Daily Herald looks at challenge of why North end of 17th District can't elect candidates

The Daily Herald examines views today on why the north end of the 17th Cook County District continues to only showcase candidates from the south end. Click here to read the story.

The talk is heavy that next year, the district will be redistricted and strengthened as a Republican enclave. One way to do that is to eliminate one of Cook County's 17 districts and the target is the one held by Tony Peraica in the 16th District. The consensus on the Cook County board, which will reddrawn the new lines, is Peraica's district has to go. Peraica has built up one of the most disliked reputations on the Cook County Board, so bad among his peers that when he introduced a resolution to roll back the repressive 1 cent sales tax imposed by now out-going lame-duck Board President Todd Stroger, not ONE colleague on the board would second the motion. Peraica angrily blames everyone else for his troubles, but the same motion was introduced by a Republican rival, Elizabeth "Lis' Doody Gorman and it flew through the board four times until it was passed.

Another reason why the north end of the 17th District is not taken seriously: the candidates from that end are usually ringers put up not by voters but by other commissioners trying to unseat their rivals. I don't need to spell it out for you but Mark Thompson was in the race to win as much as he was there to tear down Gorman. And not surprisingly, Thompson, whose entire campaign was one big mud pie of attacks, the most despicable campaign I have seen in years by any candidate running for office, was backed by Peraica.

Thompson wasn't there to give Republican voters in the 17th District a choice. He was there to remove a Rpeublican that his limited circle of friends, who can't get one major piece of legislation passed on the Cook County Board, hate. And I mean "hate" in a literal sense of the word. That's how bad some Republicans have become and why the north end of the district has had no chance of electing anyone.

The new 17th District will move south, Gorman faces a tough battle from Orland Park resident Pat Maher, who is a first cousin of Illinois Comptroller an Hynes. Now that the battle between Hynes and Gov. Quinn is over -- with Hynes losing, the fact is Maher is going to have a tough time winning that district. He benefited from the Hynes machine and Quinn's campaign against Hynes (Hynes was the better candidate for Governor over Quinn), but that won't happen this November.

-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com

Pat Maher candidacy in 17th District may have helped chip away at cousin Hynes' victory

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.

17^th 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

      www.RadioChicagoland.com

Orland Park candidate hopefuls fall short in statewide bids

Two Orland Park candidates seeking statewide office, Jim Dodge for Comptroller and Dennis Cook for Illinois Lieutenant Governor, stumbled in their races, according to the early and unofficial election returns.

Judy Baar Topinka, the former state treasurer and candidate for governor, easily swept the comptroller's race blowing away Dodge and radio personality William Kelly. Dodge is an Orland Park Village Trustee and Cook is the School Board President of District 230.

And early election result suggest that incumbent Cook County Commissioner Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman, who led the fight to roll back Todd Stroger's 1 cent sales tax, will face fellow Orland Park challenger Pat Maher, the president of the controversy-plagued Orland Fire Protection District and son of Orland Park Village Clerk Dave Maher. The vote totals in the Democratic and Republican primary races were close, although in this election, the contentious Democratic race for Governor and Cook County board drew many Republicans to cross over into the Democratic race.

Gorman easily won her race for Orland Township Committeeman over Gerald Maher, a former two-time candidate for Orland Park Mayor.

Jeff Junkas rallied his Republican conservative base to defeat a fellow Republican Molly McAvoy Flynn to win the Republican primary to challenge State Rep. Kevin McCarthy. But the vicious accusations in the Republican contest will certainly leave scars to weaken the challenge of McCarthy. The issue between Junkas and Flynn is that they were both Democratic plants, according to each side, yet both have voted Democratic in the past.

I fJunkas can pull the Republican Party together, he might be able to pull off a substantive challenge to McCarthy, but the animosity driven during the election might not make that possible.

Click here for the Cook County Clerk's updated election results.

-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com

Liz Gorman wins endorsement of newspaper in Thompson's backyard; Maher slammed in his

The influential Journal and Topics Newspapers, which covers the north suburban end of the 17th Cook County District, gave Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman a solid endorsement over her challenger in the Republican primary race Tuesday Mark Thompson, who is from the newspaper's back yard.

The Journal and Topics newspaper also declined to endorse in the race between Patrick Maher and Dr. Victor Forys in the Democratic primary, however, seeing neither as worthy.

