Will Guzzardi in the 39th House District in Chicago.
The Chicago Democratic Machine has been famous for promoting the theory of, “Don’t make no waves. Don’t back no losers.”
What is surprising is how often those who I would expect to be principled and savvy fall for this.
I’ve posted before about how frustrating it is when IPACE, the political arm of the IEA, endorses candidates out of a sense of pragmatism. And how often it comes back to bite us in the butt – ends up being not very pragmatic at all.
Sometimes it is hard to live in this state and realize that you can be principled AND pragmatic.
We have fought this battle up in Park Ridge, where for decades the IPACE endorsement has gone to Rosemary Mulligan. Then Mulligan ends up being a not very reliable friend of teachers when she votes in Springfield.
The IPACE defense is, don’t make no waves and don’t back no losers.
“You can’t have influence if the candidate isn’t elected,” they tell me. And then we go down to see our representative in Springfield and they’ve joined Madigan’s crew, and they don’t answer the phone when you call, and they vote the wrong way.
So much for influence.
Why not back those who are reliably pro-labor and pro-teacher in the first place?
We have the good guys, like Rudy Lozano, who labor is falling over each other to endorse. Who only lost last time by a few votes.
We have Will Guzzardi in the 39th State Representative District where I live.
He’s running against the incumbent, Toni Berrios, daughter of Machine boss Joe Berrios.
Where should labor stand when it comes to the choice between Berrios and Guzzardi?
I’ve challenged Will on a number of issues of concern to labor, and to teachers specifically. I’ve talked to him about Senate Bill 7, which took away the right to tenure and seniority. I’ve talked to him about teacher pensions and the value of a promise made to the retired teachers of Chicago and of Illinois.
There’s no question where he stands. He stands with teachers.
And the Machine’s Toni Berrios?
Who can expect someone to be an ally of labor and teachers in Springfield when they are part of the the union busting Machine in Chicago?
UPDATE:
Found this on Kate Schmidt’s Chicago Reader Blog:
Fred Klonsky 
I walked door to door for Mulligan in ’92 with IEA Region 36. I never once understood it, but at the time, I trusted the leadership’s judgement. Those days are long gone.
By the way, Will Guzzardi was at the Crane phase-out hearing at Malcom X. I did not see Toni Berrios, but then again, I was only scanning the room with two cameras and a microphone. Her education platform is filled with fluff and devoid of anything remotely controversial, which I’ve come to interpret as “close down neighborhood schools in the city as quickly as possible.”
I find it appalling that this is considered responsible journalism, but then again anyone with a keyboard can blog whatever they want to these days without actually checking their facts. The author never talks about the time he talked with Toni Berrios because he hasn’t, even though he took the time to talk with Guzzardi. Additionally Joe Berrios doesn’t lobby with any of those clients listed in the chart since winning the position of Cook County Assessor. Toni has always supported labor unions and as a result has been endorsed by a number of them this election season and past. Finally to Tim Furman, neither Crane nor Dyett High school are in the 39th district and Toni has gone on record saying she does not support the closing of anymore schools.
I’m not a journalist. I’m someone who has a keyboard, attached to a computer, who blogs. Toni Berrios would not be state rep from this district if it were not for her father, a powerful leader of the Democratic Machine. Reason enough for a union teacher like me to vote against her.