U.S. Representative Bobby Rush (D-1) surely hopes that Santa Claus brings him a holiday present of which he is in dire need, namely, some credibility.

Rush, the black 2nd Ward Democratic committeeman, unzipped his legendary motor mouth at the Democrats' November slatemaking and accused sheriff nominee Tom Dart of having an "abysmal" legislative record on black issues, adding that Dart is "repulsive" to him.

The congressman, who has represented Chicago's black-majority South Side 1st District since 1993 and who has been a committeeman since 1984, had convened a meeting of the Black Elected Officials of Cook County after Sheriff Mike Sheahan announced his retirement. About 15 black committeemen attended, and they called for an open primary. State Senator James Meeks (D-15) complained that the slatemaking was stacked in favor of Dart.

But Dart was slated on Nov. 28, and now it's time for Rush to put up or shut up. Rush must orchestrate the fielding of a black candidate for sheriff, and he must show proof of Dart's "abysmal" legislative votes. Thus far, Rush has not put up, and he has shut up. The filing period for state and county office is from Dec. 12 to Dec. 19.

Dart has been Sheahan's chief-of-staff since 2003, but has had no hands-on law enforcement experience. Sheahan, first elected in 1990, had been a Chicago police officer for 8 years, and his predecessor, Jim O'Grady (1986 to 1990), had been Chicago's police superintendent. But O'Grady's predecessor, Dick Elrod (1970 to 1986), had been a city assistant corporation counsel, and his claim to fame was receiving a paralyzing neck injury when he tackled a protester being chased by police in the 1969 "Days of Rage" riots. Dart is a former assistant state's attorney, and he served in the Illinois House for 12 years, so his background is similar to Elrod's, making him susceptible to a challenge from somebody with "cop" credentials.

The only other candidate to surface has been Sylvester Baker, a black retired Cook County Sheriff's Police sergeant. He is passing petitions.

Dart, age 43, resides in the Far Southwest Side 19th Ward, as does Sheahan, a former alderman. He was elected to the Illinois House in 1992 from 28th District, which was 64 percent black. The district ran from 103rd Street to the Calumet-Sag Canal, extending from Pulaski on the west to Langley (east of State Street) on the east. It included most of the white-majority 19th Ward and large sections of the black-majority 34th and 9th wards to the east. In the 1992 Democratic primary, Dart beat a black opponent from the 34th Ward, Nelson Rice Sr., who was backed by committeemen Lemuel Austin (34th) and Bill Shaw (9th). Dart won by 701 votes, getting more than 90 percent of the vote in the white precincts.

Dart quickly entrenched himself in the racially mixed district. He won renomination over three black foes in 1994 with 69 percent of the vote and over five black opponents in 1996 with 67.4 percent. He was unopposed in 1998 and 2000. Dart retired in 2002 and ran for state treasurer, losing to incumbent Republican Judy Baar Topinka by 396,965 votes, getting 43.3 percent of the vote. At that time he was chairman of the House Judiciary I (Civil Law) Committee and co-chairman of the Prison Management Reform Committee.

Dart had entered the House with another ambitious Democrat named Rod Blagojevich. Both had an agenda, namely, to run for higher office in the future, and that meant not casting any roll-call votes which could haunt them later. After Blagojevich won the governorship in 2002 and Dart lost for treasurer, Dart expected as a consolation prize being named director of the state Department of Corrections. But Blagojevich didn't appoint him, so Sheahan created a job for him.

Requests made to Rush's office for specific information on Dart's so-called "abysmal" voting record got no response, but a look at Dart's legislative voting record indicates that while he may have been a calculating opportunist, he was not a racist. Here's why:

In his first term (1993-94), Dart supported the Chicago school funding package, allowing the city to borrow $378 million, and opposed the early teachers' retirement plan. He voted "present" on school vouchers, parental notification for a minor's abortion and the expenditure of $60 million to build a new "super maximum security" prison. He supported making the temporary state income tax increase permanent, and he backed increases in the soda and tobacco taxes and in vehicle license fees, and he voted with organized labor to ban hiring by the state of striker replacements. Dart equivocated on some serious social issues, but he voted like a tax-hiking liberal Democrat.