In a double whammy for Maher, the SouthtownStar newspaper also refused to endorse in the Democratic race between Maher and Forys, slamming Maher for his refusal to provide basic information on the controversy-plagued and budget bloated Orland Fire Protection District.

Here is what the Journal and Topics Newspaper wrote in their editorial, followed by the Southtown Star  Editorial:

Gorman Deserves Voter Support

Journal Endorsement | As we've come to know all too well in the last year or so, county government really does matter. It has a profound affect on our daily lives whether it is with road building projects, maintenance of the local forest preserves or flood relief.

And if that isn't enough, remember the infamous 1% sales tax that Cook County Board President Todd Stroger proposed more than a year ago?

If it wasn't for the stink raised by ordinary citizens who have to foot the bill, the tax hike probably would have passed. When the public raised its voice, political leaders raised their heads and the county sales tax hike was trimmed in half. Like they say, half a loaf is better than nothing.

With that in mind, we turn our attention to the 17th District of Cook County. It's an oddly-shaped geographical area that stretches north from Orland Park and Palos Hts into Des Plaines and Prospect Hts. For the last eight years, Elizabeth Gorman has represented that district and we feel she has done a credible job, which warrants voter support in the Tuesday, Feb. 2 primary.

Challenging Gorman is Mark Thompson, a well-known figure in the Northwest suburbs where he currently serves as Maine Township Republican committeeman. Thompson's public service has been long and solid as Maine Township supervisor and Maine Township trustee. Besides his race with Gorman, he is also seeking reelection as committeeman against State Rep. Rosemary Mulligan (R-65th). So you see, Thompson has a lot on his table.

On the Democratic side, running for ballot placement to take on either Gorman or Thompson in November are Victor Forys of Park Ridge, Patrick Maher and Donna Sanders. Running as Green Party candidates are Richard Dalka of Des Plaines and Matthew Ogean. The Journal & Topics is not endorsing in either of these races.

In the GOP race, however, we think Gorman deserves voter support primarily because she saw the light on the poorly thought out sales tax increase and worked to repeal it along with the state requirement to override Stroger's veto. She didn't sit on her hands. In addition, we feel Gorman's look to the future of county government makes sense where all-out efforts must be made to streamline county government at a time when waste cannot be tolerated.

SouthtownStar:

In the Cook County Board's 17th District, Democratic primary voters will choose between Orland Fire Protection District President Patrick Maher and Park Ridge physician Victor Forys. A third candidate is on the ballot, Donna Sanders, but she is largely believed to be a plant in the race. Don't waste your vote on her.

Maher and Forys both say they would streamline Cook County government and reduce waste and inefficiency in the health delivery system.

Forys, a medical doctor who wants to bring his expertise to the county's health system, would look at curtailing generous pension benefits for future county workers. Maher would fight tax and fee increases but leave the pensions alone.

Maher, of Orland Park, cites his experience overseeing the fire district as proof he would take the same level of professionalism and cost-cutting to Cook County. Indeed, Maher has helped professionalize the fire district.

However, we can't endorse a candidate who willfully ignored repeated requests from this newspaper for information about the fire district when it experienced one of the biggest scandals in Southland history.

Firefighter Larry Masa was arrested and convicted after illegally collecting more than $190,000 in salary and benefits. Masa claimed for years he was on active military duty in Iraq when in fact he was working for a private contractor, not the U.S. military. Evidence suggested Masa was ripping off taxpayers and yet fire district officials looked the other way.

Maher doesn't deserve all the blame for the debacle, but he also never restituted accusations in a trumped up report that falsely blamed Deputy Chief Art Granat. He never apologized. He never accepted responsibility.

Maher says lawsuits prohibited him from being able to speak publicly about the case. Talking about it could have jeopardized the district's efforts to recoup taxpayer money, he said.

But as a newspaper that demands elected officials respect the public's right to know, we cannot offer our endorsement.

We also cannot endorse Forys.

While he would bring a unique perspective to a board that struggles with its health care system, he did not seem to fully understand the role of county government. A better fit for him would be a position on the Cook County Health and Hospitals System Board.

