The filing deadline for 2004 candidates is just over a month away, beginning the week of Dec. 8, but many questions remain as to candidates' intentions. Here's an overview:

20th House District (Chicago's Far Northwest Side): Who's got the Don?

The political hourglass of veteran state Representative Ralph Capparelli (D-15), the dean of the Illinois House, having served since 1971, and the deputy Democratic majority leader, is emptying quickly. Capparelli ran in the 15th District in 2002, but he didn't move into it in 2003, so he can't run there in 2004. That was a serious political blunder. Capparelli still lives in the 20th District, now represented by Republican Mike McAuliffe.

Had he moved Capparelli, age 79, could have easily won an 18th term in the 15th District, but he's now passing petitions to run against McAuliffe in the 20th District. Capparelli's chances of beating McAuliffe are, at best, 50-50. Further, in the March 2004 Democratic primary, Capparelli will face opposition from Frank Coconate, chairman of the Northwest Side Democratic Organization, and from Mike Marzullo, who lost a bid for 41st Ward alderman in 2003, getting 13 percent of the vote.

Coconate, a city worker, got 27.3 percent of the vote in the 2002 primary, which was won by incumbent Democrat Bob Bugielski, who got 53.9 percent, with 18.8 percent to Lou Giovanetti. Capparelli vacated the 20th District to let his buddy Bugielski move in and run, and Bugielski went on to lose to McAuliffe by a narrow 2,583-vote margin.

In Springfield Capparelli has been a big booster of a casino for Rosemont; back in Chicago he is a close friend of Don Stephens, the 75-year-old mayor of Rosemont and fervent casino advocate who is also the Leyden Township Republican committeeman. In 2002 it was Stephens' township workers (numbering about two dozen, who labored in Chicago precincts for McAuliffe), coupled with Stephens' money, which proved instrumental in McAuliffe's triumph over Bugielski. Another factor was state Representative Skip Saviano (R-77) of Elmwood Park, a protege of Stephens, who is chairman of the House Republican campaign committee. Saviano funded and coordinated McAuliffe's direct mail operation, which cost more than $200,000. McAuliffe also supports Stephens' bid for a Rosemont casino.

So who is Don Stephens backing in 2004? "He's behind me, because he needs me in Springfield (for the casino)," Capparelli said at his September fund raiser. McAuliffe disagrees. "He's the Republican committeeman. He's backing me," he said.

At McAuliffe's Oct. 24 fund-raising dinner, both Leyden Township Supervisor Bradley Stephens, the mayor's son, and Rosemont Trustee Jack Dorgan, a former lobbyist and aide to the late state Representative Roger McAuliffe, confirmed that Don Stephens is backing McAuliffe. They should know. Dorgan and Bradley Stephens run the mayor's political operation, and Bradley Stephens will some day succeed his father.

With Stephens' support, McAuliffe should beat Capparelli.

41st Ward: Dittoheads again? Capparelli has been the ward's Democratic committeeman since 1992, when he beat incumbent Roman Pucinski 7,651-5,823; he was re-elected without opposition in 1996 and 2000. However, the 41st is the only ward in Chicago with a Republican alderman. Both Coconate and Marzullo also are passing nominating petitions to run against Capparelli for committeeman, and both criticize Capparelli as an ineffectual party leader.

Al Gore won the 41st Ward by 1,669 votes in 2000, but Republican Jim Ryan beat Rod Blagojevich in the ward in 2002 by 529 votes, and Republican Joe Birkett beat Lisa Madigan, Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan's stepdaughter, in the ward in the attorney general's race by 3,155 votes. "That's pathetic," Coconate said. "He's (Capparelli) got all this supposed power in Springfield, and yet we rank as the worst (Democratic) ward in Chicago."

A fourth potential committeeman candidate is Jim McGing, an Edison Park attorney who works for Cook County Sheriff Mike Sheahan. McGing ran for state senator in 1992 against Republican incumbent Wally Dudycz and lost by just 3,111 votes. In that contest he relied on Capparelli to carry to 41st Ward for him. Dudycz, however, won the 41st Ward, which enabled him to win the district. Capparelli and McGing have been estranged since.

McGing, however, seems more inclined to run for judge in 2004 than for committeeman.

So it seems likely that it will be a "ditto" race, with Capparelli, Coconate and Marzullo running against each other for both state representative and 41st Ward Democratic committeeman.

10th Judicial Subcircuit (Northwest Side, Park Ridge, Des Plaines, Niles, Glenview): Will McGing bite the dust again?

McGing's political clout emanates from the Far South Side 19th Ward, where his patrons are Sheriff Mike Sheahan and former county assessor Tom Hynes. In his 1992 race for senator, McGing's South Side allies dispatched numerous workers into the district, but not into the 41st Ward. McGing was not initially expected to win the 1992 race, but Springfield Democrats jumped into the race late, funded McGing to the tune of $273,130, and almost pulled an upset.

McGing has been waiting for his reward -- a judgeship -- since.

The 10th Subcircuit will elect two judges in 2004, and the slated Democratic candidates are expected to be McGing and Joe Potasiak, a Niles attorney. Also running is Aurie Pucinski, the former Democrat-turned-Republican clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court, who has reverted to being a Democrat.

It takes 500 nominating petition signatures to run for judge, either countywide or in a subcircuit. Contenders usually secure 2,000-plus signatures, and then do the "Judicial Shuffle" -- they file for multiple vacancies, see who else files, and then withdraw from all but one race. For 2004 it will be McGing's role to take on Pucinski. So that means both McGing and Potasiak file for the A and B slots, as likely will Pucinski, and then see which one she withdraws from.

Sources close to McGing do not conceal their irritation at the situation. They think that McGing deserves the clear shot, and that Potasiak should take on Pucinski. Local Democratic leaders reportedly have promised McGing a clear shot at judge in 2006 if he loses to Pucinski in 2004.

Even if the local committeemen exert a Herculean effort on McGing's part, it's doubtful that he could upset Pucinski. Backing Pucinski will be Capparelli in the 41st Ward and Alderman Gene Schulter, who is running for committeeman in the 47th Ward. Backing McGing will be the organizations of committeemen Tom Lyons (45th), Randy Barnette (39th) and Pat O'Connor (40th).

Subcircuits were created by the General Assembly in 1991, with 17 allocated to Cook County. Their purpose was to diversify the judiciary by having more minorities elected. The record for slated party candidates in the 10th Subcircuit's Democratic primary is mixed: one win out of two in 1992, two wins out of three in 1994, one win out of two in 1996, and the slated candidate winning the single open spot in 1998 and 2002. There was no opening in 2000.

So the good news for McGing is that the slated candidate won two-thirds of the contests. The bad news is that the party never had to beat somebody of Pucinski's stature and name recognition. My prediction: McGing will have to bite the dust in 2004 in order to get his robes in 2006.