Washington

Washington

By MARK GRUENBERG

Exceptions
to
the
rule —
the
Chicago
delegation

WITH THE filing deadline for Illinois' March 18 primary fast approaching, the Democratic party has just presented Chicago Mayor Jane M. Byrne with the political equivalent of "half a loaf" of bread. And, as in the old proverb, Byrne and her organization allies should give thanks that this portion "is better than none." They could easily have wound up with an empty breadbox.

Byrne's share of the loaf was an October decision by the Democratic Party's Compliance Review Commission (CRC). A little-noticed panel with a big job, the CRC insures that each state follows party guidelines in its selection of delegates to the 1980 Democratic National Convention or give convincing reasons for not complying. If a state — and its party organization — doesn't follow the guidelines and can't obtain an exemption, the penalty is severe: loss of voting rights at the 1980 national convention in New York. For a while, it looked like that penalty was about to be awarded to Byrne and her fellow Democrats.

According to CRC executive director Elaine Kamarck, Illinois was in clear violation of one key Democratic party rule and possibly another. The problem was that the Illinois system of electing Democratic delegates was

illegal, according to Kamarck. Delegates are elected by congressional districts on a winner-takes-all basis. It is also a system that the Chicago Democrats could use to successfully control the delegates slated and elected in the city's congressional districts. This in turn could almost guarantee control of the state delegation since almost half the delegates are elected from Chicago, more than half when you add the organization-controlled districts in Cook County, where George Dunne is the political boss.

But the system was not thrown out by the CRC.

The Democratic party rules call for proportional representation for all presidential candidates running in primaries. If the CRC had ruled the Illinois system unacceptable, Illinois would have had to switch to a caucus system for delegate selection. And, as many candidates proved in 1976 and in Florida in 1979, you can "pack" caucuses.

But Kamarck said the CRC let Illinois flout the rule, thus saving the delegation from challenge on that point. In order to comply with the CRC, several sections of the state election code needed to be changed by the General Assembly. Kamarck said state party officials are "required to show that they have complied, or made a good-faith effort to do so. They introduced the legislation, lobbied for it, but it was defeated by a combination of downstate and GOP votes."

There is some question as to how willing the CRC was to accept the Illinois party's explanation for not succeeding in amending the code, since the Democratic party has the majority in both chambers of the legislature. But the CRC did accept the explanation put forth by Illinois Democrats — meaning Cook County — since the party has only slim majorities in the Illinois General Assembly. But the same CRC has been holding other states to tougher standards. Here, perhaps, they just don't want to rile Jane Byrne.

Despite this apparent victory with the CRC, the Chicago organization cannot be entirely happy. After all, they're only walking away with half a loaf. Mayor Byrne's idol and mentor, the late Richard J. Daley, would — and did — walk away with the whole loaf. Daley had complete control of the delegation at one time.

It is easy to forget, but in the 1968 convention, Daley delivered a practically solid delegation for Vice President Hubert Humphrey — 112 out of 118 votes. Byrne won't have that type of clout in Gotham next year, no matter how hard she tries, thanks to the congressional district winner-take-all primary which the CRC allowed.

In 1968, most of the Illinois delegation, for better or worse, was slated by the Cook County Democratic Central Committee. That committee will still name slates for Chicago and suburban districts in Cook County, but not for 11 districts outside the county lines. It went practically unnoticed, but in 1976 when Daley was still alive, Jimmy Carter captured a majority of downstate delegates. And the same thing will happen next year: Byrne, Dunne, et al will not be able to control who is elected outside Cook County. Ironically, if Illinois had switched to the caucus system, the Cook County Democrats could have tried for control across the state by using such tactics as "packing" the meetings with what supporters they have downstate.

As if the Cook County organization didn't have enough problems, its strength in its Chicago stronghold is being threatened. Intraparty feuding on the South Side among Rep. Bennett Stewart (D., 1st Dist.), several rival ward committeemen, and a large independent bloc led by Ralph Metcalfe Jr., could bring 1 st District delegates to New York independent of the organization. It is also not inconceivable that independent Lakefront Liberals could be elected in the 9th District, or that New Trier Township committeeman Lynn Williams, who is very popular among North Shore Democrats, could lead an independent victory in the 10th District delegate primary.

Thus, a weakened Chicago delegation might be staggering into the convention only to face a second CRC rule: equal numbers of men and women. The CRC gave Illinois Democrats an exemption on that one, too, but that fight isn't over yet.

32/ December 1979/ Illinois Issues