July 4, 2012
A SAGA OF OLD, BOLD AND SEMI-BOLD POLITICIANS

ANALYSIS & OPINION BY RUSS STEWART

A queue is assembling outside the Dirksen Federal Building, the scene of incessant news clips of indicted politicians arriving for trial and the repository of the offices of the U.S. attorney.

After 11 years of prosecutorial excellence in the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is riding off into the proverbial sunset, having dispatched two ex-governors and a myriad of mobsters and corrupt politicians to the slammer. He will soon associate with a high-powered criminal defense firm, earn $4 million to $5 million annually, and become Chicago's preeminent federal defense attorney. He will use his skills and his prestige to keep crooked politicians out of the slammer, and his name will make him a "rainmaker" -- a source of sizable income for his firm.

Fitzgerald forswears any political ambitions, although it is indisputable that he could be resoundingly elected Illinois' governor as a Republican in 2014. In fact, of the 22 U.S. attorneys since 1920, three (Dwight Green, Otto Kerner and Jim Thompson) were elected governor, one (Jim Burns) failed to get nominated for governor, one (Ed Hanrahan) was elected Cook County state's attorney, and another (Fred Foreman) was elected Lake County state's attorney. The job is a steppingstone to political grandeur or a lucrative private law practice.

By tradition, the selection of a new U.S. attorney is made by the senior senator of the party that occupies the White House or, if both senators are of the opposition party, by the senior congressman of the president's party. The choice must be approved by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and it is for a 4-year term.

However, again by tradition, federal prosecutors are expected to submit their resignations when the party in power loses a presidential election.

Democrat Dick Durbin, Illinois' senior senator, has the pick now, just like Republican Senator Peter Fitzgerald made the pick of Patrick Fitzgerald (no relation) in 2001 during the early days of the Bush Administration. Because of his blockbuster record, Fitzgerald was not replaced by the Obama Administration. Because the Democrats control the White House and the Senate, Durbin's choice will surely be accepted by the Justice Department and get out of committee, but if the nominee is too partisan or too controversial, and if Mitt Romney looks like a winner, Senate Republicans will filibuster and delay any appointment until 2013.

To forestall that eventuality, Durbin says that he is going to "consult" with his colleague, Republican Senator Mark Kirk, and that a committee will submit recommendations. Until that occurs, Fitzgerald's chief deputy, Gary Shapiro, will serve as the acting U.S. attorney.

In the past, Democrats anointed well connected Democratic lawyers such as Burns, Tom Foran or Tom Sullivan, expecting that they would indict at least a few Republicans, offsetting Democratic misconduct. They never attempted to put a political hack or a mediocre insider into the job.

Of course, virtually every office in Chicago and Cook County is occupied by a Democrat, so nearly every alleged wrongdoer is a Democrat. Fitzgerald struck the mother lode when the "Operation Safe Road" investigation, which was begun under Democrat Scott Lasser in 1997, eventually ensnared Republican George Ryan on 18 counts of corruption charges. He also convicted Republican Cicero Town President Betty Loren-Maltese of racketeering, but his greatest score was nabbing Rod Blagojevich and his underlings for conspiracy and, at a second trial, convicting the former governor of 18 counts of corruption. He also convicted the Chicago city clerk, the Niles mayor, two aldermen, the former streets and sanitation commissioner and water department commissioner, and the Hired Truck Program bag man, among others.

So who will succeed Fitzgerald?

Not Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez. The botched investigation of the 2004 homicide of David Koschman, who was punched in the face by R.J. Vanecko, a nephew of then-Mayor Rich Daley, has eviscerated her credibility. Dan Webb, a former U.S. attorney, was appointed by a county judge to be a special prosecutor and was mandated to investigate the Chicago Police Department and the State's Attorney's Office to determine whether either "acted intentionally to suppress and conceal evidence, furnish false evidence, and generally impede the investigation into Mr. Koschman's death."

Elected in a 2008 primary upset, Alvarez, a Democrat, was viewed to be on a trajectory to a federal judgeship or to succeed Fitzgerald. No longer. She is politically toxic, she will never be nominated by Durbin, and she probably is in her last term as state's attorney.

Not Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, another Democrat whose ambition to be mayor or governor know no bounds. Dart has been the sheriff since 2006, when incumbent Democrat Mike Sheahan, in typical Chicago fashion, decided not to file for re-election and his Southwest Side 19th Ward cohorts magically had signed petitions for Dart, a fellow 19th Warder.

