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Actually, it came through an hour ago. I missed it until now.
Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley announced today that he is dropping out of the race for County Board president and is throwing his support behind fellow Commissioner Forrest Claypool to unseat incumbent John Stroger.
Rather than run for the County Board presidency himself, Quigley said he would be chairman of Claypool’s campaign.
Barring a last-minute filing by somebody else, today’s announcement leaves a one-on-one matchup in the March Democratic primary between Claypool, former head of the Chicago Park District and twice chief of staff to Mayor Richard Daley, and three-term President Stroger.
Quigley announced his decision to remove his name from the board presidency campaign and instead seek a third term as a county commissioner at an afternoon news conference at the Hotel Allegro in downtown Chicago.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Dec 19, 05 @ 4:06 pm
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Smart move for one to get out, but why Quigley?
As Daley’s former Chief of Staff, doesn’t Claypool have some tough questions to answer on the city hiring scandal? But wait, I can hear it now - the Mayor didn’t know AND the Chief of Staff didn’t know!!! But isn’t the Chief of Staff the guy that takes care of all those details the Mayor doesn’t have time to monitor or address?
If I were Forrest Claypool, I wouldn’t hang around busses too much. As this scandal continues, he might find himself under one.
Comment by Bubs Monday, Dec 19, 05 @ 4:27 pm
I also felt that Quigley was the better candidate, but it wasn’t a question of who would be a better potential President of Cook County board. No matter who you preferred in this race, the decision, once again, came down to who had amassed a bigger pile of money. Period. It is especially disheartening in this case, where some of the people who will be most affected (people who use Stroger Hospital, those caught up in our “justice” system, etc.) had no say in this decision because they, nor most of us, do not have the requisite pile of money that would buy them that voice.
I am saddened by this outcome, as I was hoping Quigley would be the candidate left standing, but so it goes. Good luck to Forrest.
Comment by Yoda Monday, Dec 19, 05 @ 5:02 pm
Stroger has backed off from a property tax increase in 2006 (I wouldn’t make any bets on 2007) so he’ll probably win. Cook County voters are so used to County corruption and featherbedding that they are unlikely to vote Stroger out on the corruption issue; and the tax issue, which could have made a dent in Stroger’s vote totals, is now neutralized.
Comment by Cassandra Monday, Dec 19, 05 @ 5:24 pm
Claypool has a long and established progressive record of reform. Quigley was a Johnny come Lately. Congrats to Quigley on making the right decision. I see him as a Congressman in the next decade.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Dec 19, 05 @ 6:09 pm
I was pulling for Quigley or Suffredin. But unless he is mysteriously abducted by space aliens, the Tribune will now endorse Claypool. This is after the Tribune runs a separate news story on each bit of Cook County featherbedding and malfeasance it can discover between now and the primary. Twice. And after it has twice editorialized on each instance, with each editorial having crescendoed to a wholly justified outrage at the County Board President’s actions and inactions. Isn’t it possible that this kind of sustained coverage will balance out any Claypool money or ground troop deficiencies?
Comment by Ivory-billed Woodpecker Monday, Dec 19, 05 @ 8:04 pm
Anon 6:09 -
In the interest of Peace & Reform, I’ll respond by quoting Forrest Claypool, from an e-mail I received from him today:
“For eight years, Mike Quigley has helped lead the battle for reform as a member of the Cook County board. He is a true trailblazer. And today, he again demonstrated his deep commitment by setting aside his own, formidable candidacy to join forces with ours. From the day he joined the board, Mike has been a font of good ideas to make county services more responsive, but many of his efforts have been frustrated by an administration bent on running government as their own, private reserve. In my administration, Mike’s voice will be heard.â€
Anon 6:09, I suspect you’re on Stroger’s payroll and hoping to stir up trouble. Read today’s memo: it’s not going to work. Quigley and Claypool are wed together now like Stroger and tax increases. Your efforts to drive a wedge between the Dynamic Duo are crude and laughable.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Monday, Dec 19, 05 @ 8:16 pm
I think Stroger may be toast.
Comment by Just Observing Monday, Dec 19, 05 @ 8:39 pm
Folks, all the warm and fuzzy holiday talk is nice, but the deal was made to help Quigley raise money in the future in order to get him out now. As for Claypool, wait until the unions go after him, and for his workplace harassment record comes out. No real honest agents in this one.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Dec 19, 05 @ 9:57 pm
9:57, re: the supposed quid pro quo, where Quigley gets promises of future support in exchange for dropping out. Certainly this may happen, but there was far more to the decision and alliance than dollars. Mike has a sizable ego and a stubborn streak–money alone would never be enough of a reason, nor even the primary reason. How do I know this? I’ve known Mike for years, and I spoke to him personally this afternoon. (And he doesn’t bulls**t me.)
