The bar code on Pete Silvestri's political shelf life is nearing expiration. As a Cook County commissioner from the 9th District since 1994, he faces a difficult re-election campaign in 2014. As the Elmwood Park village president since 1989, he faces a tough re-election race in 2013. If he loses in 2013, he's toast in 2014.

 Republican Silvestri is an obscure but reasonably powerful political fixture, his durability being wholly attributable to his membership in the vaunted, but now vanished, "Northwest Side Nonaggression Pact." The pact was made by an elite and eclectic group of Democratic and Republican politicians from Chicago's 41st and 36th wards, plus the political powers in Rosemont, Elmwood Park, Schiller Park and Franklin Park. They collaborated, over decades stretching back to the 1970s, to keep themselves in office.

Here's how it worked:

The glue was the late Rosemont Mayor Don Stephens, the Leyden Township Republican committeeman. Stephens died in 2007, and he was succeeded by his son Bradley, who now is the mayor, the committeeman and a township supervisor. The aforementioned suburbs, plus River Grove and Northlake, are in west suburban Leyden Township. The past and present "Boss" Stephens' job was to ensure that they had Republican mayors.

In Rosemont, Stephens had a fund-raising base among prosperous restaurant and business interests and a direct conduit into the gambling industry, which coveted a Rosemont casino. In Springfield, Stephens' go-to guys were state Senator Jim DeLeo, a 36th Ward Democrat, state Representatives Mike McAuliffe, a 41st Ward Republican, and Skip Saviano, an Elmwood Park Republican, and, until he lost in 2004, state Representative Ralph Capparelli, a 41st Ward Democrat.

Other key pact adherents were 36th Ward Alderman Bill Banks, a DeLeo ally, the Democratic committeeman and the chairman of the City Council Zoning Committee, and 41st Ward Alderman Brian Doherty, a Republican and a McAuliffe ally. Also part and parcel of this big, happy family was Silvestri, who provided access to county government and who is longtime buddy of Saviano, a onetime aide to Democrat DeLeo. Silvestri and Saviano (the "S&S Boys") were integral to the Leyden Township Stephens machine, and both were tight allies of Doherty and McAuliffe (the "D&M Boys"). When the "S&S Boys" needed help to win in Elmwood Park, they called on Banks and DeLeo (the "B&D Boys") to send in precinct troops. Is this getting confusing? Perhaps they could be grouped as "Papa Don & the B&D&D&M&S&S Boys"?

It's over. Banks retired as the alderman in 2010, and he prevailed on the mayor to appoint his "chief of staff," John Rice, who really was Banks' driver, as his replacement. Rice proceeded to ignominiously lose in 2011 to Nick Sposato, who now is the Democratic committeeman. DeLeo retired as a senator in 2010, and Doherty sought the seat, but while the "B&D Boys" had no qualms about aiding McAuliffe, DeLeo, who is close to Senate President John Cullerton, blanched at giving his seat to a Republican, so the 36th Ward delivered a healthy margin for Democrat John Mulroe, of the 41st Ward, who beat Doherty with 55.4 percent of the vote.

For some unknown reason, Banks and DeLeo are now estranged. What's left of their organization is captained by Dominic Longo, a political operative for hire who runs Citizens for Better Government. Expect Longo to make big bucks, and make a big effort, to save Silvestri in 2013 and 2014.

In the 41st Ward, Doherty retired and was replaced as alderman in 2011 by Mary O'Connor, a Mulroe ally and also the Democratic committeeman. For years a Democratic wilderness dominated by the "D&M Boys," the 41st Ward now has two capable Democrats, and McAuliffe must fend for himself. Silvestri, who shared an office with McAuliffe and Doherty, suffered two huge political blows: He's lost his political base in the north (41st Ward) part of the 9th District, and the evaporation of the "B&D Boys" in next-door Galewood and Montclare means that he won't have several hundred workers swarming into Elmwood Park in 2013.

As for Saviano, the consummate Springfield insider, the Madigan-Cullerton remap put his Elmwood Park base, along with Franklin Park and Schiller Park, in Chicago state Representative Camille Lilly's 78th District, which is dominated by Oak Park. Saviano is running in a new district centered on Northlake, Bensenville, Wood Dale and Addison, which have large Hispanic populations. He will win.

So now it's "Big Brad & S Boy (Saviano), S Boy (Silvestri) and M Boy (McAuliffe)." The rest are history. The area's legendary 40-year nonaggression pact is over. Every chummy politician still in office is adrift. The O'Connor-Mulroe bunch are angling to take out McAuliffe and Silvestri in 2014. Independents in Leyden Township are plotting to oust Stephens' mayors in 2013. Alderman John Arena (45th), having cleansed the ward of the remnants of the Levar-Lyons machine, is now allied with Democratic state representative candidate Rob Martwick of Norridge, and their 2014 goal is to oust Silvestri as a county commissioner.

