I have some serious reservations about the Big Box law especially at a city level, but Daley was far from genius on this maneuver.
Daley just handed Jackson a stronger hand with SEIU and even if Jackson doesn’t run, SEIU looks to be putting together a slate of strong challengers to pro-Daley alderman. I don’t know if they’ll win and frankly, I don’t think it matters in the short term. What matters is that SEIU is creating a functioning alternative to a failing machine that has no new life and is paralyzed with fear to use the old tools of favors and patronage.
Daley will probably take the trades in terms of support, but they have been severely weakened over the years and SEIU is the single best organizer in Illinois. They are going to form an independent political organization tied to their ideals and not to contracts or jobs and that is a powerful force in politics given that voters are less tied to neighborhoods and wards that they once were. Daley might not lose because of it, but he just gave them an organizing issue and a rallying cry that even if some of the rest of the unions oppose, they cannot argue with the issue. If it’s a victory for Daley, it’s pyrhic for the remnants of his Machine.
Politically I couldn’t understand where he thought this would land them.
I’m not quite sure how this’ll affect the mayoral but the SEIU (and friends) may be able to pick off a few of the more recalcitrant aldermen.
I don’t know whether or not SEIU is or isn’t the strongest organizer… but they sure are the most consistent organizer.
And that consistency and drive has helped pushed the group to the fore. Other unions seem to have all but given up — maybe out of sheer calcification?
I don’t know yet how strong SEIU is at GOTV and other political organizing activities, but they are clearly becoming a force to be reckoned with. It’s pretty hard to go anywhere in this town without seeing the Purple Shirts.
But if Jackson runs, I can’t possibly see him losing. With the SEIU behind him AND his pop’s Rainbow/PUSH coalition, he’ll crush in the primary.
And the general clearly doesn’t matter.
The HDO is being ripped apart by Fitzgerald. Daley can’t survive on a dying organization like that much longer.