some of the candidates have not yet received their ratings from the bar associations and this is a very significant factor in our endorsement process. 

Endorsement Session Results

Today the Democratic Party of the 49th Ward held its endorsement session for the February 5th primary.  Prior to the meeting the executive board met to conclude the endorsement for President.  The Board has voted to follow the lead of the membership and endorse Barack Obama for President.

For those of you who do not know the rules of the organization the membership can make an endorsemnt binding by giving 2/3 or 66.67% of the total vote case for one candidate or issue.  If a race does not generate a majority of 66.67% it is refered to the Board of Directors for the organization for review and possible endorsement.  The purpose of this two step process is to be certain that  candidates that do not have significant support get a second look from the Board to be certain that as an organization we want to make an endorsement.

The results of our endorsement session are as follows:

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Congress - 9th Dist
Schakowsky	99.0%	Endorsed
Nocita	1.0%
State   Senate - 7th Dist.
Steans	76.7%	Endorsed
Elder	23.3%
States   Attorney
Suffredin	93.3%	Endorsed
Allen	1.3%
Brookins	0.0%
Brewer	5.3%
Alvarez	0.0%
Milan	0.0%
Board   of Review
Berrios	34.2%	Board
Deratany	65.8%
Recorder   of Deeds
Moore	37.8%	Board
Smith	62.2%
Kelly	0.0%
Water   Reclaimation District
Meany	94.4%	Endorsed
Maragos	78.9%	Endorsed
Avila	45.1%	3rd Seat to
Spyropoulos	46.5%	the Board
Jones	11.3%
O'Reilley	0.0%
Oliver	1.4%
Rush	0.0%
Podgorski	1.4%
Stinson	7.0%
Santos	7.0%

When the Board meets the final decisions will be posted.  A special thank you goes out to everyone who participated, our mrmbers and the candidates who took the time to come out.  We are fortunate to have a very solid group of people running for office this year and everyone agreed that there were some tough choices.

Cook County Democratic Party Reforms Are A Success

For the past two days, Sept. 6 & 7, the Cook County Democratic Party met to endorse candidates for the 2008 Democratic primary elections.  It was truly a breath of fresh air.  New Chairman Joseph Berrios promised that as our new Chairman he would open up the process.  I was skeptical to be honest, but Chairman Berrios delivered on his promise.  I am proud of him and his leadership.  For the first time in all of the time I have been a committeeman all 80 committeemen were part of the process of selecting the candidates that will represent the party.

Much of the work of the Central Committee is done is sub-committees.  In the past the sub-committees were hand picked and as a result a small number of people had tremendous influence over who would be nominated.  This time each committeeman was allowed to be on any sub-committee they chose and for the first time I was able to sit on the committee that made the recommendations to the full body.  I don’t think you will find a committeeman who wouldn’t agree that things have changed significantly at the Central Committee of the Cook County Democratic Party.  You may find a few who are not happy with the change, but the vast majority would tell you it is better.

The following is a list of the  Cook County Democratic Party endorsed candidates for the February 5, 2008 election:

                                                                   

Judicial Office (Name of Vacancy)	Endorsed Candidate
Supreme Court (McMorrow)	Anne Burke
Appellate Court (Burke)	Alan J. Grieman
Appellate Court (Campbell)	John O. Steele
Countywide Circuit Court (Glowacki)	Jesse G. Reyes
Countywide Circuit Court (Montelione)	Thaddeus L. Wilson
Countywide Circuit Court (Keehan)	Marilyn F. Johnson
Countywide Circuit Court (Murphy)	Paula Lingo
Countywide Circuit Court (Nowicki)	Michael B. Hyman
Countywide Circuit Court (Thomas)	Joan Powell
Countywide Circuit Court (Healy)	Maureen Ward-Kirby
Countywide Circuit Court (Disko)	Lauretta Higgins Wolfson
Countywide Circuit Court (Lott)	Thomas J. Byrne
Countywide Circuit Court – Alternate 1	Stephen J. Connelly
Countywide Circuit Court – Alternate 2	Diann Marsalek
Countywide Circuit Court – Alternate 3	Sandra G. Ramos
Countywide Circuit Court – Alternate 4	Dennis J. Burke

 

                           

Elected Office	Endorsed Candidate
States Attorney	OPEN PRIMARY
Clerk of the Circuit Court	Dorothy Brown
Recorder of Deeds	Eugene “Gene” Moore
Commissioner – Water Reclamation Dist.	Kathleen Therese Meany
Commissioner – Water Reclamation Dist.	Frank Avila
Commissioner – Water Reclamation Dist.	Dean Maragos

The item that is getting the most news is the fact that the party chose to have an open primary in the race for States Attorney.  In sub-committee the votes were divided between the candidates ranging from 25% to 40% for each candidate.  It may have been possible to try to squeeze the field to the top two candidates and force a situation where someone would have gotten 50% of the vote, but that would have been destructive.  Sometimes the best decision is to not force a decision.  The right decision was made in my opinion.

