Word: vrdolyak
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Since his election in 1983 as Chicago's first black mayor, Democrat Harold Washington has been entangled in an epic feud with the party's long-entrenched regulars, led by Alderman Edward Vrdolyak. The result has been legislative paralysis, with the 21 city council votes that Washington controls more than canceled out by the 29 loyal to Vrdolyak. Last week, however, a federal judge ordered special aldermanic elections on March 18 that will probably narrow the margin and could give the mayor the decisive votes. The balloting could ultimately deliver the coup de grace to Chicago's once formidable Democratic...
...ruling resulted from a lawsuit filed in 1982 by black and Hispanic groups claiming that redistricting a year earlier was illegally rigged to minimize minority voting power. U.S. District Judge Charles R. Norgle Sr. ordered the boundaries for seven wards redrawn. Observers expect Vrdolyak's forces to retain at least two districts and Washington to pick up a minimum of three. That would leave the balance of power resting on the remaining two races, both in heavily Hispanic wards. Considering the stakes, it is a good bet that Chicago's two Democratic power brokers will spend the winter brushing...
...tinged election in 1983, Washington told rejoicing black supporters, "It's our turn now." But his attempt to take charge of the city hall machinery was frustrated for three years by die-hard opposition from the city council's white majority, led by the mayor's archenemy, Edward R. Vrdolyak...
...until a court-ordered special election in 1986 did Washington, who castigated Vrdolyak's allies as "crooks and lowlifes who climb out from under rocks," finally gain an effective majority on the 50-member city council. He tightened his grip on power with his overwhelming victory over Vrdolyak in April's mayoral election. So thorough was the drubbing that many of Vrdolyak's aldermanic supporters defected to Washington's camp. Vrdolyak, who presided over the tattered remnants of Daley's machine as chairman of the Cook County Democratic central committee, quit the party and became a Republican...
...answer to this question not only will influence the political future of the city but also will be a telling sign for all of America, where unfortunately racial divisions have become more noticeable in recent years. Vrdolyak's response is not a promising omen for the American future. Hopefully other white politicians will learn to accept Blacks on equal terms...