In his second term Dart danced around the abortion issue: He voted for parental notification of a minor's abortion but then voted "present" on a second version. He opposed welfare reform, a cap on lawsuit damages, Chicago school reform and a restructuring of the state's college system. He supported truth in sentencing, which means that those convicted of a crime must serve at least 80 percent of the sentence. And he voted "present" on applying property tax caps to Cook County. Dart is developing a pattern here: avoiding a commitment on key issues which could haunt him in a future statewide campaign, but his voting record certainly is not anti-black.

In his third term Dart supported welfare reform, flip flopping on his prior vote, and utility deregulation. He voted "present" on both a ban on partial-birth abortions and on imposition of obscenity standards by local counties, and he voted against reducing a first-offense possession charge of carrying a concealed firearm from a felony to a misdemeanor. If consistency and commitment are virtuous, Dart would definitely be a sinner.

In his fourth term Dart opposed dockside gambling but supported HMO reforms, mandatory trigger locks on guns, increases in liquor taxes, vehicle license and transfer fees, and increased state bonding authority. He voted like a Democrat.

In his fifth term Dart lurched leftward, supporting the Human Rights Act, which bans employer discrimination based on sexual orientation and backing a ban on racial profiling by police officers. On abortion, Dart finally took a pro-choice stand, voting against parental notice of a minor's abortion; he also supported the use of contraceptives by hospitals for sexual assault victims. He opposed increasing the number of charter schools in Chicago from 15 to 30.

It is obvious that Dart that been laying the groundwork to run for some statewide or countywide office. He vacillated on serious social issues, and he delayed as long as possible the need to position himself as a liberal, which is essential to win a Democratic primary.

So where's Rush's beef? At worst, Dart is an opportunist and a calculating equivocator. Voting "present" is never a profile in courage. Dart flip-flopped on welfare reform and parental notification. At best, he's still a liberal, and he can't be isolated as a conservative. Dart has a solid pro-labor record, voted the teachers' union position, backed gun control and gay rights, and supported state tax, fee and budget hikes.

For many voters, Dart could be viewed as "repulsive" due to his "abysmally liberal" voting record, but his legislative votes certainly cannot be characterized as racist or anti-black.

So how can Dart be beaten?

First, an opponent has to hang Sheahan around Dart's neck, and there is no indication that Sheahan is unpopular. In any contest featuring an incumbent, the race is a referendum on the incumbent's performance. With Sheahan now on the sidelines, the 2006 contest is a choice between Sheahan's hand-picked successor and an alternative.

Only one prisoner escaped from County Jail in the last 10 years, and there have been only a few allegations of ghost payrolling, bribe taking or drug smuggling among employees. A 2003 report from KMPG, a consulting firm, criticized the "institutional culture of excessive force" used by jail guards, and a county grand jury issued a report accusing Sheahan of concealing a "mass beating" of 49 prisoners at the jail in 1999. A federal judge ruled in 1998 that 12,000 female inmates were wrongfully strip-searched. A new jail facility was opened in 1995, adding 1,536 beds, and Sheahan instituted a "boot camp" for nonviolent young offenders. Overall, the Sheahan record is one of competence in managing a tough office, and voters understand that the County Jail is not meant to be run as a five-star hotel.

Second, Dart's opponent has to energize blacks and liberals. Efforts to do that against Sheahan flopped in 1990 and 1994.

Sheahan won the 1990 Democratic sheriff's primary with 70 percent of the vote, topping Philip Morris, a black former jail guard, 393,614-101,880, with John Flood getting 65,442 votes. In 1994 Sheahan faced Tommy Brewer, a black former state official, but and he won 377,273-179,904 (67 percent). He was unopposed in 1998 and 2002.

The bottom line: A credible black candidate could get up to 35 percent of the vote in a primary. But Rush hasn't found one, and Dart will be easily nominated.