A Tragic Power Play

The Chicago Sun-Times is to be highly commended for the newsarticles (on the city remap suit) that disclose pinstripe patronageand racism, under the guise of reapportionment litigation.

When the late, beloved Harold Washington was elected mayor in1983, Chicagoans quickly learned that the power of city governmentwas not vested in the office of the mayor, but rather in the CityCouncil. During the first two or so years of Mayor Washington'sadministration, the "Vrdolyak 29" wreaked havoc on his efforts tooperate city government - for a change - fairly and impartially.

In 1986, the Chicago ward reapportionment, legally requiredevery 10 years based upon the U.S. census, was litigated in U.S.District Court here, and Washington wrested control and power fromthe Vrdolyak 29. Washington and his supporters were represented bythe Jenner & Block law firm.The 1990 census, which admittedly undercounted blacks by atleast 5 percent, places Chicago's black population at 1.1 million,white population at 1 million and Hispanic population at about450,000. Mayor Daley joined in litigation to increase the officialcensus count in an attempt to acquire additional federal funds forthe city. Conversely, his 1991 ward reapportionment map, engineeredby his Democratic Party political puppets, provides for 25 whitewards and 19 black wards. This, of course, is designed to retain thepolitical and economic power within the 25 majority-white wards.The two consolidated Chicago ward reapportionment lawsuits werebrought in 1992 by a group of aggrieved black citizens and blackaldermen to challenge Daley's map. Ironically, Jenner & Block nowrepresents white aldermen in their attempt to retain their power inthe City Council. Their defense of the map on the grounds that itwas approved by a referendum is insulting and ludicrous. It isfundamental that racism cannot be constitutionally approved because amajority of voters approve it.Tragically, the lawsuit is well-serving pinstripe patronage.The issues in this litigation are not complicated or complex. Thecity's legal department is competent to handle the case. The CityCouncil Finance Committee's payment of more than $5 million of allthe taxpayers' funds - black, white and Hispanic - to the attorneysrepresenting the litigants is deplorable, despicable and outrageous.Daley attempts to defend this ward reapportionment map and thesquandering of the taxpayers' funds for attorneys' fees on theasinine ground that "I did not sue" and "I wish they never hadsued." He has made no attempt to defend the disparity of 25 whitewards and only 19 black wards. He cannot defend it. Nor has he madeany attempt to justify the $5 million attorney's fees paid to privatecounsel. He cannot justify it.And then, for the U.S. District Court judge to enter aflagrantly unconstitutional gag order in the case - a case of publicconcern and interest, a case involving the very foundation of thepolitical process, a case that does not involve private citizens anda case that is being tried by the court and not by a jury - isoutrageous. The media, the public and the litigants ought to betalking about the case and the denial of equality that the litigationis designed to overcome.Hopefully, the gag order is not designed to conceal theinappropriate positions that defense lawyers may urge or anyinappropriate ruling the judge may make. Hopefully, the judge willnot be influenced in his rulings by public opinion, or criticisms bypoliticians, as Judge Harold Baer Jr. recently was in New York whenhe reversed his ruling suppressing evidence - ostensibly based uponsubsequently presented evidence and not because of the criticism ofhis suppression ruling by President Clinton, House Speaker NewtGingrich, Sen. Bob Dole and New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.Although Baer has lifetime tenure, as does the judge in thisreapportionment case, one cannot help but wonder what truly motivatedhis reversal - just as one cannot help but wonder what trulymotivated the gag order.I trust that the demand for First Amendment guarantees offreedom of the press will not deter the Chicago Sun-Times fromfurther revelations about this case, in spite of the court's gagorder.R. Eugene Pincham is a retired judge of the Appellate Court ofIllinois.