In Rosemont, "Boss" Brad Stephens has organized a Super PAC, seeding it with $300,000. It will be used to elect his Leyden Township candidates in the April 2013 municipal races. His "slate" of incumbents includes Silvestri, Anna Montana of Schiller Park, Barrett Pedersen of Franklin Park, who is the township's Democratic committeeman, Marilynn May of River Grove and Jeffrey Sherwin of Northlake. Stephen's has his own "Nonaggression Pact" -- although some might tab it a "Surrender Pact" -- with Pedersen: Stephens lets Pedersen keep his job in Franklin Park, Pedersen doesn't run Democrats for township office, and Pedersen doesn't meddle in other municipalities.

Here's how contested races are developing:

*Rosemont has a population of 4,224, with 1,291 registered voters. The town was incorporated in 1956, and the elder Stephens was the mayor for 41 years. It's a family business, with one son mayor, another public safety chief and another head of the authority that runs the 840,000-square-foot Stephens Convention Center. Brad Stephens was elected in 2009 by 759-82, with 90.2 percent of the vote. He is unbeatable in 2013.

*Elmwood Park has a population of 25,405, with 12,384 registered voters. Silvestri was elected village president in 1989, concluding the battle to succeed the iconic Elmer Conti, who held the job for 32 years, from 1953 to 1985. Conti participated in the practice of "double dipping" -- holding two "part-time" elected public jobs. He was a state representative for 12 years, from 1956 to 1962 and from 1976 to 1982.

Silvestri continues that tradition, but a lawsuit filed by defeated county commissioner Tony Peraica challenges its legality. Peraica lost in 2010 to Jeff Tobolski, who also is the mayor of McCook. If Peraica succeeds, Silvestri would be forced to choose one job or the other.

Over time, Silvestri's grip on Elmwood Park has eroded. He got 2,860 votes unopposed in 2001, 1,585 votes unopposed in 2005 and 1,789 votes unopposed in 2009. In the trustee contest in 2011, Silvestri's three United Party candidates got 5,815 total votes, to 4,396 votes for the Neighborhood Voice slate. That's an unimpressive 56.9 percent victory, considering that the winners outspent the losers 7-1 and Longo and the "B&D Boys" minions were everywhere.

"There is great discontent" with Silvestri, said Joe Ponzio, a spokesman for the dissidents. "There are no-bid contracts, tax hikes, water bill increases and voter fraud scandals." Either Tony Del Santo or Phil Marcantelli, 2011 losers for trustee, will oppose Silvestri in 2013. If Silvestri is ousted, his county board seat moves from serious jeopardy to "it's gone."

*Franklin Park has a population of 19,434, with 9,924 registered voters. Hispanic population boomed from 1995 to 2005, but it has crested at about 38 percent, most being non-citizens. The organization of Democrat Jack Williams, who was a state representative from 1973 to 1981, dominated from 1969 to 1996, and Republican Dan Pritchett was the mayor from 1996 to 2009. Fatigue with Pritchett, coupled with Pedersen's charges of nepotism and contract favoritism, led to a tight 2009 election. Pedersen won with 1,482 votes (38.8 percent of the total cast), to 1,322 (34.6 percent) for Pritchett and 1,020 (26.7 percent) for Bill Ruhl. "The deal was this," one Franklin Park insider said. "Brad recruited Barrett to run for mayor to divide the anti-Pritchett vote and to beat Ruhl, but then Barrett decided he wanted to be mayor and beat Pritchett."

As mayor, Pedersen has not been "Mr. Fix-It." Water billings are a mess, and he blames Pritchett. Ruhl, a police officer running on the Independent Tea Party ticket, was elected trustee in 2011, beating a Pedersen candidate. He will run for mayor under that label in 2013. Pritchett and Chris Litwin also are running. The outlook: Against two Republicans and an independent, with the "Boss" keeping hands off, Pedersen would have to be an utter nitwit to lose.

*Schiller Park has a population of 11,850, with 4,753 registered voters. Republican Anna Montana, a Stephens protege, was elected mayor in 2001 by 1,985-1,044, with 65.5 percent of the vote, and she was unopposed in 2005, getting 898 votes. However, local newspaper publisher and gadfly Barb Piltaver is stirring the proverbial pot. She ran for mayor in 2009, losing 1,380-962 (with 41.1 percent of the vote), and for trustee in 2011, getting 690 votes to the Montana incumbents' 994, 970 and 909.

"I'm running" for mayor, Piltaver said. "People want a change." Unless "Boss" Stephens assembles a load of money and manpower behind Montana, she will lose.

First elected in 1994, Silvestri got only 54 percent of the vote in 2006 and 2010. At least a dozen Democrats are gunning for his seat in 2014. Silvestri's shelf life is dwindling.