Dick Devine is toxic. After 12 bland, boring and intentionally uncontroversial years as Cook County's state's attorney, Devine's accomplishments -- or, as it relates to the prosecution of official corruption in Chicago and Cook County, his non-accomplishments -- have become the paramount issue in the Feb. 5 Democratic primary to nominate his successor.

"I'm not Dick" is the near-universal mantra. Five of the six aspirants -- Tom Allen, Larry Suffredin, Howard Brookins, Anita Alvarez and Tommy Brewer -- are trash talking Devine's performance. Brookins and Brewer are black. Only Bob Milan, the first assistant state's attorney, the office's number two post, is praising his boss. And Devine has reciprocated, endorsing Milan.

It should be remembered that Devine had Milan's job when Mayor Rich Daley was state's attorney, from 1980 to 1989. Daley helped Devine get elected in 1996, and Devine's job has been to cover the mayor's rear -- which means hear no evil, see no evil, do no evil. The office's Public Integrity Unit has been the equivalent of the Maytag repairman. Alvarez, once supervisor of that unit and now the office's chief deputy, the number three post, puts it succinctly: "Our core mission is to prosecute violent crime and incarcerate criminals. We have a $96 million annual budget. The feds spent $25 million to prosecute George Ryan. We don't have the money to prosecute politicians."

Alvarez, a 21-year prosecutor, disdains her three principal opponents, Brookins, Allen and Suffredin: "They're just politicians," she said. "They have no knowledge of the office." But she also trashes her boss, saying, "He's resistant to change. We can't maintain the status quo." And, she adds, "He didn't keep his word. He promised not to endorse anybody. Now he's endorsed Bob."

Allen, the alderman from the Northwest Side 38th Ward, is dancing a fine line. He needs the mayor's endorsement, and he knows he can't be isolated as a Devine-type eunuch, so he has to mildly criticize Devine. "Crime has changed," Allen said. "Guns, drugs, sex offenders. The office must change. It hasn't. It's standing still. I will ratchet up prosecutions." As for the prosecution of corruption, Allen said Devine has put a "gone fishing sign on his door." "Corruption is a crime, and he has not done much of anything," he said.

Suffredin, a Cook County commissioner from Evanston, trumpets himself as the "reform" candidate and promises to initiate a "public corruption strike force" composed of prosecutors who will investigate public officials, contractors and police officers in Chicago and Cook County. "I will redeploy resources," Suffredin said, adding that Devine's record is an "embarrassment."

Brookins, the 21st Ward alderman, rips the "culture" of the office. "Their premise is to win at any cost, to convict at any cost," he said. "If I win, my priority will be justice, not statistics. We will not be an extension of the police department." Brookins said he will "diversify the office, in both race and thought," and that he will hire more minorities

It will be recalled that Bill Clinton's political handlers lived in mortal fear of a "bimbo eruption." With the primary just days away, Brookins' strategists fear a "deadbeat eruption" similar to the albatross that sank State's Attorney Cecil Partee after he was appointed to succeed Daley. Partee won the 1990 primary, defeating Alderman Pat O'Connor (40th), but after revelations about illegitimate children, past-due child support, income tax delinquencies, unpaid loans, ownership of "slum" property and insider property tax reductions, he lost the election to Republican Jack O'Malley. Liberal white voters will embrace a squeaky-clean black candidate like Barack Obama, but they will not support an ethically challenged black candidate like Partee.

Brookins has been hit with allegations that he failed to pay rent on his law office, that he failed to pay his employees' withholding taxes and that he owned property which had code violations. "I have explanations," Brookins said, stating that he paid the rent, paid the taxes and didn't own the property. In effect, Brookins is saying that he's not Cecil Partee. If more so-called "deadbeat" revelations surface, Brookins, as the Democratic nominee, could be vulnerable to Republican Tony Peraica in November.

If elected, Brookins would be no Devine. "I will use the office's resources smarter," he said. "I will beef up the consumer fraud unit. There will be an emphasis on more narcotics and gun prosecutions, and there will be more Public Integrity Unit investigations and prosecutions." Instead of two prosecutors per felony courtroom, Brookins would replace one with a paralegal. "We have the manpower," he said. "We just have to use it better."

