Cook County Clerk Stanley Kusper thought this would be the year George Dunne would finally step aside as county board president, which would allow Democratic Party leaders to reward Kusper with the job he has long coveted.
Two other Democrats seeking the clerk`s post, county board member Jeanne Quinn and Southwest Side businessman Patrick Finley, say Kusper vowed he would run for Dunne`s job even if the silver-haired patriarch of the board sought another term.
But Kusper backed off the challenge when Dunne decided to run again, and the county clerk now has a crowded field in seeking re-election to his fourth full term.
Quinn, 40, the first major primary challenger to run against Kusper since he was appointed to the post in 1973, paints him as an opportunist who has used the influence of his office to ring up the cash register at his Chicago law firm, Kusper & Raucci.
She says the firm has done legal work for state agencies and local public bodies such as community colleges. While Kusper, as county clerk, has served as the czar of suburban elections, his law partner, Andrew Raucci, has worked as a private attorney on election cases in other jurisdictions.
Kusper, 50, has ”the most damning dossier I`ve ever seen in a public office,” Quinn said. ”He has used his position as chief of elections to peddle clout. He has used the office to enrich himself.”
But Quinn hasn`t been able to sting Kusper with specific examples of allegations of illegal or improper legal fees. And Kusper, who denies any impropriety, has successfully faced more serious charges in the past.
The one-time protege of Ald. Vito Marzullo (25th) has often been a target of investigation. While Kusper was chairman of the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, a 1972 Tribune investigation found thousands of fraudulent ballots and election judge applications that were ignored by the board. Kusper said the board was unaware of the fraud, although the investigation led to 79 indictments. He was not charged.
Kusper was appointed county clerk in 1973 after Clerk Edward J. Barrett was convicted of bribery, tax evasion and mail fraud.
In 1974, Kusper was investigated by federal and county grand juries in connection with allegations that he received legal retainers from a firm that sold election equipment to the Chicago election board while Kusper was chairman. A federal grand jury in 1975 looked into allegations that eight printing firms that worked for the election board had ties to Kusper. Kusper was not charged.
Kusper calls those investigations ”ancient history.” Yet he has come under criticism in more recent years, sometimes by his own party.
In 1981, Kusper`s director of elections, Bartley Burns, was sentenced to three months in prison for delivering bribes in the Cook County Board of (tax) Appeals scandal. It was revealed later that Burns represented a firm that sold $70,000 worth of voting supplies to Kusper`s office. Burns also remained on the county payroll while his conviction was appealed.
Kusper was criticized by Dunne in 1983 and 1984 for not seeking competitive bids for election materials. Kusper said the no-bid contracts were needed for emergency work, but invoices showed that some of the work had been completed and delivered before Kusper asked for approval of the bids.
Quinn has seized on the no-bid contracts as an issue in a campaign in which she is trying to draw a new-breed vs. old-breed distinction between herself and Kusper.
Yet Kusper has drawn kudos in recent years for modernizing the clerk`s office, particularly in the tabulation of election returns.
He says he has reduced the number of employees while improving efficiency and has earned money for the county by investing tax receipts in interest-bearing accounts.
Quinn ”is trying to move the debate off of the efficient way the office is run,” Kusper said. ”She never really talks about the office. We take that as tacit approval of how we run it.”
Compared with Kusper`s three-decade career in county politics, Quinn is a newcomer. A former teacher and suburban newspaper editor, she ran unsuccessfully in 1978 as a Democratic against U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde (R., Ill.).
Quinn returned in 1982 to stun county Republicans when she became the first Democrat in 48 years to win a suburban seat on the Cook County Board. She has forged a largely independent record on the board, although she sided with allies of Ald. Edward R. Vrdolyak (10th) in a bitter effort to strip Dunne of some of his power.
Now she is counting on her suburban base and support from black and independent wards to pull off another upset. Her chances could key on whether she wins an endorsement from Mayor Harold Washington, who so far has been silent on the race.
While Kusper and Quinn have traded darts, they have largely ignored Bridgeport-born Finley.
Finley, 28, a trader on the Chicago Board Options Exchange, could outspend both of them. He revels in the image of a scrappy kid who won`t back down from a fistfight on the trading floor while he makes his next million.
”I`m going to campaign as a regular guy,” Finley said. ”I`m going to stay away from issues as much as possible.”
He is apparently a ”regular guy” who is worth several million dollars. Finley has gained recognition on the Southwest Side for donating thousands of dollars a year to community and church groups. He plans to pour at least $125,000 into a radio and billboard campaign, most of it from his private wealth.
Finley has both Kusper and Quinn a bit nervous. If he can draw votes from the Southwest Side, he could hurt Kusper in regular organization wards where the incumbent would be expected to run well. If he draws votes based on his Irish name, he could minimize any ethnic advantage Quinn`s name has.
But Finley`s only visible political support comes from 12th Ward Democratic Committeeman Robert Molaro, and Kusper`s future is still considered to rest on whether Quinn makes a serious run at him.