End

Pat Maher's candidacy takes another beating in the media

Patrick Maher, whose only real claim to fame is his father's name (shared by many by the way) and overseeing one of the most bloated Fire Protection District's in the State of Illinois, got more bad news this week. The Chicago Tribune, the Daily Southtown and other major newspapers, have all endorsed Cook County Commissioner Elizabeth "Liz"Doody Gorman in the 17th District.

Now, the Arlington Heights Daily Herald has also endorsed Gorman in the Republican primary over mudslinger Mark Thompson. They also endorsed Dr. Victor Forys in the Democratic Primary.

Here's what the DH said about Gorman:

Liz Gorman, 44, of Orland Park, the incumbent Republican representing the 17th District on the Cook County Board for the last eight years, wins our endorsement in the primary over challenger Mark Thompson, 54, of Des Plaines. Thompson makes the easy case that Cook County government needs to change, but is unconvincing in how he would do it.

He charges that Gorman is too cozy with Democrats, while Gorman persuasively argues that she has fought for and passed useful measures such as the reduction of the sales tax increase by working with members of the Democratic majority whose support is needed to get anything done.

And with Thompson having recently come in third in the race for Des Plaines mayor and currently under challenge from state Rep. Rosemary Mulligan for the Maine Township Republican Committeeman post, Gorman clearly is the stronger candidate in the general election.

-- Ray Hanania

http://www.radiochicagoland.com/

Gorman receives huge endorsement along with Forys in 17th District

The Chicago Tribune, the region's most influential newspaper, this morning endorsed Incumbent Cook County Commissioner Elizabeth "Liz"Doody Gorman in the Republican Primary and Dr. Victor Forys, the Democratic challenger who will face-off Feb. 2 against Patrick Maher, the son of Orland Village Clerk David Maher and head of the controversy-plagued Orland Fire Protection District.

Here is what the Tribune Editorial board wrote about Forys, Gorman and also Jeff Tobolski, a rising star in the suburbs:

17th District (Southwest, west and northwest suburbs): Victor Forys, a Democrat from Park Ridgewho came to the U.S. from Poland at age 4, would be the only doctor on the board. He would work to make the independent health panel permanent, repeal the remaining sales tax hike, and protect the forest preserves from municipal land grabs. The Tribune endorses Forys.

GOP incumbent Liz Doody Gorman worked tirelessly to roll back the sales tax hike and to protect employers and jobs. We hope voters reject smear campaigns that bizarrely portray her as a Stroger lapdog. Gorman is anything but. We have endorsed her in the past and do so again.

16th District (western suburbs): McCook Mayor Jeffrey Tobolski is respected by officials in other suburban governments but doesn't toe anyone's line: He would be a strong defender of the county forest preserves. He also would vote to kill the rest of the sales tax hike. And he knows firsthand that county taxes are, in his words, "killing our businesses." Tobolski is endorsed.

The endorsements are huge.

-- Ray Hanania

www.RadioChicagoland.com

Patrick Maher claims endorsement of Tinley park Village Board -- oops!

They're calling it "another Maher." Why not, there are so many "Maher's" in the election and Patrick Maher, the son of Cook County employee and Orland Park Village Clerk David Maher has challenged one of them -- the one running against him. But he didn't challenge the one running against incumbent Cook County Commissioner Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman, and that is Gerald Maher. Maher dropped out of the county board race to help Pat Maher and instead is focusing his campaign on challenging Gorman for Orland Township Republican Committeeman. As much as I like Gerald Maher, he is a terrible candidate and did so poorly in the last election, I was embarrassed for him.

I realized how strong Gorman was before the last election when Gorman had the courage to attend a tax forum my radio show "Radio Chicagoland" sponsored at the Orland Civic Center. There, Liz Gorman detailed all that she is doing to fight rising taxes and she impressed me and everyone else. Even Orland Park Mayor Dan McLaughlin attended the forum and spoke and shook every hand while Maher sat in the audience.

So Maher has now paired up with some no-name Republican from the north suburbs, who the Gorman's say is tied to County Commissioner Tony Peraica, to challenge Gorman in the Feb. 2 primary.

Why? Because Gorman has fought harder than any other elected official or elective office wannabe to fight rising taxes. I don't need to tell you the role that Gorman played in refusing to give up on rolling back Todd Stroger's 1 percent sales tax/ Her persistence is exactly what taxpayers in Cook County needs and have been lacking in others.