Suffredin, a county commissioner since 2002, said his priorities will be guns and corruption and that he also will focus on domestic violence and juvenile crime. His proposed "strike force" will be moved from 26th Street to the Daley Center, and he said that he will use the office's civil powers to "impose more fines" and thereby fund more prosecutions.

Allen, a onetime public defender, has been an alderman since 1993. He wants to create a gun trafficking unit. "The guns are coming from Indiana and Mississippi, which have the weakest gun laws," he said. "We need to trace guns back to their source." As for sexual predators, Allen said that Devine's office "has dropped the ball," claiming that "20 percent of registered sex offenders have disappeared." Allen said he would have a hotline for reporting sex offenders.

As for Milan, a 19-year prosecutor, he's "proud to work for Devine," and he said that Devine's endorsement was a "shot in the arm" for his campaign. "He's been the most progressive and innovative state's attorney in modern history," Milan said. His motto: A prosecutor, not a politician.

The outlook: Turnout will be in the 850,000 range, up from 764,163 in 2004. Obama's presidential bid, coupled with recent death of John Stroger and the Jon Burge police torture settlement, will motivate black voters. To win, Brookins needs at least 80 percent of the black vote -- about 240,000 in Chicago and 85,000 in the suburbs, or 260,000 votes. Brewer will draw a small black vote, about 20,000. That leaves about 580,000 votes to be divided between Allen, Suffredin, Milan and Alvarez.

Allen's political base is the Northwest Side, but his financial base is Organized Labor. He's been endorsed by 300 unions, including police and firefighters, and he expects to raise and spend $1 million. All the Northwest Side committeemen are for him, as well as the committeemen in the powerhouse 11th, 13th, 19th and 23rd wards on the Southwest Side. To win, he needs 75 percent of the vote in the white ethnic wards and 40 percent in the suburbs and Lakefront, for a total of about 250,000 votes. Milan's candidacy hurts Allen.

Suffredin's base is the North Shore and the Lakefront, where he's popular among liberals and gays. His endorsement by U.S. Representatives Jesse Jackson Jr. and Luis Gutierrez, Secretary of State Jesse White, Alderman Walter Burnett and state Senator Rickey Hendon will get him some minority votes. But his steam is generated by U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky's suburban political operation; he will carry the North Shore with better than 60 percent of the vote, and he will get half the Lakefront vote and 5 to 8 percent of the black vote, finishing with 175,000 to 190,000 votes. To win, he needs Milan to siphon 50,000 votes from Allen and to get 15 to 20 percent of the black vote.

Alvarez, of Mexican heritage, needs Hillary Clinton to draw a huge outpouring of women voters who vote for female candidates. She will get half the Hispanic vote, and she will finish with about 75,000 votes, mostly at Suffredin's expense. Milan was born and raised in the 19th Ward. That, plus Devine's endorsement, will get him 50,000 votes.

My prediction: Brookins, 255,000 votes; Allen, 230,000; Suffredin, 185,000; Alvarez, 85,000; Milan, 50,000; Brewer, 25,000. Total turnout: 830,000. That means Brookins wins with just 31 percent of the vote.

Recorder of Deeds: The trash talk continues. "The office is a mess, laden with patronage and populated with knuckleheads," said Alderman Ed Smith, who is challenging incumbent Gene Moore, the slated candidate. "The people's vote will prevail," boomed Smith, forgetting that the office's core mission is to record deeds, not change the world. Both candidates are black. Smith has been endorsed by Daley, and he is grasping tightly to Obama. "In 2004, he endorsed Dan Hynes for senator, not Barack," said Smith.

Moore, the recorder since 1999, snidely remarked that Daley's endorsement was a "payback" to Smith for supporting Daley's tax increases. "I've modernized and reformed the office," Moore said. "It's not a dumping ground for fading politicians."

The outlook: Daley's endorsement does not mean Daley's white committeemen are abandoning Moore. County Commissioner John Daley, the mayor's brother, is lining up the South Side for Moore. Smith said he has "some" black committeemen, but the bulk are for Moore, as are most suburban committeemen. The incumbent will win with 55 percent of the vote.