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Putting the band back together

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Illinois

The map on the [top] details Tuesday’s primary between Kim Foxx and Anita Alvarez. The Green/Purple shades are Kim Fox. The Yellow/Brown shades are Anita Alvarez.

The map on the [bottom] outlines 1987’s mayoral election between Harold Washington and Edward Vrdolyak. The purple shades are Harold. The red is Vrdolyak.

* The eerily similar maps. Click the pics for a larger, side-by-side version…

* Related…

* Zorn: Why Anita Alvarez should resign now

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 11:16 am

Comments

Since Zorn was the full throated flack for the Medill Innocent Project when it construed to put an innocent man (Alistory Simon) in jail and put a murderer back on the street maybe he should pick another topic on which to opine. He has no credibility when it comes to the State’s Attorney’s office.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 11:43 am
Let’s not feed the trolls, who will be out in force, believe me.

To the post: I am not a fan of Alvarez. I voted for Foxx, and support Preckwinkle. Like Zorn, I assume that Foxx will have no difficulty in creaming her Republican opponent in November. (Raise your hand if you know who that is without Googling.)

But I do not think it at all appropriate to create a situation where a supporter of one candidate would be the person who fills the vacancy. That’s just wrong.

RE: the maps. No surprise there. The city hasn’t changed in 20 years.

Comment by JoanP Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 11:47 am
I’ll leave it to Alvarez’s conscience to determine whether she should resign at this point, but I think the Trib’s recent editorial in favor of having a special prosecutor appointed to handle the McDonald case makes a lot of sense. If Alvarez cares about the reputation, integrity and perception of her office, she won’t stand in the way of letting this happen. Might be a way of giving her dismal reputation a boost in her waning days in office.

Comment by Phil Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 11:53 am
well, anonymous is not wrong, though incomplete. perhaps Zorn should resign himself over his ridiculous positions. Zorn and several other media types are not happy that the party with David Protess is over. And in large measure Protess is gone from his post because Alvarez exposed that work to be supremely faulty, with a lawsuit that angered those in the innocence movement. she may no longer be in office come Dec. 1, but she is to be thanked for exposing the sham at Northwestern.

Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 11:55 am
== The city hasn’t changed in 20 years ==

Disagree. First, it’s 30 years since Vrdolyak v. Washington (man, I’m old.) Second, a good portion of the common Vrdolyak/Alverez territory has changed from “white ethnic” to Latino. And the near South Side and near West Side precincts (common Washington/Fox territory) that were black are now white.

Comment by Fred Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 12:06 pm
More interesting to me is the contrast with the 2015 Garcia/Emanuel results.

Comment by Lakeview J Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 12:09 pm
it construed to put an innocent man in jail and put a murderer back on the street *** He has no credibility when it comes to the State’s Attorney’s office.

You do realize that your “put an innocent man in jail” standard disqualifies much of the State’s Attorney’s office from commenting about the State’s Attorney’s office, right?

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 12:15 pm
Am I the only person who sees the green moving into the old Vrdolyak-voting wards on the North Side? What about the green in Galewood? There’s green at the top of the 10th ward, and in the 19th. I mean, it’s no surprise that the Harold Washington wards went overwhelmingly for Foxx.

Yeah, the “cop wards” went for Vrdolyak and for Alvarez. But I’d love to see a map that stripped out the Washington wards and just showed the Vrdolyak precincts that went for Foxx. I think it would tell a different story.

Comment by Soccermom Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 12:15 pm
I see change in the maps. I see progress. And I see that mindless support for law enforcement losses even bigger now.

Comment by crazybleedingheart Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 12:44 pm
Paging Scott Kennedy for a map overlay. (You can’t do this simply by comparing ward by ward, because the ward boundaries have changed.)

Comment by Soccermom Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 12:49 pm
- Soccermom - and - Fred - are correct.

It’s not some kind of reunion of a Vrdolyak coalition. It’s much simpler than that. Alvarez won the Latino majority wards and the 41st and 19th — about half the Chicago Police Department lives in those two wards.

Nothing really surprising about that map.

Comment by 414 Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 12:53 pm
Anita probably should have resigned a few months ago. A this point, though, I don’t think it would be a good idea. It takes time to transition.

I have a bit of insider information in this front, and I know that there are a not insignificant amount of ASA’s in Cook County who are moving forward as if they may be out of a job come January.

No surprise Anita got ousted. She should have examined herself more closely after she mishandled the heaters that led to her demise. But, at this point, it’s best she finishes her term and leaves things in a way that begets a smooth transition.

Comment by AlfondoGonz Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 1:38 pm
Regarding change: I know a 60-ish policeman’s widow (via natural causes) who lives on the NW side and has told me previously she still votes as a “police family.” The day after the election, she told me she voted for Foxx.

Comment by 60611 Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 1:58 pm
AAAAH! I thought we were done with Fast Eddie!

Comment by Damfunny Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 3:26 pm
There were more postings on the question of the day regarding the second half of Zorn’s column, so I posted there regarding this dumb suggestion. But my comments apply to this as well. The Republican candidate is Christopher Pfannkuche. Didn’t have to Google it, did check Sullivan’s Law Directory for spelling though.

Comment by West Side The Best Side Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 5:14 pm
Definitely voting against Foxx in the Fall.

Comment by Tone Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 5:36 pm
Pfannkuche is certainly more qualified than Foxx. But if the Republicans are smart, they will ask him to step aside and find a qualified woman to run in his place. He’s not got much pizzazz. Foxx lied on her resume and her campaign has been sanctioned. Alvarez could not get those important facts out because of the populist drumbeat on justice which borders on mob mentality. This is not some state rep seat. It is a law enforcement position. The post demands someone who follows the rules. without Alvarez in the race, the record of Foxx could be seen as significant. The Republicans need another candidate to do that.

Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 6:40 pm
=there are a not insignificant amount of ASA’s in Cook County who are moving forward as if they may be out of a job come January=

Just like her crew. Hold the line for years in the face of clear evidence to the contrary, refuse to admit defeat even when it’s perfectly clear to everyone else, then after not only losing but having their hindquarters handed to them in a public and humiliating fashion, fully expect to inexplicably swing a sweet deal out of it.

Who will be hiring these paragons of virtue and vision, who couldn’t see the writing on the wall by Thanksgiving, much less 2-3 years ago?

Comment by crazybleedingheart Wednesday, Mar 23, 16 @ 10:44 pm