Meanwhile, amazingly, Patrick Maher is making fighting taxes his campaign foundation. So that's why he is running to unseat the one champion against rising unfair taxes in Cook County who has refused to give up. Pat Maher is a nice guy, probably being led around by a bunch of political opportunists who have done nothing for taxpayers except to help themselves. Had Maher been on the county board, how do you think he would have voted on the sales tax repeal with his father earning some $80,000 working for the Stroger's county government?

And they're not just opportunists. They are incompetent opportunists. Who was it that put in the Maher newsletter that Maher had the endorsement of the "Village Board of Trustees -- Tinley Park?" Ooops! It's "another Maher."

No, a disturbed Tinley Park Mayor Ed Zabrocki told me. The Tinley Park Board did NOT endorse Maher at all. Maybe Maher got the expected nod from the affable Gregory Hannon -- but who cares whether Hannon did or did not endorse anyone?

They should put on their endorsement list that Maher has the endorsement of Gerald Maher. Now that would be a story, and bring the truth out from under the fog of politics, too. Or maybe Maher has the endorsement of Tony Peraica? Or maybe Maher has the endorsement of Todd Stroger? (Notice in his literature Maher is careful to attack Gorman on false charges that she is not fighting for taxpayer rights, and that he's opposing a bunch of other obscure and generic issues taken right out of the headlines that Gorman has been fighting against, too.)

Like I said, Pat Maher is a decent person. But would he be the best person to stand up to Stroger's excessive taxes? I don't think so. In fact, I bet Stroger would be happy to have him on the board. They'd probably have to lower the veto override again, though.

Instead of running for the Cook County Board, Pat Maher should show some real leadership and cut down the outrageous $26 million budget of the Orland Fire Protection District that he heads. The OFPD collects the largest chunk of taxes in Orland Township, outside of the schools, and although there was a tax reduction several years ago, the reduction was compensated for in an increase later. It is a cute trick that some politicians use so they can argue that they are cutting taxes for citizens. Except the key flaw is that the OFPD is one of the most expensive district's in Northern Illinois.

I've suggested that voters instead send Maher a clear message in Feb. 2 and support the elimination of the OFPD, merging fire protection services into Orland Park and cutting the budget to something more reasonable like $12 million. That's one tax cut I can support but we know its president won't.

Of course, there is also the lingering and unanswered issue of the OFPD allowing its battalion chiefs to drive their gas-guzzling SUV's all over the suburbs, even for personal use and outside of the district. That's a waste of taxpayer money, in my opinion.

-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com

Forys challenges Maher use of taxpayer funds for political newsletter

Democrat Victor Forys’ Campaign Calls on Opponent to Refund Taxpayers for Cost of Publicly Funded Campaign Propaganda

Forys calls on Patrick Maher to refund taxpayers for cost of printing and mailing campaign propaganda on Orland Park Fire District newsletter.

Chicago, November 27, 2009— Dr. Victor Forys’ campaign is calling on their opponent to refund tax dollars used to print and mail the Orland Park Fire District newsletter to promote his campaign.  

“With the election less than 70 days away, it is absolutely unacceptable and potentially illegal for Patrick Maher to use taxpayer dollars to promote his campaign,” said campaign spokesman Rick Bohn. “In a time when people are struggling to make ends meet and pay their bills, he’s using their hard-earned tax dollars to defend his campaign positions.  People are tired of being used by corrupt politicians and they deserve better.  I call on Patrick Maher to use his campaign funds to reimburse the cost of printing and mailing the newsletter, and I’d ask that he use better judgment in the future. ”

Republican incumbent, Liz Gorman, issued a press release claiming Maher’s views on property taxes were incorrect and not representing the truth.  Patrick Maher then issued a front page response on the Eagle, the Orland Park Fire District newsletter, refuting those claims.

“I think it sets the wrong precedent for how he’d use the taxpayers’ money,” Bohn said. “Mr. Maher obviously doesn’t believe there is a clear line drawn when it comes to using public funds for political purposes.  I think this is indicative of the corrupt culture of Cook County Board politics and I think that’s wrong.  He should apologize to the community for such an improper use of tax dollars.”

