Emanuel, Preckwinkle unite against Carothers
Cook County’s two most powerful Democrats have had their differences since Mayor Rahm Emanuel was elected to a job that County Board President Toni Preckwinkle may someday covet for herself.
But Emanuel and Preckwinkle agree on one thing: their support for attorney and former campaign operative Blake Sercye and their determination to derail the political comeback of convicted former Chicago Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th).
On Tuesday, the political odd couple of Emanuel and Preckwinkle held a joint news conference at the Union League Club to endorse Sercye, who served as a field coordinator for Gov. Pat Quinn’s 2010 campaign and as Emanuel’s political director in 2011.
Preckwinkle acknowledged that she “didn’t have a good personal relationship” with Carothers during their days together in the City Council.
But, she said, “I’m more concerned about the presence in this race of somebody who was convicted of public corruption. I don’t think that it’s appropriate for people who have that kind of background to run for office again. In the city of Chicago, it’s not possible. It shouldn’t be possible in Cook County.”
Emanuel added, “You need a team to bring reform and change to government. Both the city and county are now experiencing that type of change. This is not the time to turn the clock back.”
Sercye, 27, is one of five Democrats vying to succeed retiring County Commissioner Earleen Collins in a district that includes Chicago’s West Side and the western suburbs of Broadview, Bellwood, Maywood Oak Park and Maywood.
Carothers holds the dubious distinction of being the first Chicago alderman to follow his father to prison.
Ald. William Carothers (28th) went to prison in 1983 for extorting up to $32,500 in remodeling work for his ward office from the builders of Bethany Hospital.
The son’s crimes were strikingly similar. Ike Carothers pleaded guilty to bribery, mail fraud and tax fraud for accepting $40,000 in home improvements, meals and sports tickets from a West Side developer in exchange for zoning changes that netted the developer millions.
The decision to join forces on a political endorsement follows months of behind-the-scenes tension between Emanuel and Preckwinkle, who could be on a collision course that ends in a 2015 race for mayor.
Preckwinkle said she and Eman- uel have both committed to contributing the maximum, $52,500 to Sercye’s campaign, “either from our own sources or by arm twisting folks to support his campaign.”