Many people were surprised that Patrick Maher did so well in the Democratic Primary for the 17th Cook County District, but Maher was always the 800 pound gorilla in the election. He won the right to face-off with Republican Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman, the two term incumbent who has built a very strong record during the past two years fighting to reduce taxes for taxpayers.
Maher's win should not have been surprising, though. He is the first cousin of outgoing Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, who waged a powerful fight against lame incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn. Pat Maher's father, Orland Park Village Clerk David Maher, is the brother of Dan Hyne's mother, Judy Maher Hynes. (I have to say the Hynes' family is one of the best. I voted for Dan, despite trepidation over the 19th Ward headlock of Orland Township.)
The 19th Ward controls Orland Park like a Russian satellite republic, and Orland Park and Orland Township are the heart of the bowling alley 17th District which stretches northward from Orland up to Wheeling Township and north of Orland Township where Maher's chief challenger Dr. Victor Forys and Donna Sanders. Sanders and Forys split the Democratic opposition vote enough to leave Maher, from the south, with the edge. Sanders is from Orland Hills and her vote totals reflect Maher's weakness going in to the November elections. her supporters will most likely not support Maher and will back Gorman.
But the real key to Maher's success was the Dan Hyne's candidacy for Governor. The Hyne's campaign tied Maher to their hip in the 17th District and 19th Ward precinct captains focused on the district while Hyne's Democratic allies throughout the state worked the rest. In fact, some believe that Hynes, who lost the race against Quinn -- hard to believe but it happened -- lost that race specifically because so many resources were diverted from the one cousin's race to the other.
If Pat Maher wasn't in the race last Tuesday, Dan Hynes might have better apportioned his resources, and funds that were diverted into Maher's coffers would have gone to help Hynes.
The anti-Maher forces in the 17th District siphoned off 11,495 votes that were clearly pushed to the Quinn camp. Hynes only lost to Quinn by about 7,000 votes statewide. Half of that loss, I think, comes from the 17th Cook County District. if Maher had not been in the race, Quinn's allies would not have focused on that district behind Forys and Hynes would have won more votes, narrowing the margin to be "re-countable."
As obnoxious as Quinn is -- declaring victory without having all of the votes counter, Hynes is out for the count. Quinn's future rests not on whether Hynes decides to challenge the results but on who wins the Republican party nomination. if Kirk Dillard comes up from behind to defeat Bill Brady, Dillard would be the strongest candidate to beat Quinn. Brady, being from downstate, might not be able to use that to his advantage the way he did in the primary with all of his rivals coming from DuPage county or Northern Illinois.
Forys had the endorsements of most of the high profile candidates around Quinn, including Quinn himself specifically because of the Hyne's battle. but Quinn has not coattails, only the muscle of Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, who is the real governor of Illinois and who would want either a Republican to occupy the executive mansion or a weak Democrat like the showboating PR savvy Quinn.
Another factor in the race was the role of Gorman rival Tony Peraica, whose district will be wiped off the map by fellow commissioners next year after the election. Peraica is the least liked on the board, but he doesn't care about that. Peraica was one of Thompson's strongest allies and helped divide Republicans on the premise they would rather lose a Republican district than come together behind a good incumbent.
Isn't that the sorry state of the Illinois Republican Party overall.
Gorman will have a tough fight on her hands with Maher, but everyone who stands up against higher taxes the way Gorman did against the Stroger tax Machine, always has a tough fight.
Here's some notes below on election results from Cook County Clerk David Orr's office, and financial disclosure totals filed for the last half of 2009, plus A1 donations during the 30 days before the primary election.
17th District Cook County Board race votes
RACE VOTES CAST Committeeman Race/Orland
County Bd. Commissioner 17th Dist. Republican 21,221 total votes 6,438 votes
278 of 278 Precincts Reported
% Votes Elizabeth ''Liz'' Doody Gorman (REP)
56.22% 11,930
% Votes Mark Thompson (REP)
43.78% 9,291
County Bd. Commissioner 17th Dist. Democratic 24,004 total votes 3,767 votes
278 of 278 Precincts Reported
% Votes Patrick Maher (DEM)
52.11% 12,509
% Votes Victor Forys (DEM)
26.35% 6,326
% Votes Donna Sanders (DEM)
21.53% 5,169
County Bd. Commissioner 17th Dist. Green Party 108 votes
278 of 278 Precincts Reported
% Votes Richard Dalka (GRN)
47.22% 51
% Votes Matthew J. Ogean (GRN)
52.78% 57
Funds
Maher
Funds available at the beginning of the reporting period | $99,876.03 | ||
Total Receipts | $34,247.63 | ||
Subtotal | $134,123.66 | ||
Total Expenditures | $47,029.71 | ||
Funds available at the close of the reporting period | $87,093.95 |
Plus $2,000 in 30 days before election
Forys
Funds available at the beginning of the reporting period | $0.00 | ||
Total Receipts | $72,703.55 | ||
Subtotal | $72,703.55 | ||
Total Expenditures | $69,963.43 | ||
Funds available at the close of the reporting period | $2,740.12 |
$3,800 raised in 30 days before primary and $15,000 loan to himself
Thompson
Funds available at the beginning of the reporting period | $266.99 | ||
Total Receipts | $1,000.00 | ||
Subtotal | $1,266.99 | ||
Total Expenditures | $601.38 | ||
Funds available at the close of the reporting period | $665.61 |
Plus a $20,000 loan
Gorman
Funds available at the beginning of the reporting period | $107,009.58 | ||
Total Receipts | $162,622.64 | ||
Subtotal | $269,632.22 | ||
Total Expenditures | $197,538.94 | ||
Funds available at the close of the reporting period | $72,093.28 |
Also $1,000 raised in 30 days before primary
- -- Ray Hanania
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