The Orland Park Fire District is funded through tax dollars paid by residents of Orland Park.

Victor Forys has pledged to run an ethical campaign free of patronage and pay-to-play corruption.  Forys will use his seat to increase transparency on the Board and find ways to save taxpayer dollars.

END

Pat Maher accuses Gorman of sponsoring challenger in Democratic primary

Pat Maher, the president of the Orland Fire Protection District, is accusing Cook County Commissioner Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman with sponsoring one of his challengers. Their evidence is that one of the candidates, Donna Sanders, a respected member of the local library board, is backed by Orland Hills Mayor Kyle Hastings. He says that the petitions for Sanders and John Maher, another candidate in the crowded primary, will be made available to the public.

Maher's campaign has been trying to ignore the challenge from Dr. Victor Forys, who has the backing of most Democratic leaders in the 17th County district in the February 2, 2009 Democratic Primary.

I had a chance to review all the petitions for all the candidates and the only thing thats truck me as odd was the petitions circulated by Maher's dad, Orland Park Village Clerk David Maher. In one instance on one of the petitions circulated by David Maher, the signatures of four family members at the same address were signed exactly alike, as if one person signed them.  That's how it looked to me. Of course, being a village clerk, David Maher would know that each voter must sign their own petitions and no one can sign for some else

In the release, Maher also denies he raised taxes for the Orland Fire Protection District, which is not truthful. The fact is Maher cut back the amount of taxes in the county's budget one year, and  then increased it back, creating an artificial reduction in taxes. The tragic fact is that under Maher, the Orland Fire Protection District has the largest tax bite of any government agency on your property tax bills. Look at them yourself, 12.51 percent of the entire property tax bill -- the largest bite with the exception of the schools -- is what the OFPD takes from your taxes.

You can bet this is going to a muddy campaign. Here is Maher's press release and statement from his campaign manager in front of the release, Trevor Montgomery:

Mayor Kyle Hastings of Orland Hills, his family and supporters circulated the vast majority of Donna Sanders petitions. Hastings is a known ally of Republican incumbent Liz Gorman. Paid workers circulated the majority of John Maher's petitions. Other petitions were circulated at a bar in Orland Park that has hosted recent fundraisers for Liz Gorman and is owned by a support of Gorman's. John Maher has only voted once since 2002 and filed at a different address than he is registered to vote. Copies of petitions filed by John Maher and Donna Sanders are available upon request. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11/16/2009

Media Contact: Trevor Montgomery

Democrat Patrick Maher Shuts Down Gorman’s Political Games

Republican incumbent Liz Gorman is already playing the tired old political games for which our failed Cook County Board is known.

Patrick Maher, Democratic candidate for the Cook County Board, has filed a petition challenge against two candidates — John Maher, of Palos Heights, and Donna Sanders, of Orland Hills. Maher said the addition of John Maher, in particular, to the ballot is a clear attempt by Gorman to confuse Democratic Primary voters.

“Putting someone with the same last name on the ballot to manipulate voters is one of the oldest and lamest tricks in the book. John Maher and Donna Sanders have a history of not voting in Democratic primaries, they are not active in local Democratic politics and they are not serious candidates. Most importantly, they did not meet the qualifications for appearing on the ballot,” he said.

Both John Maher and Donna Sanders filed petitions rife with errors.

“I’m not going to allow the Republican incumbent to hijack the Democratic Primary so she can pursue her selfish political agenda. She knows that I’m the strongest candidate in the field. My concern is that the primary voters and my campaign do not fall victim to politics as usual.” Maher said he personally filed the challenges because it was important for him to ensure that the Democratic Primary ballot includes only serious Democratic candidates.

“We’re at a crucial turning point in terms of Cook County government. I put my own name on these challenges because I’m not going to hide, to have someone else go through the process for me. I’m not going to play games. My campaign is about fixing the way politics is done and changing the way politics is conducted on the Cook County Board,” he said.

Gorman is already pulling out all the stops in her bid to interfere with the Democratic Primary and smear her strongest likely opponent in the General Election. Just last week, she sent out a misleading email indicating that the Orland Fire Protection District is raising your taxes. The fire protection district, of which Maher is President, has actually lowered its tax rate by over 20% and has returned more than $1.3 million in tax cuts to the voters.

