Daley aldermanic picks: Inside the box
By Fran Spielman City Hall Reporterfspielman@suntimes.com January 12, 2011 5:00PM
Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM
After an open casting call that attracted only 16 resumes, Mayor Daley on Wednesday appointed a Cullerton family scion to be the new 38th Ward aldermen and the successor anointed by retired Ald. Ed Smith to fill a vacancy in the 28th Ward.
The temporary appointments will give former First Deputy Buildings Commisioner Tim Cullerton and Maywood Village Manager Jason Ervin each a $110,556-a-year salary and a leg up on their opponents in the Feb. 22 election.
The 4th Ward seat vacated by County Board President Toni Preckwinkle will be filled by a caretaker who will serve until a new Council is sworn in on May 16. Veteran community activist Shirley Newsome, 65, is not seeking the permanent job.
Earlier this year, Daley posted the equivalent of a “Help Wanted” ad on the internet to fill a vacancy created by the conviction of Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th). He ended up choosing State Rep. Deborah Graham, who had sponsored some of the mayor’s ill-fated gun-control bills while doubling as a city planner.
The mayor also filled a 1st Ward vacancy by appointing businessman Joe Moreno, a leader of the United Neighborhood Organizations’ Metropolitan Leadership Institute, which has been a pipeline for mayoral appointments.
The Tim Cullerton appointment is more of the same. His family has controlled the North Side ward almost continously since shortly before the Chicago Fire of 1871. His father was the longtime aldermen. His sister is the ward’s Democratic committeeman. It’s called “The Cullerton Seat,” because a Cullerton has been in the City Council for 107 of the last 139 years.
“It had nothing to do with their names. I could close my eyes, have ‘em walk in and, after presentations, I would select them,” Daley said of Cullerton and Ervin.
Asked why he picked another Cullerton, Daley said, “Tim has been an excellent public employee. He’s been here in the [Building] Department, made many changes … He’s lived in the community. He could have moved out. … He decided to stay. His children stayed. His grandchildren. He’s committed to the city of Chicago. So, I’m very proud” of the appointment.
Cullerton, 61, pledged to focus on jobs, public safety and education. His ward stands to lose police officers in Police Supt. Jody Weis’ upcoming reallocation plan.
Ervin, 36, is hoping to do for the 28th Ward what he did for Maywood, where he managed a $40 million budget and 250 employees.
“We went from a community with double-digit homicides on an annual basis to this past calendar year, when we had no homicides in the Village of Maywood,” he said.
Ten sitting aldermen have chosen not to stand for re-election in a difficult year for incumbents.
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