• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

For Democrats, a Ray of Hope

Posted on: Thursday, 23 March 2006, 12:00 CST

By Susan Kuczka, Chicago Tribune

Mar. 23--Illinois Democrats wondered Wednesday whether Suzanne Simpson's victory in the Republican primary could boomerang in Democrat Michael Bond's favor in the November race for the Senate's 31st District seat in northern Lake County.

Simpson, Warren Township's supervisor, ended the 33-year General Assembly career of Sen. Adeline Geo-Karis when she won 56 percent of the vote against the dean of the Illinois Senate in Tuesday's GOP primary.

A handful of other incumbents in Chicago and the suburbs also were ousted in contests that could affect the balance of power in the General Assembly, where Democrats hold a 32-27 majority in the Senate and a 65-53 edge in the House.

Simpson, 51, had climbed Lake County's political ladder with the help of Geo-Karis, 87, the Senate's oldest and longest-serving member, before their contentious GOP primary battle ended their longtime friendship.

Some Democrats believe it's possible that Bond might benefit from a backlash against Simpson from Geo-Karis' supporters.

"It could leave a bad taste in people's mouth, given the fact that this became a hard-fought primary ... so it could be a naturally occurring effect," said Steve Brown, a spokesman for state Rep. Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), head of the Illinois Democratic Party.

Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan), chairman of the Lake County Democratic Party, said he believed Democrats would take the 31st District seat with the help of former Geo-Karis supporters.

"I truly feel that Sen. Geo-Karis was mistreated," said Link, who visited the longtime senator's campaign headquarters after her defeat Tuesday night. "Friendship goes a lot further than politics does."

Bond, 36, a Woodland School District 50 board member from Grayslake and corporate finance director for Allstate Insurance Co., ran unopposed on the Democratic side of the ballot. He wouldn't say Wednesday if he thinks a backlash could help him.

Former Gov. Jim Thompson and other big-name Republicans jumped on the Geo-Karis bandwagon in the campaign's final days, hoping to boost her chances against Simpson, who had the support of Senate Republican leader Frank Watson of Greenville and Lake County Republican Party Chairwoman and state Rep. Joanne Osmond (R-Antioch).

Simpson, who campaigned on a platform of bringing "new energy" to the district, maintained that Geo-Karis had recruited her to run last fall after indicating she planned to retire. Geo-Karis offered a different version, saying although she told Simpson she wanted her to succeed her in Springfield, she never announced retirement plans.

By the time Geo-Karis announced her re-election campaign, Simpson said it was too late to suspend her campaign, setting up the primary that ended the career of one of Lake County's political icons.

In other primary upsets, unofficial election results showed four-term Rep. Calvin Giles (D-Chicago) appeared to be headed toward defeat Wednesday. With 81 percent of the vote counted, Chicago real estate broker La Shawn Ford had 57 percent in the 8th House District, covering the city's West Side and extending to Oak Park, Forest Park, North Riverside and Riverside.

In the 6th House District, Darryl Smith had a five-vote lead over incumbent Rep. Esther Golar (D-Chicago) in a four-way race with 79 percent of the vote counted, unofficial results showed.

Freshman incumbent Rep. Michelle Chavez (D-Cicero) got tossed out in a three-way primary won by Lisa Hernandez, a policy adviser to Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn. Cicero Police Officer Robert Garcia finished third in the 24th House District race.

In House District 45, Bloomingdale lawyer Franco Coladipietro notched a 549-vote victory over GOP incumbent Rep. Roger Jenisch, also of Bloomingdale, in a race that brought more than 8,800 voters to the polls.

Incumbent lawmakers who successfully fought off challengers included Rep. Randy Ramey (R-Carol Stream), stepson of former Senate President James "Pate" Philip. Ramey, who was appointed to the west suburban House District 55 seat, scored a 278-vote victory over Carol Stream Trustee Pamela Joy Fenner. West Chicago attorney Matt Fuesting finished third.

And in the south suburbs, unofficial election results showed that former Chicago Ald. Robert Shaw, twin brother of Dolton Mayor and former state Sen. William Shaw, was unsuccessful in his bid to unseat Rep. David Miller (D-Calumet City), who had backing from U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Chicago).

In two races demonstrating the strength of the Hispanic Democratic Organization in Chicago, Sen. Antonio "Tony" Munoz (D-Chicago) stopped challenger Oscar Torres in the 1st District, and Sen. Martin Sandoval defeated Eduardo "Eddie" Garza in the 12th.

In other hotly contested Senate primaries, Palatine attorney Matt Murphy ended the Senate dreams of Palatine Mayor Rita Mullins by collecting about 60 percent of the GOP vote for an open seat in northwest suburban Senate District 27.

Mullins blamed her defeat on supporters who wanted her to remain at Village Hall, where she has been mayor for 15 years.

"There must have been more people who wanted me to stay mayor than who wanted me to go to Springfield," she said.

Tribune staff reporters Kayce Ataiyero, Christi Parsons and Stan Ziemba and the Associated Press contributed to this report

-----

To see more of the Chicago Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.chicagotribune.com.

Copyright (c) 2006, Chicago Tribune

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

TRB,

Source: Chicago Tribune

More News in this Category