In Cicero, political history reads like dime-store fiction, complete with secret alliances, tainted ballots and a lawsuit over bogus letters of withdrawal. And that’s just this year.
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In the latest chapter, a high-stakes campaign for a key Illinois House seat has become the battleground for Republican squabbling, with Cicero’s GOP Town President Betty Loren-Maltese sparring publicly with the leaders of her own party.
Loren-Maltese has defied House leader Lee Daniels by aggressively promoting Democratic hopeful John LaMantia in his bid for the 43rd District against Republican freshman William O’Connor.
Both candidates have struggled to rise above all that. But, as they discovered this week when a federal court order concerning the integrity of Cicero elections renewed the political rancor around them, the shadow of big names has come to define their race.
“It makes it the most interesting one in the state,” said Daniels spokesman Greg Durham. “You’ve got a colorful cast of characters. And this election could change the face of politics in that area.”
Indeed, the race is a key to the struggle for control of the state legislature. Winning the west suburban district from Republicans would give House Speaker Michael Madigan and the Democrats a much-wanted boost in preserving their slim House majority.
It also will be a bellwether for how the spread of Latino voters into traditionally Republican suburbs is reshaping Illinois’ political terrain. For decades an overwhelmingly white, Republican stronghold, Cicero’s population of 71,000 is now estimated to be more than half Hispanic. Both candidates are quick to point out that they speak Spanish and have courted minorities.
That is not all they share. Try as they might to draw distinctions, the two moderate candidates concede they have similar positions on most core issues: Both oppose school vouchers and a tax swap to redirect state funds for education, and both support limited abortions, the death penalty and a racial-profiling ban.
Asked what sets the candidates apart, O’Connor said simply: “The difference is Betty Loren-Maltese.”
The Cicero chief, known for her aggressive anti-gang efforts, has weathered a federal probe of corruption and mob influence in Cicero government. She is outspoken and has a formidable political organization to back her up.
But LaMantia prefers not to focus on just Loren-Maltese and points to the endorsement he has received from Berwyn Mayor Thomas Shaughnessy.
“That’s the biggest misperception in this race, what Betty Loren-Maltese’s support will do or will not do,” LaMantia said. “People in Chicago are always wanting to focus on what’s going on in Cicero. … I don’t think the average voter here is going to care.”
With no previous runs for public office, LaMantia has woven a delicate coalition of bipartisan support. In addition to the unlikely pairing of Madigan and Loren-Maltese, he has drawn the support (but not the money) of the conservative fundraising group Family PAC for his opposition to certain abortions.
A civil attorney and jazz performer who lives in La Grange Park, he has cast himself as a modest middle-class politician capable of bridging a diverse district that stretches west from Cicero to the wooded western edge of La Grange and includes parts of Brookfield, North Riverside, Riverside and Berwyn.
He has raised $78,000 in cash and in-kind contributions since July 1, compared with incumbent O’Connor’s $96,000 over the same period.
“As a young man raising a family, I think I appeal to the ordinary citizens of this district,” said LaMantia, 33. “I want them to vote for me as an individual, not as a party.”
LaMantia said O’Connor has failed to share state dollars and projects fairly throughout the district–a frequent refrain from Loren-Maltese, who backed O’Connor in 1998 but has since complained that Cicero is getting shortchanged.
David Donahue, a spokesman for Loren-Maltese, said her administration broke with O’Connor over gun control and abortion, as well as money.
O’Connor, 50, counters that Cicero has received $45 million over the past three fiscal years. Acknowledging that some communities have benefited from projects that did not include Cicero, he said he is “interested in giving fair funding to all of the district, not just Cicero.”
An attorney with appointed stints in Illinois government dating to 1979, he was elected in 1998 with Loren-Maltese’s backing.
Even so, O’Connor said, winning back her support would have meant making tall promises to be repaid down the road.
“Based upon my own experience, you have to pay a price,” he said. “And that’s what this race is about: It’s what price does he pay.”
43RD ILLINOIS HOUSE DISTRICT
William A. O’Connor
Republican incumbent
Age: 50
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Occupation: Attorney
Education: Colgate University, Illinois Institute of Technology and Kent School of Law.
Personal: Riverside resident. Married, three children.
John LaMantia
Democratic challenger
Age: 33
Occupation: Attorney
Education: Fordham University, John Marshall Law School.
Personal: La Grange Park resident. Married, three children.