At
least that was the impression I gained from reading the Aldertrack political
newsletter, which on Wednesday reported that Wilson – the failed mayoral
hopeful who already has publicly backed Jesus Garcia for the April 7 run-off
election – now has nine preferred aldermanic candidates.
HE
HAS CERTAIN preferred City Council candidates whom he’d like to see win
election in their own right. According to the newsletter (which truly has been
a gem of the ’15 election cycle in terms of keeping me informed about the
candidates across the neighborhoods), Wilson wants aldermen Emma Mitts of the
37th Ward and Natasha Holmes of the 7th Ward to win.
In
seven other wards, he wants the incumbent alderman to lose to the challenger
who was able to force a run-off election.
As
the newsletter points out, Mitts and Holmes publicly back the idea of Rahm
Emanuel’s re-election to another mayoral term, while the others (including
outspoken Garcia/Karen Lewis supporter Susan Sadlowski Garza in the 10th
ward) all want the concept of “Mayor Chuy” to become a reality.
What
caught my attention about all of this was the reasoning that Wilson campaign
manager Rev. Gregory Seal Livingston gave for the endorsements – Willie wants
aldermen who won’t necessarily rubber-stamp the mayor’s thoughts as eagerly as
the current City Council backs Rahm Emanuel.
“THE
ENDORSEMENTS ARE not based on mayoral allegiance, but on the importance of
having a strong council, weak mayor system,” Livingston told the Aldertrack
newsletter.
Aside
from the idea of anyone caring what the campaign manager of a failed candidate
thinks, I couldn’t help but be concerned about what could come about if such a thought
were to be carried out to its natural conclusion.
An
all-powerful group of aldermen thinking they are above reproach and acting in
ways that would not necessarily be beneficial to the public interest.
Now
I know that in theory, Chicago city government is structured in exactly such a
way – with the City Council having the authority to govern the people and the
mayor serving a lesser role.
THAT
CONCEPT WAS long-ago trashed in reality as the “machine” of old made sure that
the kinds of people who generally got picked to be alderman were the ones who
knew how to follow orders!
Put
a strong personality in as mayor, and aldermen become a rubber stamp for
mayoral delusions of all kind.
But
I can see where a strong personality in the City Council could wind up becoming
just as dominant over city government to the point where things would become
just as absurd as they often become now. Just as how I fear that an "elected" Board of Education would put the board's composition into the hands of the political hacks.
The
way that long-time 14th Ward Alderman Edward Burke uses his
seniority and influence over city government to dominate the City Council’s
actions can be almost as intimidating a presence as that of Illinois House
Speaker Michael Madigan’s control over Illinois state government through his
domination of the House of Representatives. Is that what we want to encourage
at City Hall?
HECK,
LET’S BE honest. That period which many of us remember as “Council Wars”
(a.k.a., the Harold Washington years) was technically an example of a “strong
council” using its authority over the mayor.
Athough
I’m sure only the most delusional of us would think that the mid-1980s and all the
racial baiting that dominated the local political scene was an example of “good
government” at work in Chicago.
I’m
sure that Wilson, on some level, has some sort of fantasy in which the 50
aldermen act as independent agents of thought representing their home
communities in trying to get city government to act appropriately.
Which
is about as nonsensical a concept as those Chicago Cubs fans who think that
their favorite ball club ought to have had many World Series titles throughout the
seasons with the collection of athletic stiffs they have fielded in the past.
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