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· Alderman Toni Preckwinkle: She’s in for sure, and if she can convince voters that aldermen do something besides approving the sale of city assets and getting indicted, she’s got a chance. She’d already been raising money and lining up supporters; yesterday she launched her campaign Web site. Claypool’s exit from the race will be a lift to her chances of picking up the votes of lakefront liberals and reform-minded voters—unless another one of those goo-goo types decides to make a run for it
· Circuit court clerk Dorothy Brown: Count me among those who mistakenly thought that, as a smart, scrappy politician who’d previously won countywide office without the support of Democratic Party regulars, she might capture more than a quarter of the vote against Mayor Daley in 2007. Instead her campaign was so listless and sad that she looked lucky to get the 20 percent she ended up with. It’s hard to imagine that she’s going to suddenly inspire the masses this time around, especially if she’s contending with the savvy Preckwinkle and the desperate Todd Stroger for the black vote. Worse for her, it will be an election about financial management and clean government, and she’s been in the news for inviting her staff to attend her birthday celebrations and donate to her campaigns, and for being chauffered around town in a sweet SUV funded by taxpayers.
