I guess I better get that right out of the way.
Since Mayor Emmanuel's announcement yesterday that he would not seek a third term after all, a host of new candidates have declared themselves... sent out feelers... begun pollling... signaled their interest... the words are different but the meaning is the same: According to this morning's Politico / Illinois Playbook, the dozen or so candidates already in the mayoral race may be joined by Gery Chico, Bill Daley, Arne Duncan, Luis Gutierrez, Susana Mendoza, Maria Pappas, Toni Preckwinkle, Larry Rogers Jr., Michael Sacks, Kurt Summers, Anna Valencia, "and numerous aldermen including Proco 'Joe' Moreno, 1st; Ricardo Munoz, 22nd (who recently announced his retirement from the City Council), Roderick Sawyer, 6th; Tom Tunney, 44th; and Ameya Pawar (who’s not [seeking] re-election for the City Council)."
With so many candidates, a runoff seems insufficient: We need brackets.
What does all this mean for potential 2020 judicial candidates?
Not much... not directly... although the glut of mayoral candidates will soak up a lot of dollars that might have been available for judicial candidates. But there will be some time between the likely April 2019 mayoral runoff and the start of the 2020 primary season: Figure about six weeks. No more than eight. The Democratic Party's "pre-screening" of countywide judicial hopefuls will probably take place some time in June 2019.
This will be the first slating with Toni Preckwinkle as Chairman. If she were to be elected Mayor she could become "all-powerful" which would put her in a position to take judicial slatemaking away from Ed Burke if she were so inclined.
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