Dart has been a competent sheriff. He has reformed the eviction process. There have been no jail riots. He was poised to run for mayor in 2010, after Daley announced his retirement, but then he succumbed to pressure and backed Emanuel.

There is no way that Emanuel, boasting considerable clout with the president, will allow Dart, a future rival, to be put in a position where he can investigate, embarrass or undermine the Emanuel Administration. Dart will have to wait until 2016 to attempt to replace Alvarez.

Not state Attorney General Lisa Madigan, although becoming the U.S. attorney would solve her career quandaries and be the perfect steppingstone to the Illinois Supreme Court or U.S. attorney general. Madigan has two problems. First, she is the daughter of Democratic Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan. That's a huge conflict of interest. How could she, as U.S. attorney, be expected to investigate and indict wayward Illinois House members? Second, if Obama is re-elected, her path to the governorship in 2014 will be difficult.

So don't be surprised if Madigan takes a top Department of Justice post in a second Obama term and gets a federal judgeship before 2016.

The least unpalatable choice for U.S. attorney seems to be Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Mike Cabonargi, a former Securities and Exchange Commission attorney. Cabonargi has no ties to the Democratic Organization or to any politician. He has been active and vigorous since being appointed to the board in 2011 to replace Joe Berrios, who was elected assessor. He is running for election in 2012. Cabonargi would not take the post unless he was assured of 4 years' tenure -- which means he would not be ousted if Romney wins.

Here's a retrospective on several past U.S. attorneys:

Dwight Green (1931 to 1935): Green, a Republican, was an IRS attorney and a tax fraud specialist, and he became part of U.S. Attorney George Johnson's Prohibition Era team prosecuting hoodlums and bootleggers. Green helped convict Al Capone, and when Johnson resigned in 1931, he was named his successor. The Democrats refused to confirm him, but he kept his job until 1935. He ran for Chicago mayor in 1939, getting 43 percent of the vote, and he was elected governor in 1940 by 256,945 votes. He was re-elected in 1944 by 72,271 votes, and he was defeated by Democrat Adlai Stevenson in 1948 by 572,067 votes.

Otto Kerner (1947 to 1954): As the son of an attorney general and U.S. Court of Appeals judge, and as the son-in-law of an assassinated Mayor Anton Cermak, Kerner's horizons were limitless. Although he was undistinguished as federal prosecutor, he was elected chief county judge in 1954, and he was the Democratic Machine's compliant choice for governor in 1960, beating incumbent Bill Stratton by 524,202 votes. He took his orders from Richard J. Daley, and he vacillated on a state income tax. Nevertheless, he was re-elected in 1964 by 179,299 votes. Kerner was appointed to the federal bench in 1967 after authoring the "Kerner Report" on racial rioting; he was convicted of taking bribes as governor and imprisoned in 1973.

Jim Thompson (1971 to 1975): A relentless prosecutor and an adroit politician, Thompson always had his eye on the prize -- either mayor or governor. Among his convictions as U.S. attorney were Kerner, the county clerk, seven aldermen and Daley's press secretary. Enjoying monstrous name recognition, a giant-killer reputation and unquestioned probity, Thompson was elected governor in 1976 by a record 1,390,137 votes, and he was re-elected in 1978 by 596,550 votes. By 1982 his popularity dimmed, and he beat Democrat Adlai Stevenson III by 5,074 votes, and he won his last term in 1986 by 399,223 votes in an election that featured followers of Lyndon LaRouche on the Democratic slate. He is the longest serving state governor -- 14 years.

Ed Hanrahan (1964 to 1968): Hanrahan's goal was to succeed or defeat Daley as mayor. He had no memorable successes as a federal prosecutor, and he was the slated Democratic Machine candidate for state attorney in 1968. His game plan was to win re-election in 1972 and run for mayor in 1975 or 1979, but his office authorized a 1969 police raid in which two members of the Black Panther Party were killed. The reaction of blacks and liberals was swift and furious. Hanrahan suddenly became a racially polarizing figure. He was defeated for re-election in 1972 by Republican Bernard Carey and for Congress in 1974. He was finished.

Both Fred Foreman (1990 to 1993) and Jim Burns (1993 to 1997) were competent prosecutors with solid conviction records, but neither got to the statewide stage. Foreman, a Republican, is now a chief judge, while Burns, a Democrat, is the Secretary of State's Office inspector general.