Posted on 11/04/2004 1:55:18 PM PST by dread78645
Running for the Illinois Legislature usually requires renting a campaign office, setting up a political fund, sending out mail pieces and posting yard signs.
Democrat Michelle Chavez did none of that and still managed to unseat an incumbent House Republican from Cicero.
Chavez, whose run for town president in 2003 drew only 4 percent of the vote, beat first-term Rep. Frank Aguilar (R-Cicero) Tuesday by an improbable 53 to 47 percent margin, sparking talk of chicanery in a town famous for its murky, cutthroat politics.
House Speaker Michael Madigan's office, which maintains a tight watch on House races, said it didn't know anything about Chavez's background or even how to contact her.
State records don't show a single contribution to her, nor is there evidence of anything being spent toward her campaign last spring or this fall. Elsewhere in the state, individual House and Senate seats drew hundreds of thousands of dollars in spending from Democrats and Republicans.
"It's a mystery to us," said David Dring, spokesman for House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego). "We believe Frank did a good job as a representative and lost to someone who didn't wage a campaign. I think that's highly unusual."
'I'm not a ghost'
Stunned by Aguilar's unexpected defeat, some high-ranking Republican and Democratic observers questioned whether Madigan may have cut a deal with Cicero's GOP organization to pull support for Aguilar, giving the speaker a buffer if other tight legislative races swung Republican.
Her win prevented Madigan from losing two seats from his 66-52 House majority after Democratic incumbents in Peoria and Effingham lost. Because of Chavez, Madigan lost only one seat.
A Madigan aide shot down any suggestion of a behind-the-scenes role in the 24th House District. So did Chavez, who said her 20-year residency in Cicero and primary campaigns last spring and in 2003 made her known to voters.
"I'm not a ghost. I'm here, alive," Chavez said. "I know the people in Cicero. But nobody put me to run against anybody. The people who are talking, those are people I don't know, and they don't know me."
Aguilar sees no scheme
Aguilar, linked to the political organization of imprisoned former Town President Betty Loren-Maltese, sounded a conciliatory tone Wednesday, expressing no bitterness at the fact his brief political career has unexpectedly derailed.
He dismissed any possibility of under-the-table dealmaking and attributed his loss to long Democratic coattails by presidential hopeful John Kerry and U.S. Senator-elect Barack Obama, particularly in Berwyn Township, which Chavez carried. Aguilar narrowly won Cicero Township.
"None of the traditional political forces, neither Republican nor Democrat, in Cicero or Berwyn were behind her," he said. "The people of Cicero and Berwyn were behind her. That's the bottom line. That's where it counts."
Underscoring that point, Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said the speaker had been supporting a Chavez rival who lost in the spring primary and was not involved in her race against Aguilar.
'Red flags all over the place'
Chavez, 53, is an administrative assistant with A & R Janitorial, a Cicero firm that contracts with the Chicago public school system and has donated to Democrats such as Madigan, Mayor Daley and Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago).
Cicero Town President Ramiro Gonzalez, a Republican who put Aguilar's name on his Election Day palm cards, attributed Chavez's win to hard work at the "grass-roots" level even though he could not recall seeing her campaign much in the west suburb. Chavez did not respond to a pre-election candidate questionnaire from the Sun-Times.
"It's great that she didn't have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a campaign," Gonzalez said. "Obviously, she didn't have the ability to raise that kind of money, and she still won. Only in America."
But a leading government watchdog said all of the explanations supporting Chavez's success "raise red flags all over the place."
"If you're going to put your name in the race, then one assumes you have something to say to offer to the voters," said Cindi Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. "The idea there was no message, no communication with the voters at all, and yet the voters voted for her. This race does nothing but raise questions. Only in Cicero."
Cicero is a VERY corrupt town. Their former town President is in prison now and has been shown to have ties to the Mafia.
Democrat Michelle Chavez did none of that and still managed to unseat an incumbent House Republican from Cicero.
I live in Cook County. It's no surprise to me.
Cicero is a VERY corrupt town. Their former town President is in prison now and has been shown to have ties to the Mafia.
And is female, not an Al Capone look alike.
Crook County!
After she's sworn in she's going to walk across Lake Michigan.
George Ryan tried it and won....and then lost. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
That is, 'George Ryan tried it and won....and then lost. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.' /sarcasm. Just in case you were wondering. Some people might actually take this statement seriously.
Alan Keyes is much more charming than ol' George.
"Obviously, she didn't have the ability to raise that kind of money, and she still won. Only in America."
Only in Chicago.
I'm not dead. I feel better. I want to go for a walk. I feel happy.
"I'm Michelle Chavez!"
"I'm Michelle Chavez!"
"I'm Michelle Chavez!"
I'm surprised that there were that many voters left in Illinois to throw an election. I thought they were all up here in Wisconsin taking advantage of our same-day registration laws in order to throw OUR election. There certainly were a lot of Illinois cars, buses and vans on Milwaukee, Kenosha, and even Pt. Washington streets.
A disappointment for us, despite the location, because Rep. Aguilar was the lone Hispanic Republican in the IL legislature. We also, unfortunately, lost at least another non-Caucasian legislator in UT with the defeat of State Sen. John Evans, an African-American.
"And is female, not an Al Capone look alike."
Very true. I think she used to put her make up on like it was spackle.
"Rep. Aguilar was the lone Hispanic Republican in the IL legislature"
I grew up in Cicero. Left and went south to Atlanta in 1968. Never regretted my move.
The real question is the Kerry/Bush division in that district. That would tell you if there was a coat-tails effect.
The real question is the Kerry/Bush division in that district. That would tell you if there was a coat-tails effect.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.