A hearing will be held today at the Cook County Board of Elections regarding both petition challenges.

###

Forys appointed to state board of health by Governor Pat Quinn, faces battle in 17th District

Dr. Victor Forys, the leading Democratic candidate in the 17th Cook County Board district's battle for the party nomination in the Feb. 2, was named this week by Gov. Quinn to the Illinois Board of Health.

Quinn and a laundry list of leading Democrats have endorsed Forys in his bid to the win the Democratic primary, but many media have been pretending he doesn't exist as a candidate to promote their friend and heir to 19th Ward political clout Pat Maher, the controversy-plagued president of the Orland Fire Protection District.

The 17th District is solidly Republican and the seat is now held by Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman, who in two terms has become the leading advocate for tax reduction on the Cook County board.

It's a fascinating race and any Democrat who wins the primary will have a tough time defeating Gorman, whose record on fighting taxes has emboldened not only other county board members but the Illinois General Assembly to fight the tax-raising administration of Cook County Board President Todd Stroger. Two other candidates are running in the Democratic primary and one more is running in the Republican primary. (You can read a complete story by clicking here.)

Forys is being written off because the district is a bowling alley that geographically looks like it is founded on Orland Park. But while Orland Township may look like it has the weighted vote, as you move north, the voter density increases significantly.

The district, as you can see, stretches from Wheeling and Northfield all the way down along the Cook County Board to Orland Township in the South.

Forys ran in the last battle for the Congressional seat vacated by Rahm Emanuel, the chief of staff to President Barack Obama, which was won by former County Commissioner Mike Quigley. Although Forys did not win, he raised a substantial amount of money and received strong endorsements, as he is doing again this year.

Forys believes that he can win the Democratic Primary on Feb. 2 by allowing Maher, who is backed by the 19th Ward Machine that is trying to put Orland Township is a political headlock, to fight with Gorman. And Maher hasn't hesitated to attack Gorman, even though the winners of the Democratic and Republican primaries won't face off until 9 months later. Maher is hoping to deflect voter attention away from the Orland Fire Protection District's outrageous tax increases and from the fact that the OFPD takes the largest bite out of the district's taxpayer's pocketbook of any other taxing body save for the schools -- more than 12.5 percent of the county's bills pays for Maher's fiefdom.

Maher is the politically ambitious son of Orland Park's part-time village clerk David Maher, who  is a county patronage employee working for 19th Ward superstar and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. Stroger oversees their budget and all are Democrats.

But Gorman has elevated herself above Maher and others by being the most vocal anti-tax member of the Cook County Board. Gorman was the only county commissioner to challenge a $190,000 county loan to controversial Regional Schools Superintendent Charles Flowers.  Flowers budget has since come under scrutiny. A report by the auditor general shows that Flowers has since mismanaged millions of dollars in funds. His office has an annual budget of about $1 million and is reportedly more than $1 million in debt. The audit shows that Flowers has borrowed money to pay for all kinds of expenses, without proper records, but he insisted he has repaid everything.

Gorman was the only voice to challenge Flowers' poor leadership. But this past June, the entire County board joined Gorman to repudiate Flowers and reject the loan and acknowledge Gorman's leadership.

And, Gorman was the leader of a coalition of Republicans and Democrats on the Cook County Board to repeal Todd Stroger's repressive 1 percent sales tax, which is crippling the county's taxpayers and forcing businesses to relocate to neighboring counties. Stroger used his veto to block the last effort. Gorman was so persistent that she help force the county board to try three times to repeal and roll back the tax and that caught the attention of the Illinois General Assembly which then voted to reduce the number of votes needed to override Stroger's outrageous 80 percent override vote need.

Now, Gorman and others are planning to launch another drive to rollback the sales tax with a better chance of withstanding Stroger's pro-tax veto.

Forys will have his work cut out for him in November against Gorman, but first he has to win the February Democratic Primary, and that's a race some don't want you to know he is in.

Of course, don't right off  Donna Sanders who also hails from the Orland Township district and is running in the Democratic primary. A popular library turstee, Sanders has real credentials and you can't ignore the powerful woman's vote in this district. They have a voice. On the Cook County Board, that voice, though, belongs to Gorman.

-- Ray Hanania

www.RadioChicagoland.com