Officiating at the submission of absentee ballots at the nursing home this morning was exhausting and a little bit depressing. Some of the people who submitted their absentee ballots were very, very impaired. They varied in age from 70 to 94.  A few were ambulatory; most were in wheelchairs; some were bedridden.
I wanted to get in a few words before the Chicago primary election. Tomorrow we’ll be voting in the primaries for national, state, county, and city offices. In some races the incumbent is running unopposed. In virtually all of the offices there is almost no chance that a candidate other than the regular party candidate will get on to the ballot in the general election.
Despite the wrangling among those seeking the Republican nomination for governor I fully expect Judy Baar Topinka, the regular Republican candidate, to be on the ballot in November. That means it will be Blagojevich vs. Topinka and if the Illiinois Republican Party weren’t on life support as a result of self-inflicted wounds I would expect Topinka, the only Republican currently holding statewide office and who has had a broad base of support all over the state for a lot of years, to take the state house against a truly ghastly incumbent. I’ll have more to say about this as the election nears.
The only race that is genuinely interesting right now is for president of the Cook County board. The incumbent, John Stroger is still in the hospital after his stroke of a week ago. His condition is characterized as “serious but stable”. Other than that his the condition of his health is largely unknown.
Stroger is a man in his 70’s with diabetes and cardio-vascular problems. He’s been in the hospital after his stoke in serious condition for more than ten days. I believe that the reality is that he will be unable run in the general election. If he’s elected in the general election he’ll be unable to serve: he’ll need much of his time and energy to deal with his own recovery.
His opponent in the primary, Forrest Claypool, is a credible candidate.
Consequently, the real choice is between a Cook County board president anointed by the party bosses or a candidate who’s actually run for the job.
A snowstorm is central Illinois is expected tomorrow. Turnout will in all likelihood be at historic lows. I expect the turnout in my precinct to be 50-60% (the turnout in my precinct in a general election typically runs between 80 and 90%). Citywide I’ll predict a 40% turnout.
That’s a crying shame because in Illinois generally and Cook County in particular the primary is the only election that means anything.
