THE BEST SPECTATOR SPORT OUR TOWN HAS TO OFFER

2/1/10

A friend asked my opinion on why Alderman and Committeeman Ed Burke of the 14th Ward, the dean of the City Council, is being so supportive of Pat Quinn (Reportedly, Burke, through his two political committees has contributed $250,000 to Quinn, including $225,000 given right after the now famous (or infamous) “Harold ad” ran.) One would guess that Burke’s well oiled 14th Ward Regular Democratic Organization, besides trying desperately to save Ed’s brother, Dan’s, political life in his state rep race, is turning out the vote for Quinn. Given that Burke is a south side Irish committeeman, and that Hynes’s dad, Tom, was a south side Irish committeeman, Burke’s support for Quinn might seem curious on its face. But I offered three explanations, which I reproduce here in condensed form:


--As the 14th has gotten more Black and Hispanic (It’s getting to the point at which the miracle of redistricting won’t work any more; the ward has moved progressively west over the years, but now there are not enough Whites to split between the 14th, 13th, and 23rd.), Burke has had to be more responsive to the desires of his minority constituents, and has done quite a good job of doing so. Note that the big money went to Quinn after the perceived slight toward the Black community embodied in the Harold ad. Burke’s muscular support of Quinn, then, especially after the Black community was slighted, in many eyes, by the Harold ad, might be yet another attempt by Burke to be sensitive to the desires of his constituents.

I, for one, think the Harold ad was BRILLIANT, not so much for its racial overtones but simply because it was right; Harold was a bright and insightful man. Even if he wasn’t, it would have been readily apparent that Pat Quinn was, and is, a showboat.

--Hynes, and the entire 19th ward power structure, is close to the 11th Ward power structure, i.e., the Daleys. Note that a 14th/11th rivalry existed long before the current Eddy Burke and Rich Daley. In 1953, when we had the McDermott/Wagner/Nash/Duffy faction fighting against the Gill/Daley faction for control of the Central Committee, the 19th Ward (Duffy/Nash) was allied with the 14th Ward (McDermott/Wagner). But, when Daley won that war after Wagner died in a car crash in Minnesota, the 19th Ward boys, displaying the nimbleness that characterizes most successful politicians, quickly changed sides and reaped the attendant rewards. The 19th has been allied with the 11th ever since. But the uneasiness between the 14th and the 11th continued, only with Eddy Burke’s dad, having replaced McDermott and the late Clarence Wagner, controlling the 14th and Rich’s dad (obviously) controlling the 11th.

And that rivalry didn’t die with the fathers. Note that it was the current Ed Burke who thought he was going to be Mayor after Harold. Note that it was Ed Burke who ran against Daley for State’s Attorney in 1980 and lost. Burke and Daley have always been, at best, uneasy allies. When the opportunity presents itself for the 14th to take a swipe at the 11th, or vice versa, with minimal collateral damage, that opportunity is usually taken. Burke's backing Quinn over Hynes might be one way of continuing the Cold War between the 11th and 14th, since the 19th, Hynes’s home ward, is perceived as being so close to the 11th.

--The Cook County Regular Democratic Organization has slated Pat Quinn for governor, so Burke might be being a good soldier or, in his case, a good general. That hardly explains $250,000, but it should be considered.