With so much attention focused on the ever-expanding lineup of candidates to replace Rahm Emanuel in the job he’s vacating in the Fifth Congressional District, it’s instructive to reflect on how the incumbent got the gig: Mayor Daley anointed him.
In other words, five days after Emanuel steps down—and he hasn’t yet—Blagojevich will call for an election within 115 days, and sometime in the next six months, the winner takes all. By contrast, the governor is responsible for appointing someone to fill Obama’s old Senate seat—no balloting necessary.
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The fastest way is to capture one big chunk of the district’s voters. Mell can count on daddy, 33rd Ward alderman Richard Mell, to bring out the troops, a strategy that worked well for her brother-in-law, Governor Blagojevich. Fritchey hopes he can count on big support from his wife’s uncle, powerful 36th Ward alderman William Banks, while Allen is looking to capitalize on the name recognition he built finishing second in the recent Cook County state’s attorney primary. Quigley’s banking on his countywide reputation as a reformer, which of course presumes voters actually want reform. Given that Daley won re-election last year with more than 70 percent of the vote, I’m not sure that’s the case.
Well, not necessarily. Things could get really interesting if Blagojevich picks Gutierrez to fill Obama’s Senate vacancy. Then we’ll get to go through this in the Fourth District too. OK, so it’s a long shot. But a political junkie can hope.
The play, Haram Iran, isn’t about Chicago politics, property taxes, or personal injury law. It’s not even set in Chicago. Taking place in Iran, it tells the true sad story of two teenagers named Ayaz Marhoni and Mahmoud Asgari.
By the spring he had finished a draft, which he showed to David Zak, artistic director of the Bailiwick Repertory Theatre. “I’d known Jay for a long time,” says Zak. “The script impressed me. I told him he had something here. It was a very moving story. It was timely. He has an ear for dialogue.” Zak agreed to direct the play, and Deratany produced it.
