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* Alderman Bernie Stone had a couple of really bizarre reactions to this turn of events yesterday…
A member of Ald. Bernard Stone’s political organization who also serves as the 50th Ward’s Streets and Sanitation Department superintendent was charged Monday following an investigation into alleged vote fraud in last year’s aldermanic election.
Anish Eapen, 37, of the 7500 block of North California Avenue, faces charges of official misconduct, absentee ballot fraud and mutilation of election materials, officials said..
* We’ll get to the reaction in a moment, but here’s more of the background…
A source familiar with the investigation said Eapen and Ramos “would target different people—primarily Indian and Pakistani voters—and suggest that they take absentee ballots. They would give them reasons why they should be taking absentee ballots—not necessarily valid reasons. They would be present when they filled out the application for the absentee ballot and, in some instances, they would bring the absentee ballot back to the people to vote.”
* And the payoff…
“We know where this all started. We know it’s politically-based. When does it break? Eight days before an election where Congressman Schakowsky is backing my opponent. It stems from an election where Congressman Schakowsky was backing my opponent….Her aide was soliciting the state’s attorney to investigate. It’s absolutely a devious political trick. That my good friend Dick Devine can be part of it is shocking,” Stone said.
Yep. Jan Schakowsky is now dictating Dick Devine’s investigations. Sounds perfectly sane and reasonable to me.
* But the black helicopters don’t stop there…
He added, “For the last six months, there has been a virtual campaign directed at anybody who voted for Bernie Stone. I always thought the ballot box was sealed. Apparently, nobody who voted for anybody else has ever gone before the grand jury. How do investigators know how these people voted? Has the secrecy of the ballot box been breached?…. They’re being asked, `Why did you vote for Bernie Stone?’ “
Perhaps, alderman, they’re asking your voters about alleged misdeeds because your guys are the ones who absentee voted them. You don’t need some super-secret G-Man code on ballots to figure that out.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jan 29, 08 @ 10:35 am
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Remember what they call people who think folks are out to get them…
Perceptive.
:-)
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Jan 29, 08 @ 10:48 am
At least he paid up first:
Anish Eapen
Information Requested
7505 N CALIFORNIA AVE
Chicago IL
Q2/2007
Hillary Clinton $1,000
Comment by Anon Tuesday, Jan 29, 08 @ 10:53 am
Is Stone getting senile?
Comment by Esteban Tuesday, Jan 29, 08 @ 10:57 am
It may be time for him to retire. A few weeks ago he was lionizing the matriarch of the Caruso mob upon her death.
Comment by Anon Tuesday, Jan 29, 08 @ 11:04 am
It looks like Silverstein will get the no pay/high aggravation job of Committeeman. Good luck, Ira
Comment by cook county Tuesday, Jan 29, 08 @ 11:08 am
This character is about the most repulsive in the entire City Council - and that’s saying a lot. His antics have gone on too long. Why anyone in the Ward would continue to support this dinosaur is beyond understanding.
Comment by phocion Tuesday, Jan 29, 08 @ 11:09 am
I’m guessing the above is a typo, and Stone didn’t repeat himself word for word.
He’s not senile. He’s employing the same defense as every corrupt politician; spouting absolute nonsense. Unless Blagojevich has early onset alzheimers, we should all understand and be familiar with this defense by now.
However, I do like the touch of flair there, specifying that it’s a “virtual campaign directed at anybody who voted for Bernie Stone.” So by “virtual” I guess he means it’s a campaign like Howard Deans from 04. Oh, or the other definition, that it doesn’t actually exist.
Comment by Sacks Romana Tuesday, Jan 29, 08 @ 11:29 am
There’s plenty of evidence Dick Devine’s office looks the other way on criminality by elected officials and cops who have are protected by local political bosses.
While, I doubt Devine’s office targets elected officials who are innocent of any misconduct, the non-prosecutions of numerous crimes by the political elites is enough to make me suspicious that selective prosecution is in-play when Devine’s office does engage in prosecution.
That said, if one is sufficiently criminal and sloppy about it, Devine’s people may have a hard time looking the other way.
When Anita Alvarez is on the campaign trail she uses the excuse “lack of manpower” to justify the Cook County State’s Attorney not prosecuting criminals, like in the Village of Melrose Park.
Has Devine or his top lieutenants (Bob Milan or Alvarez) asked for more manpower to investigate these cases? Has Devine considered the possibility of not wasting manpower to prosecute frivolous and unwarranted resisting arrest charges when cops behave badly? Maybe the Cook County State’s Attorney could save manpower on frivolous cases and reprogram that manpower for investigating cops who spend a lot of time hurting people?
Comment by Carl Nyberg Tuesday, Jan 29, 08 @ 11:46 am
Bernie Stone apparntly sees no harm in a little harmless abdsentee ballot fraud since it was for a good cause. It’s long past time for change in the 50th Ward.
It’s time to retire,Bernie,and you won’t get to appoint your daughter to succeed you! What a shame.
Comment by Captain America Tuesday, Jan 29, 08 @ 1:02 pm
Didn’t I just see something on Illinoize about how there was so little REAL voter fraud?
I am sure this is only more “voter mistakes” as they’d say at the Brennan Center *^^*.
And even if so, it’s only 0.0014% so it doesn’t really count….
Comment by Pat Collins Tuesday, Jan 29, 08 @ 1:07 pm
Pat,
You might want to understand the point about voter fraud before firing off on it. What there is little to no evidence of is people showing up at the polling place to vote under a false name or someone else.
The two most common forms of voter fraud have little to do with things like voter ID or the such-instead they are about absentee ballot fraud of the type above which wouldn’t be corrected by any of the reforms that are high profile and a fraud in terms of fake voter registrations. In the case of false voter registrations there are few, if any cases where it appears people wanted to vote, but the canvassers wanted to get paid for more registered voters.
Comment by archpundit Tuesday, Jan 29, 08 @ 3:18 pm
I read the report. I just think it’s trying to justify opening the door wide open to that sort of fraud.
There are plenty of people willing to commit fraud, esp if you make it easier for them.
Not to mention how silly a lot of the report was…..
Comment by Pat Collins Tuesday, Jan 29, 08 @ 3:33 pm
Errr…do you have some evidence of that kind of fraud or is it simply something you know a priori?
Comment by archpundit Tuesday, Jan 29, 08 @ 4:18 pm
I concur with YDD that vote fraud in Chicago is largely confined to absentee voting rather than illegal voting at the poling place. Strict voter ID requiremsnts enforced at the polling place are poorly disguised efforts to suppress voting by minorities and poor people.
Comment by Captain America Tuesday, Jan 29, 08 @ 5:48 pm
Correcttion, I concur with Archpundit, not YDD.
Comment by Captain America Tuesday, Jan 29, 08 @ 5:50 pm
From my limited experience, election chicanery is something perpetrated by establishment Democrats against independents and reform Democrats in primaries.
There seems to be some sort of agreement between Republicans with power and Democrats with power not to do it to each other in general elections.
Comment by Carl Nyberg Tuesday, Jan 29, 08 @ 6:43 pm
Alderman Stone’s reaction is the same as Senator Link’s concerning his alphabetized rountabled nomination petitions which generated forged signatures and signatures of 5 dead people. It’s all a grand conspiracy against them.
Their agents performed these acts. They both should at least own up to that fact.
Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Wednesday, Jan 30, 08 @ 6:35 am