MACHINE MALFUNCTION
Election night brings bad news for Berrios, Burkes — but Madigan emerges largely unscathed
The Cook County Democratic Party, known to its opponents as The Machine, suffered major blows on Election night with the loss of Assessor Joe Berrios, the party’s county chairman, and state Rep. Dan Burke, scion of one of its most powerful family dynasties.
But there were still plenty of signs that the oft eulogized party organization keeps on humming, Exhibit A being resilient House Speaker Mike Madigan himself.
Madigan may not have liked seeing the loss of his ally Berrios, the Cook County Democratic chairman, for at least a while longer. More on that later.
But neither that nor the defeat of his Southwest Side neighbor Burke portends much trouble in the shortterm for the speaker’s grip on power.
On the flip side, Madigan helped another neighbor, U. S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, pull out a win over Marie Newman in the night’s key test of the old Democratic organizations versus the party’s progressive wing.
Madigan also held serve in all the state representative races that were important to him, which is always what is MOST important to him because that’s how he keeps his position as speaker.
And Madigan’s preferred candidate for governor, J. B. Pritzker, won the day against two foes who had tried to make Madigan an issue in the campaign.
Along the way, Madigan also protected his flank on his homefront by renewing his alliance with Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who won the Democratic nomination to succeed U. S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez in Congress.
Garcia can provide insurance that the same Hispanic progressive movement that ousted Burke won’t set its sights on Madigan’s 13th Ward organization in 2019.
Garcia and his allies are expected to be too busy next year trying to use their expanded foothold to remove Burke’s more powerful brother, 14th Ward Ald. Edward Burke.
Madigan’s organization gave an assist to both Garcia and his pick to replace him as Cook County commissioner, Alma Anaya, who was running against the daughter of state Sen. Martin Sandoval, a surviving remnant of the old Hispanic Democratic Organization.
In a further sign of how blurred the lines can be between the Machine and the progressives, Aaron Ortiz, the Garcia- backed candidate who defeated Burke for state representative, is expected to support Madigan’s re- election as House Speaker.
As discussed previously, Madigan’s political power grows from his role as speaker, not his chairmanship of the state party.
But Tuesday’s election did little to loosen Madigan’s grip there either, although at least one incumbent Democratic state central committeeman was ousted by a progressive insurgent who had been endorsed by Our Revolution, the organization that grew out of Bernie Sanders’ presidential run.
That candidate, Peter Janko in the 14th Congressional District, won after stressing the importance of beating Donald Trump and Bruce Rauner, not Madigan.
A bigger winner on Election night than either Madigan or the progressives was organized labor.
Most of the big unions jumped in early behind Pritzker, put their money behind the campaign of Democratic attorney general nominee Kwame Raoul and pulled out all the stops in a successful effort to oust two incumbent Cook County commissioners, John Fritchey and Richard Boykin.
It was more of a mixed bag in the 3rd District, where labor went its separate ways, the building trades shoring up Lipinski while the Service Employees International Union made a big push for Newman.
Some of these same unions are among the investors that own the Chicago Sun- Times.
For now, those who hope to keep dismantling the Machine may want to circle the date of April 18.
That’s the day members of the Cook County Democratic Committee will pick their new party chairman.
Sources close to Berrios initially indicated Wednesday that the vanquished assessor did not plan to seek re- election to another two- year term as chairman.
But no sooner had I prepared to post that story online than Berrios called to say he has not made a decision yet.
Berrios said he needs to gauge the support of his fellow ward and township committeemen.
“If they want me to stay on as chairman, I will stay on,” said Berrios, who was first elected party chairman in 2007.
When I suggested his loss in the assessor’s race might make that politically problematic, Berrios said it shouldn’t.
Noting how “everybody said” he couldn’t be both assessor and party chairman, Berrios observed: “I can hold one.”
If Berrios does step aside, it would give party leaders an opportunity to send a signal that it’s a new day inside the Democratic Party by picking someone from outside the traditional Machine — just in time for a November election campaign in which Rauner is making Madigan the central issue.
Then again, the Machine hasn’t kept going this long by giving in to talk of a new day.