Four endorsed for three vacancies in 6th Subcircuit

Roots Pizza, on Chicago Avenue, just a couple of blocks east of Damen, was doing a brisk business this past Saturday afternoon. The front walls of the establishment were fully rolled up, the better for patrons to enjoy the unusually pleasant August weather.

One wonders what, if anything, the pizza parlor's patrons thought of the nervous, whispering knot of men and women in business attire, clustered by the back wall of the establishment's front room.

The best dressed among these were judicial candidates, but assorted friends, handlers, and consultants waited with them, as did a schlubby-looking blogger, joining the festivities already in progress. The 6th Subcircuit slating committee, consisting of those committeemen having any precincts within the subcircuit (or their duly designated proxies) was meeting in a banquet room at the rear of the restaurant, 1st Ward Ald. and Committeeman Proco Joe Moreno presiding.

One at a time, the hopefuls were brought before the committee, and given three minutes to spiel. Appearing before the committee were the two judges sitting by appointment to 6th Subcircuit vacancies, Kent Delgado and Stephanie Miller, former 6th Subcircuit candidate Ed Underhill, Charles C. Beach, Sean Kelly, Linda Perez, David Herrera, and Jacob Meister. (Meister was a candidate for Clerk of the Circuit in the 2016 Primary.) Members of the public were permitted to sit in on the presentations. Each candidate was asked, in turn, whether, if not slated, he or she would run against the endorsed slate and, if slated, whether he or she would be willing to contribute $10,000 to the 6th Subcircuit committeemen to be divided amongst their respective ward organizations. (In response to an already-suppressed comment, yes, 33rd Ward Committeeman Aaron Goldstein was in the room when this last question was asked of each judicial hopeful and, no, he did not protest the proposed assessment during the public session. What purpose would that serve? The $10,000 assessment will be collected, if possible, from each endorsed candidate, whether or not Mr. Goldstein protested publicly. Presumably, the other committeemen had already heard of Goldstein's Sun-Times op-ed. What was he supposed to do? Storm out?)

When the last hopeful had been heard from, after a quick snack, the committee deliberated in private session. Friends, handlers, consultants and bloggers are not allowed in The Room Where It Happens.

After the votes were tallied, the waiting candidates et al. were ushered back in to hear the results, which Ald. Moreno characterized as "unanimous." Judge Delgado was endorsed for the Chevere vacancy, Judge Miller was endorsed for the Lopez Cepero vacancy, and Ed Underhill was endorsed for the Cooke vacancy. Charles Beach was selected as first alternate, Ald. Moreno stating that the committee apparently has good reason to believe that a fourth vacancy will open up in the 6th.

Mind you, I have no inside information on this. I merely sat in the back of the room when presentations were being made, and hung around while the deliberations were ongoing. But the impression I developed while loitering in this fashion is that a rival slate is likely to emerge to challenge the official one -- and that alternate slate is likely to get significant support, privately -- and maybe even publicly, from some of those who were allegedly in unanimous concurrence last Saturday afternoon.