Not An Open Primary...Yet

Stroger's support is collapsing:

• Cook County Board President Todd Stroger failed to get an endorsement from his fellow Democratic Ward and Township committeemen Friday.

  A motion for an open primary narrowly failed, so Stroger’s backers pushed for a roll-call vote in which each of the 80 committeemen, including those on Stroger’s payroll in Cook County government, had to go on record stating who they supported among the five candidates or vote “present.”

  Eight committeemen who hold so-called “Shakman-exempt” jobs that Stroger could terminate on a moment’s notice all voted for Stroger, as did two committeemen whose nephews hold such jobs. Those added up to 10 of the 24 committeemen, including Stroger himself, supporting him. But it still wasn’t enough to give Stroger a majority of the 80-member committee’s weighted vote.

Interesting that Stroger controls 10 spots by the ability to be able to fire the holders of those spots. It kind of gives lie to the theory of being answerable to the voters at any given time. And he still can't generate a majority of the committee? Interesting times.