By Mark G. Jones, Deputy Editor, THE iLLINOIS OBSERVER

10th Ward Democratic Committeeman John Pope.
(Chicago, IL) – March 15, 2012. Who Leads the Lambs to Vote in Chicago? The Vatican has the College of Cardinals, known as the “Princes of the Church.” Chicago has Ward Committeemen.
And there are two Chicago denominations: Democrats and Republicans. A Committeeman’s salvation–their weighted voting power in their party candidate endorsement sessions–depends on the faithful flocking to the voting both.
With the Tuesday, March 20 primary looming, a holy day on the electoral calendar, the motors of both sides’ ward machines are either revving or wheezing into action.
An analysis by THE iLLINOIS OBSERVER of City of Chicago 2010 election data, which focused on the “princes and princesses” who were elected in 2008, found some shepherds can crank out the flock more effectively than others.
In Chicago, as you know, Democrats turn out in mass.
According to our report, the top ten Democratic committeemen, in terms of the percentage of registered voters in each of the 50 city wards who faithfully went to the polls and voted at the behest of their committeemen in 2010, are:
- Matthew O’Shea (19th) – 49.8%
- Michael Madigan (13th) – 40.4%
- Michael Zalewski (23rd) – 37.8%
- Ed Burke (14th) – 35.4%
- Toni Preckwinkle (4th) – 34.5%
- Michelle Harris (8th) – 33.2%
- Freddrenna Lyle (6th) – 30.0%
- Derrick Curtis (18th) – 29.6%
- Leslie Hairston (5th) – 29.6%
- John Daley (11th) – 29.1%
Howard Brookins, who at 29.0%, misses a slot in top 10 by .01%.
Elsewhere, some Democratic committeemen need to work on their sermons. The bottom 10 are:
- Tony Munoz (12th) – 18.4%
- Ed Smith (28th) – 18.2%
- John Pope (10th) – 18.1%
- Rey Colon (35th) – 17.5%
- Roberto Maldonado (26th) – 17.5%
- Joann Thompson (16th) – 17.2%
- Toni Foulkes (15th) – 16.9%
- Jesse Juarez (1st) – 16.0%
- Joseph Berrios (31st) – 15.9%
- Ariel Reboyras (30th) – 15.2%
On the GOP side, where Republican voters in Chicago wards could fit in a single pew and are typically lambs being led to slaughter by their committeemen, the top 10 are:
- Mike McAuliffe (41st) – 9.3%
- Eloise Gerson (42nd) – 6.9%
- Dave Haynes (45th) – 5.9%
- Doug Glick (43rd) – 5.9%
- James Parrilli (19th) – 5.6%
- Joe Adamcik (36th) – 5.1%
- Kevin White (38th) – 5.0%
- Jeffrey Malinowski (23rd) – 4.4%
- Bill Micelli (23rd) – 4.2%
- Jim Fuchs (44th) – 4.2%
For those GOP committeemen dwelling in purgatory, the bottom 10 are:
- Jacoby Crutcher (20th) – 0.3%
- Linda Rockett (9th) – 0.3%
- Stanton Robinson (7th) – 0.3%
- Margarite Faulkner (8th) – 0.3%
- Charles Seavers (21st) – 0.2%
- Jackie Robinson (6th) – 0.2%
- Percy Coleman (34th) – 0.2%
- Ronnie McKenzie (24th) – 0.2%
- Curtis Lacy (17th) – 0.2%
- Margaree Jackson (28th) – 0.2%
Both Democratic and Republican committeemen will be preaching heavily to their respected choirs in the coming hours before Judgment Day on Tuesday, beseeching voters to support their designated candidates but also to save their own skins, which are also on the ballot.
On March 21, they return to their political cloisters to reflect on the results, and only then will their sermons fall silent.
Amen.
For future candidates seeking to prioritize their kissing-the-ring time, the full report on the all the committeemen rankings, and the 2012 ward committeemen candidates from both parities, who face voters on Tuesday, is here.
Try again, lost my original comment.
All of the Dem Top Ten our southsiders with demographics working against them. They’re potentates for sure but the their subjects leaving plus the new Emperor’s a north sider.
I’m thinking a Scott Waguespack who’s yet to enter the chamber as a prince, but still a guy to grow.
The hispanic dems have their constituents voting habits working agains them. O’Shea has the habits working for him. I don’t know how much one can fault or credit those habits against the committeeman. Getting that marginal extra few points out of some of these wards may reflect greater skills and talents than in some others were the precinct workers blessed with reflexive voters.
Posted by Bill Baar | March 15, 2012, 9:04 AMBill,
Indeed, the demographics are changing, but the partisan voting patterns. The Dems are generating fewer votes, but voters are not drifting to the GOP side.
Thank you for reading.
David Ormsby
Posted by David Ormsby | March 15, 2012, 9:31 AMI couldn’t find the link but Tom Roeser wrote a few years ago about the Illinois’s GOPs failure to recruit candidates among Illinois’s many minority Business Execs. He listed many African American ones. Consider the Asians too… read Crain’s Peoples section and you’ll see these men and women abound. Anyone of them preaching a pro-Growth, low-Tax, (think Larry Kudlow) clean government platform could be a very successful GOP candidate in the City I think. It’s where the Illinois GOP needs to start looking at least, if they’re going to even think of moving out of these deep doldrums.
Posted by Bill Baar | March 15, 2012, 11:30 AMBill,
Good point. It’s not a complete message. But it would be a damn good start.
David
Posted by David Ormsby | March 15, 2012, 11:38 AM