Chicago Sun Times Editorial - When everything's relative, good government loses

Chicago Sun Times Editorial - When everything's relative, good government loses
Copyright by The Chicago Sun Times
December 14, 2006


The nepotistic dominoes have all fallen. Todd Stroger replaces his father, John, on the ballot and wins the Cook County Board presidency. Robert Steele replaces his mother, Bobbie, on the board, while she walks off with her fat pension. William Beavers takes John Stroger's board seat, and his daughter, Darcel, takes his place as alderman. Is this "good, Democratic politics," as Beavers proclaims? Well, it's politics all right -- especially as practiced in Chicago -- but it's not good.

The practice of an elected official passing on his or her office to his or her offspring has become so ingrained in Chicago that a recent letter to the editor in the Sun-Times suggested it be enshrined into law -- and another writer had to ask whether the first was joking or not. (He was.) And there's a simple reason why it has become so commonplace here -- because the voters tolerate it.

The classic recent example is the case of Rep. Dan Lipinski. Many defenders of the recent nepotism ask this question: "Why is it all right for the Daleys, the Madigans and the Lipinskis, but not all right for the Strogers, the Steeles and the Beavers?" The answer is, it's never all right for someone's family connections to be the only consideration for office. You can argue that Lisa Madigan and Richard Daley won their place on the ballot and their elections on their own merits, though certainly their fathers' names and clout helped. You can't say the same about Lipinski, whose father, Bill, ran in the 2004 Democratic primary but then arranged for his son to replace him on the ballot, assuring his victory in the heavily Democratic district.

It was wrong, and we said so then: "By arranging to have his son run against a sham opponent, Bill Lipinski doubly corrupts the system. It's dirty. . . . We are left to wonder at this sham perpetrated by his dad. Why worry about terrorists undermining our system when the powers that be do it so well?"

Lipinski won the 2004 election, then won again this year. Todd Stroger also won this year. The voters may have favored them over their Republican opponents (the Sun-Times backed Stroger for that reason) but that does not excuse the appalling nepotism that got them on the ballots.

When does it stop? Here's hoping that at the next scheduled election -- the city contests early next year -- the voters finally draw the line. We haven't judged Darcel Beavers or any of her potential opponents. But we find it illuminating that she insists nepotism had nothing to do with her appointment to replace her father. Why? Because she has worked for him for 22 years. If you practice nepotism long enough, does it cease to be nepotism? In Chicago, unfortunately, that appears to be the case.