Daley Appoints New Aldermen

By Kevin Robinson in News on Mar 16, 2010 2:00PM

Bringing the total number of sitting aldermen that Mayor Daley has appointed to the City Council to 19 (that's nearly 40 percent of the city's legislative body!), Da Mare announced his picks to replace 1st Ward Ald. Manny Flores and 29th Ward Ald. Ike Carothers late yesterday: Proco "Joe" Moreno in the 1st, and state Rep. Deborah Graham in the 29th. The appointments follow an on-line application process to replace the aldermen, one who left office to pursue a position at the state level, and another for prison, respectively. Daley said he interviewed 44 people for the position. "The interesting thing was to listen to people about their concerns" Daley told the Tribune. The mayor assured the local press that the new appointees won't be doing his bidding on the council, though. "If you get some things done, it is amazing. [You say] they do my bidding. They don’t do my bidding. I do my own bidding….It is not one way — the Daley way — or that's it. I’m sorry," the mayor told the Sun-Times.

Moreno was a favored pick by Flores, who had previously backed him when he ran for the 2nd District Illinois Senate seat that Miguel del Valle vacated when he took the City Clerk position prior to the last mayoral run. Graham beat her Democratic primary opponent in 2002 after a coin toss decided the tie-breaker. Her campaign was financed by $13,000 from Carothers's organization. With Moreno and Graham as Mayor Daley's 34th and 35th council appointments in the 21 years that he's been mayor of Chicago, maybe it's time to take another look at the 10 point ethics package that Jesse Jackson Jr pitched, back in 2006.