The one unfortunate thing that happened was the inclusion in the new by-laws of a clause that allows for Committeemen who did not support the endorsed slate can be stripped of the right to serve on a committee.  While there has been dramatic change and definite improvements in the process, this clause means that there is still room for improvement.  Maybe once they try to enforce this they will find that it is not advisable and will revise the by-laws. 

Election Judges

It is the thought of a few unhappy losers of the last election that being appointed as an election judge is some great position one gets by being connected and that normal people do not walk in off the street and become election judges.  They believe that some how there is a master plot every election to rig the process.  Nothing is farther from the truth. 

As the Democratic Committeeman I have always worked hard to fill all of the Democratic election judge spots.  I cannot remember the last time the Democratic slots were not filled going into Election Day.  I also have, as much as possible, worked to develop a group of additional people who want to serve as Election Judges that we call stand-by judges.  On every Election Day my actual volunteers go out, take campaign time to report shortages in judges, get names and pick up new judges and drive these people in that stand-by pool to the polling place.  That list is developed because it is reasonable to anticipate that approximately 25 Judges will no show at the polling place on Election Day morning. 

Most of these judges appointed on Election Day are people I do not know, have never meet and often never see again.  The point is to make the voting go as smooth as possible.  Make sure there are enough judges to give breaks for lunch, close down at night and handle the rushes in the morning and the late afternoon.

As for the long serving election judges, many of the them are people I know from visiting the polling places on Election Day to thank them for working.  The same few above mentioned critics think that is electioneering, but I consider it good management practices to acknowledge that these people are working a 15 to 17 hour day on what is often thankless work.  I will always take the time to thank them for the effort and their continued commitment in spite of these challenges.  I have on occasion seen some of them at community meetings, in the grocery store, at a block party or CAPS meeting maybe, but for many I never see them except on Election Day.

Finally, very few election judges are volunteers because the simple truth is that any campaign would rather have its volunteers working outside of the polling place on Election Day.  Of course some election judges support candidates in a race, but those who believe that Gordon didn't have any supporters in the ranks of the election judges are seriously deluded.

There are some who cannot seem to let go of the idea that our wards' election process is incredibly corrupt and that election judges are essential pieces in winning an election.  That is nonsense.  For  those who are so concerned please, become a judge yourself, experience the work first hand and see what being a Judge is really about.   There is always room for more hands provided you are willing to take training, show up on time, follow the law, be a good co-worker and work a very long day for not enough money.

Cell Phone Public Service Effort

Have you decided your cell phone signal just simply s#@ks and you want to know what is better?  Want to brag about your 5 bar service?  Lets all help each other.  Follow the link below and plot you signal strength on the map.  Lets see what works best in the 49th ward.  Thanks!

Map Your Signal

Judge dismisses lawsuit by 49th Ward challenger

Tribune staff report
July 21, 2007

CHICAGO - A Cook County Circuit judge on Friday dismissed the complaint brought by the challenger in the April 17 election for the 49th Ward aldermanic seat.

Don Gordon said that although Judge Marsha Hayes had tossed his suit alleging vote fraud in his runoff race against incumbent Ald. Joe Moore, his attorneys will submit a new legal complaint.

Gordon pushed Moore, who was first elected in 1991, into a runoff, which Moore won by 247 votes.

The citizens of this ward are left with this question: since the Judge has ruled that you don't have  facts to support your claims, nor a plausible resolution to address the case if you had won, are you ready to admit that you came close, were a little short and end the legal action or do you still intend to continue trying to take away the voting rights of thousands of voters in our ward?  Even by your own account, (which neither I, Judge Hayes nor your facts support),  this case is about a couple of  hundred people, not the thousands that are the  basis of your claims and  resolution.  Where is the protection of voter rights you're touting with VOTER49 when you want to strip several thousand voters of their vote in April 2007?

VOTER 49, your new group, seems to be about two things: making sure certain people can or cannot vote as determined by your campaign's judgment which is a position that is far more troubling than the things you have presented as "facts" supporting your case.  The second thing VOTER49 appears to be about is developing a self-serving political agenda for 2011.

Mar Dinkha IV Blvd.

On Sunday July 15, 2007 I had the honor of being part of a celebration of Mar Dinkha IV's 50th anniversary of becoming a priest.  It was an honor to be a part of this event.  I didn't go expecting this to be something truly memorable but it was.  As a Roman Catholic, the people of the Assyrian Church of the East are my religious brothers and sisters.  This man is a leader of the faith with a long and distinguished history.  In his presence I felt the goodness coming from him.  It was the same goodness that had so many in the audience smiling and cheering.  As I said in my comments on the church stairs, "a man who has served as a priest for 50 years has had a profound impact on the lives of thousands."

It was clear that the people who are members of the church believed this.  They were very moved by this man and his presence. This was an event that I will not forget anytime soon.  There was real passion for this man of God and I am happy to have been a part of this ceremony.  An honorary street naming is a little bit of recognition for a man who has done immeasurable good for the world.

More about Mar Dinkha IV