If  “money is the mother’s milk of politics,” as alleged by onetime California legislative boss Jesse Unruh, then Chicago’s Northwest Side and close-in suburbs are a veritable dairyland, and the 31st, 36th and 47th wards, and Leyden Township, are surely teeming with barnyards, milking machines and cows.

            This column is about the area’s “Kings of Pop” – which does not mean Michael Jackson imitators. It means money-raisers. When incumbent officeholders raise oodles of money, they thereby deflate and discourage potential opposition. When they have a monumental cash-on-hand, their foes fold.

            Money means controlling the message, defining the issues, and demonizing the opposition. It un-levels the playing field. And that’s what incumbents want.

            The adjoining chart details campaign contributions amassed from Jan. 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009, a period of 18 months, and cash-on-hand as of July 1, 2009.

Here’s what those numbers mean for upcoming battles in 2010 and 2011:

* “The  Beastie Boys”: Chicago’s heavily Puerto Rican 31st Ward, bordered by Grand, Pulaski, Central and Belmont, boasts few milkmaids or milk pails, but the two Democratic powerhouses who control the ward – Democratic Committeeman Joe Berrios, who is also a Board of Review commissioner and county Democratic chairman, and Alderman Ray Suarez  (31st) – raised a combined $3,036,970 in the past 18 months, and have a cash-on-hand of $1,842,996.

Berrios’ county job enables him to reduce tax assessments for commercial and residential properties. That’s a cash cow that keeps milking and giving. Suarez is chairman of the council’s Housing committee, and aspires to run for city clerk in 2011. In the 31st Ward, a sighting of the Loch Ness monster would be more likely than any opposition to Berrios or Suarez.

* The beginning of the end: Alderman Bill Banks (36th), along with his ally, State Senator Jim DeLeo (D-10), have long been the area’s Kings of Pop. At present, they have a combined cash-on-hand of $1,561,193, and have raised $729,849.

Banks, the council’s Zoning committee chairman, has announced his intention to resign as alderman by the end of 2009, but still retain his Democratic committeeman’s post. He has $857,627 on-hand. The U.S. Attorney’s Operation Crooked Code probe is investigating city zoning practices. DeLeo is pondering retirement in 2010, and has $703,566 on-hand. If both take their money and run, the 36th Ward will have a level playing field for the first time in 40 years.

* Mighty Lou: It pays to be ambitious. State Representative Lou Lang (D-16), of Skokie , has been playing Hamlet for years, perpetually mulling and then foregoing a statewide race. He is an assistant Democratic majority leader, and has clout in Springfield . He’ll take another statewide pass in 2010. But he has $337,453 on-hand, making him utterly secure in his district, where he is Niles Township Democratic committeeman. Lang’s goal is to be speaker.

* Gene’s Money Machine: Gene Schulter has been the 47th Ward’s alderman since 1975, Democratic committeeman since 2004, and chairman of the council’s Licensing committee. Schulter’s campaign committee, and his 47th Ward Democratic Party, have $788,729 on-hand, and have raised $317,398. The ward is increasingly upscale, but no potential 2011 Schulter foe can match the alderman’s money mountain.

*  They ain’t what they used to be: Alderman Tom Allen (38th) came within a whisker of winning the 2008 Democratic primary for state’s attorney. He raised $1,056,764 for that campaign, and for the retirement of debt thereafter, leaving him with $87,635 on-hand. He took a pass on a 2009 congressional bid. Allen’s future options: Run for re-election in 2011, run for judge in 2010 or 2012, or retire. No countywide race is in the cards. Democratic Committeeman Patti Jo Cullerton raised $56,650, and had $9,137 on-hand. Beware a big-spending foe.

* Bye-bye Levar? Alderman Pat Levar (45th), chairman of the Aviation committee and Democratic committeeman, has been alderman since 1987. He has raised an impressive $329,623 for his three campaign committees, but has only $86,990 on-hand. That’s about $700,000 less than Schulter. Levar’s council perch controls all operations at O’Hare and Midway. Why isn’t he hitting up all those airport vendors for contributions? Levar needs to have $200,000 on-hand by the end of 2009, and $300,000 by the end of 2010, as a large field is assembling to challenge him in 2011. Otherwise, Levar is in trouble.

* Cruise control in the 39th Ward: Alderman Marge Laurino (39th) raised a respectable $123,443, and had $40,282 on-hand. Her nephew, State Representative John D’Amico (D-15), who was unopposed in 2008, raised $138,218, and had $163,963 on-hand. Both are safe.

* What ill-will? Alderman Dick Mell (33rd) grandly promised Democratic committeemen that if son-in-law Rod Blagojevich was elected governor in 2002, there would be cascades of state jobs. Instead, there was a torrent of corruption. But the contrite Mell is still secure in his ward. His two committees raised $398,924, and he had $330,285 on-hand.

*No end of the Stone Age. In the West Rogers Park 50th Ward, Alderman Berny Stone (50th) barely won in 2007, and was ousted as Democratic committeeman by State Senator Ira Silverstein (D-8) in 2008. But Stone raised a significant $206,135, and had $17,468 on-hand, while Silverstein raised $351,672, and had $42,811. The alderman is not yet fossilized.

* Wild and wacky 41st Ward:  With hundreds of city workers, this far Northwest Side ward should be a Democratic bastion. Instead, it’s a Democratic wasteland, with a Republican alderman and state representative. The Democratic committeeman, Mary O’Connor raised $28,670, and had a puny $1,834 on-hand. The former committeeman, Ralph Capparelli, a state representative from 1971 to 2004, had $110,067 on-hand, and raised $248,240. But he’s no longer a factor in the ward, having lost to O’Connor in 2008.

Capparelli paid himself $103,103 from his campaign account on Feb. 17, 2009, and $425,808 on June 14, 2006.

Alderman Brian Doherty (41st) raised $91,026, and had $18,880 on-hand. His ally, State Representative Mike McAuliffe (R-20) raised $185,710 and had $5,545 on-hand. Those numbers aren’t intimidating. But as long as Democrats also raise cash in anemic amounts, the Republicans will stay in control.

Some final observations:

County Commissioner Pete Silvestri (R), the Elmwood Park mayor, won with only 56 percent in 2006. But he has $279,602 on-hand, which puts any potential 2010 foe in a big hole.

State Representative Skip Saviano (R-77), of Elmwood Park , is an ally of Silvestri, and they are allied with the McAuliffe-Doherty forces. Until recently, Saviano was chairman of the House Professional Regulation committee, which gave him vast fundraising capability. He raised $892,699, and had $374,421 on-hand. But Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan (D) recently bounced him from that post, so the good times are over.

County Commissioner Forrest Claypool (D), a fierce critic of Todd Stroger, is not going to run for county board president in 2010. But he telegraphed that decision by his fundraising: He raised $12,151, and had $2,716 on-hand.