I’d rather be Claypool with some unsubstantiated rumors than Stroger with numerous documented cases (i.e. indictments, investigations, consent decrees, etc.) of abuse and mistreatment at the county’s juvenile home, close associates playing a role in a case of financial theft from a county program, a contracting office that certified a dead woman as a woman-owned/minority-owned business, to say nothing of all those attempted taxes over the years and total absence of modernization or reform of goverment to keep up with the times.
Comment by insider Monday, Dec 19, 05 @ 10:22 pm
Unsubstantiated? Let’s see just how unsubstantiated the (multiple)complainants sound. Don’t get me wrong, I still think he is the best one in the race, but it won’t be pretty.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Dec 19, 05 @ 10:46 pm
Stay tuned boys and girls; Kid Revolution handed the Red Flag off to Forrest. Would Lenin have been happy stamping and filing? This Progressive train of reforms has not even laid the tracks yet.
Comment by Pat Hickey Tuesday, Dec 20, 05 @ 9:03 am
Quigley will likely be the leading contender to replace John Daley as the Chairman of the County Board’s Finanace Committee next year (after the November 2006 elections), particularly if reformers can oust Stroger-Daley allies in the 5th, 6th and 7th County Board Districts. A victory in at least one of these races by a progressive challenger should be enough to insure a Quigley victory over Daley (assuming the Republicans don’t cut a deal with the Daleys, which might be politically lethal to them in the long run). Knock off two or three of the incumbents (Sims, Murphy and Moreno) and it is unlikely that John Daley even seeks another term as Finance Chairman.
Comment by Randall Sherman Tuesday, Dec 20, 05 @ 12:44 pm
I believe Mike Quigley made his decision to drop out to Forest Claypool for all of the right reasons. But, Quigley by doing so, just upped his political net worth by a Quantum Leap. It takes a hell of aman to forsake ego and self-enrichment for the common good. This self-sacrifice by Quigley will not go unnoticed by the public or by members of his own (and the other) Party. Look for Quigley to have just put his political rocket into outer space by his decision to make a sacrifice for others within Cook County. This is a man who just planted a political seed that will yield an amazing plant in the next couple of years. Could he run for Mayor of Chicago against Daley? I am not sure where he lives.
Comment by Beowulf Tuesday, Dec 20, 05 @ 2:09 pm
Beowulf:
The 44th ward–Lake View.
Da Mare hates Quigley’s guts, for his independence, intelligence, and lack of dependence on the Daley machine. “Anybody but Quigley” was reportedly the mayor’s response when he learned Ald. Bernie Hansen was retiring.
Daley probably would be even more ticked if he knew how much Quigley enjoys telling that story.
Comment by insider Tuesday, Dec 20, 05 @ 2:31 pm
Beowulf, Old Skin,
Mike Quigley stands on the far shore, staring at the Promised Land. Can he cross over?
As for that ‘political rocket of his . . . Old Samuel Johnson put it best about the many Quigley’s way back in the 18th century:
Unnumbered suppliants crowd preferment’s gate,
Athirst for wealth, and burning to be great;
Delusive fortune hear the incessant call,
They mount, they shine, evaporate, and fall.
S. Johnson from “Vanity of Human Wishes”
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Dec 20, 05 @ 4:18 pm
The truth about all this is that the Mayor is on all sides in this election: Axelrod is with Claypool (among others), Giangreco (read: Wilhelm)was with Quigley and John Daley is with Stroger.
Somone needs to call the Mayor out on this race. Who is he really with? For example, Dick Devine, Daley’s first assistant when he was SA, talks about looking into “hiring” at the County when announcing the Glover indictment. What the hell does hiring of a shakman-exempt employee have to do with her stealing money in an indictment? IF you work at Dunkin Donuts and you steal from the register, they don’t indict you for working at Dunkin Donuts. Mentioning that in the indictment shows that Devine is part of the Suffredin-Claypool-Quigley Axis…and nothing is an accident. I’m sure the Mayor would love some of the attention to be directed away from his own scandals onto the County…
This is kinda what Daley did to Lechowicz. Claypool has always been a fair-haired boy of the Mayor’s circle, and there’s no doubt that the Mayor will do what he can to protect who he wants to protect in a Claypool purge, if elected.
If Stroger is relying on the Mayor to win this election, he is in big trouble.
If he aligns himself (even tacitly) with the anti-Daley forces in the black and Latino communities, he should get enough white votes to go with an overwhelming black majority and a Latino split in winniga 4th term.
The Mayor cannot be trusted. Except by Claypool
Comment by Reality Check Tuesday, Dec 20, 05 @ 6:24 pm
YDD - Wasn’t it you who stated - adamantly and many times - that Quigley would not drop out? What happened, are you out of the loop?
Comment by Anon Wednesday, Dec 21, 05 @ 12:08 am