Chicago

By CHARLES B. CLEVELAND

Bilandic: How did he get the mayor's job?

MICHAEL BILANDIC is now the elected mayor of Chicago. But almost no one would have considered Bilandic a likely successor to Mayor Richard J. Daley before he died in office last December.

During Daley's 20 years in office, speculation concerning his successor had centered on several individuals — Bilandic was not one of them. Tom Keane was. He headed the Chicago City Council and ran it with an iron hand, but always carefully avoided any confrontation with Daley. He had two flaws: he was arrogant and he had a weakness for questionable deals. The second sent him to prison and eliminated him from contention.

Congressman Daniel Rostenkowski was another. He had become almost the traditional chairman of the Democratic party's slatemaking committee, a top figure in the ethnically strong Polish community and veteran of dozens of political wars. But Rostenkowski was moving toward the top of the Washington ladder and never was a serious contender.

Equally prominent in speculation over the years was George W. Dunne, president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, and the man regarded as the most powerful officeholder in Cook County next to Daley himself. There were other names: Ken Sain from the "new breed" of professional managers and County Clerk Stanley Kusper from the list of second-line politicians.

The banking-business community had no candidate, but its informal guardian was Robert Abboud, head of the First National Bank, a political neophyte but a savvy businessman. New York bankers, confident of Chicago while Daley was alive, sent word for the city to withhold any new bonds until a new mayor was picked; by inference, this was a veto power if needed.

The first step in replacing Daley came in the selection of an acting mayor by the City Council. Traditionally, the real power in the City Council has been chairman of the finance committee; with Keane in jail, that job was now in the hands of Michael A. Bilandic, a 54-year-old bachelor, attorney and alderman from Daley's own 11th ward in Bridgeport. Quiet and unassuming, he had stayed free of political scandal and had earned a reputation as a hard working, talented administrator.

There were other contenders. Chicago's black aldermen had a good candidate, Wilson Frost, president pro tem of the City Council. Then there was Aid. Ed Vrodlyak of the 10th ward who had quickly lined up eight other aldermen on grounds it was time a non-Irishman got party leadership (all party leaders for more than 40 years had been Irish).

Mystery man
Behind the scenes, however, was a "mystery man," Thomas R. Donovan. Donovan, 39, had gone to De La Salle Institute, the high school that graduated Daley and a host of politicians. He came to City Hall in 1969 and caught Mayor Daley's eye. Donovan was moved into the mayor's circle, first as an assistant, then as patronage chief. He proved hard working, personable and accommodating and knew what almost nobody else did: how many jobs there were and who had them. In politics, that's like having the combination to the secret safe. In the game of political poker that was about to be played, Donovan not only had his own cards to play, but he knew just about what everybody else had going for them, too. There are some who believe Donovan might have won the big job himself, but such a coup was unlikely.

Finally, Bilandic was the most obvious choice, especially for the first step — appointment as acting mayor. He was on the job, knowledgeable about current city matters, one of the Bridgeport group and acceptable to the business-banking community.

Vrodlyak with nine votes and Frost with eighteen, had between them a majority of the 50-man City Council-on paper. But, it only took Donovan and the Bridgeport group a lunch hour and part of an afternoon to destroy that threat. Frost was named City Council floor leader and, in return, their votes went to Bilandic for acting mayor. Vrodlyak settled for president pro tem.

Better transition
Some sources believe the transition could have been handled more diplomatically, and that Frost would have established the importance of the black community in Chicago by serving as acting mayor, then turning power back to the organization. But the Bridgeport group didn't want to take a chance; they insisted that Bilandic step in as a temporary mayor. As he was being sworn in as acting mayor, Bilandic solemnly announced he would only serve temporarily until an election could be held and that he would not be a candidate. His statement turned out to be political rhetoric.

Action was not confined to the City Council since Daley's death had also created a vacancy in his other position; Democratic county chairman. George Dunne concentrated on getting this job; there is no agreement on his motives. Some of his allies believe he really didn't want the job of mayor and the problems of the city that went with it. Others feel that he was waiting for a "draft" from the party or that he gambled on the job of county chairman automatically

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30 / July 1977 / Illinois Issues

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bringing him the job of mayor. But even getting the county chairman's job was a fight for Dunne. Edmund Kelly, a ward committeeman and big wheel in the Chicago Park District, made a bid for the job. Before the showdown, Kelly folded, perhaps because Daley's son endorsed Dunne. Some insiders feel he made a mistake and could have won. We'll never know.

In any event, Dunne became county chairman. Donovan and the Bridgeport group controlled the City Hall's 10,000 jobs and Bilandic gradually eased from "acting" mayor to announced candidate for the job on a permanent basis. Well- staged meetings at City Hall showcased Bilandic's support in the business and labor community; he took over the ceremonial duties that added a look of permanence to his job. Meanwhile Dunne, for whatever reasons, was relatively inactive. Also there was considerable sentiment among the pros that the jobs of mayor and county chairman should be separated. They didn't want one man with all the power again.

The Bridgeport crew then came up with their clincher. Aid. Vito Marzullo, a crusty West-side politician with seniority on the county committee and influence extending far beyond his ward boundaries, emerged from a City Hall meeting announcing his support for Bilandic as candidate. When Fred Roti, a spokesman for the Loop, identified with the old Syndicate, joined in, resistance to Bilandic was broken. Dunne's name was never seriously considered again for the primary.

However, Ald. Roman Pucinski entered the Democratic primary anyway and walked off with a third of the vote; state Sen. Harold Washington rallied part of the black vote and former State's Atty. Ed Hanrahan also nibbled away at the primary vote. But the Bridgeport group had gained their goal; they had a hammerlock on City Hall, just as they had had in the days of Kelly, Kennelly and Daley. In the process, they showed a lot of old pros how to play politics.

32 / July 1977 / Illinois Issues