Don Gordon v. Joe Moore vote fraud suit proceeds, moves to discovery phase

In a ruling given late this morning, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Marsha D. Hayes refused the request by Alderman Joe Moore's attorneys to dismiss the Don Gordon's lawsuit against the 49th Ward incumbent in which Gordon alleges vote fraud took place on a level significant level that warrants overturning the results of April's run-off election.

The borders of the 49th Ward roughly match that of Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood.

Regular Marathon Pundit readers know that Moore has sought to make a national name for himself by trumpeting such causes as the Iraq War, Wal-Mart expansion and the banning of the goose liver delicacy foie gras in Chicago. On that last one, according to an e-mail sent to me by Jake of the Freedom Folks--he's a chef--about a dozen restaurants among the thousands of eateries in the nation's third largest city served foie gras.

Meanwhile, as Tom Mannis reports on Rogers Park Bench, Moore is not a good steward of his ward--basic needs of his constituents go unfulfilled. The Broken Heart of Rogers Park has corroborating evidence.

The case goes on to the discovery phase.

Moore is a former City of Chicago attorney, and can't too feel comfortable being on the other side of the legal microscope. When you're used to being in power, it's painful being in a situation where you can be powerless.

A Chicago election has never been overturned by the courts. But stranger things have happened. After all, two years ago, a Chicago baseball team, the White Sox, won the World Series.

Voter49 has a lot more.

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Wal-Mart seeks to water Chicago's food deserts

On the left is a former Dominick's supermarket on Chicago's North Side. The Safeway owned chained closed over a dozen stores last year, leading to the creation of Chicago "food deserts"--areas not served by a supermarket.

Ironically the food-desertification of Chicago became acute shortly after the passing of the since vetoed big-box "living wage" ordinance by the Chicago City Council.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Wal-Mart is prepared to move "in six to 12 months, maybe sooner" to build as many as five South Side supercenters, but the world's largest retailer is scouting sites in neighboring wards in case local aldermen resist, a top official said Tuesday.

South Side Chicago Alderman Beale Anthony Beale adds more:

We have a food desert in our community. We're in desperate need of a quality grocery store. If Wal-Mart would commit to the site on 111th, that would give me two quality grocery stores and over 1,000 jobs.

Alderman Joe Moore, author of the "living wage" ordinance must be seething. But he has problems of his own. On Friday, Moore will learn the initial ruling from the judge presiding over challenger's Don Gordon's lawsuit over the results of April's 49th Ward aldermanic election--Moore was declared the winner. Gordon is alleging that vote fraud occurred and is asking that the results be overturned.

Related Marathon Pundit posts:

My book report: The Wal-Mart Revolution: How Big Box Stores Benefit Consumers, Workers, and the Economy

Breaking: Lawsuit alleges vote fraud in last week's 49th Ward election in Chicago

Big-box shy Chicago facing "food desert"

Chicago's "food deserts" well known to Obama

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Breaking: Lawsuit alleges vote fraud in last week's 49th Ward election

A huge, huge hat tip to Tom Mannis of Rogers Park Bench, one of those bloggers who are on their way to making Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhodd the capital of blogger-dom.

From a press release posted at RPB:

49th Ward Vote Fraud Release - April 24, 2007

For Immediate Release

Contact: Michael Harrington 773-262-9473

Mike Pilarz 312-943-9100

ROGERS PARK RESIDENTS CHARGE FLAGRANT
VOTE FRAUD IN 49TH WARD ALDERMANIC ELECTION

Voting Rights Hijacked In Aldermanic Election: Votes Cast for the Elderly,
Voters Registered At Abandoned Buildings, And Repeat Voters

CHICAGO, April 24, 2007 – “Vote fraud has taken away the voice of our community and it hurts us all,” a group of 49th Ward residents said today as they announced a lawsuit to contest the results of last week’s aldermanic election.

“As citizens we have a right to fair and clean elections. The violations that happened last week profoundly impact every one of us. We are outraged by the dirty tricks and illegal campaign tactics that occurred in many polling places in our ward,” said community activist Eva McCann. McCann is a plaintiff in the lawsuit along with community residents Blane Roberts, Eileen Foxman, and 49th Ward Aldermanic Candidate Don Gordon.

A lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court by the group on Monday cited numerous examples of vote fraud in the Tuesday, April 17, runoff election. They include elderly nursing home residents who were illegally assisted in voting, voters whose home addresses turned out to be vacant buildings, and voters who were issued two ballots instead of one. The group announced their lawsuit at 7724 N. Ashland Ave., an abandoned apartment building where a person identified as Delores Young claimed to be registered and was allowed to cast a ballot on April 17.

“We have confirmed multiple cases of votes cast by people whose addresses turned out to be vacant buildings and by people from outside the ward. We have an obligation to uphold the voting rights of the citizens of Chicago whose honest ballots were potentially negated by fraud,” said McCann. She noted that voters’ rights to a fair election were also “hijacked” when polling place election judges in numerous precincts denied requests to verify questionable voters and “systematically ignored” election laws.

Gordon, a 30-year community resident, said, “The mood in our ward has changed from concern over the outcome of the election to a more fundamental concern about getting a fair election in the first place. As a candidate, I didn’t sign up to lead a battle against violations of basic voting rights. But as a voter I will stand up for this.” He added: “Although an investigation will determine more facts about this election, we already know there is no doubt that its integrity is in question. I want to make sure that every voice is heard.”

According to the Chicago Board of Elections, Moore received 4,019 votes to Gordon’s 3,772, a 247-vote difference.

Co-plaintiff Roberts stated: “We have heard outrageous claims that our call to investigate vote fraud is racially motivated. That is simply not the case. Instead, the election has made us more aware than ever before of how race and class have been used to divide our community and keep us from focusing on real community issues.”

The plaintiffs called on Alderman Moore, government officials, and Chicago’s civil rights leaders to support the lawsuit and join in the call for an investigation.

“We expect people in public office to take a stand and help guarantee fair and clean elections. This is of far greater importance than a simple aldermanic election, and we call on everyone involved to join us in the investigation so that we can preserve basic voting rights for the future of all of Chicago,” Roberts said.

“We would not be here were this a simple matter of election error,” said McCann. “We have considerable evidence that points to a pattern of conspiracy, and more evidence will be presented as we move forward with this investigation.”

The residents, represented by Attorney Michael Lavelle, a former chairman of the Chicago Board of Elections Commissioners, are contesting the 49th Ward election results and seek an investigation into allegations of vote fraud violations and conspiracy to commit vote fraud.

SUMMARY OF 49th WARD ELECTION LAWSUIT CHARGES

1. Elderly nursing home residents who were “assisted” in voting without formally agreeing to be assisted as required by law (in Lake Shore and Sherwin Manor nursing homes)
2. Polling place judges who refused to obey Chicago Board of Elections guidelines requiring that questionable voters be given provisional ballots (in Precincts #11, 34, and more)
3. Votes cast by people registered to vote at vacant buildings and vacant lots
4. Polling place electioneering (at Arbour Health Care Center, 1512 W. Fargo Ave.)
5. Precincts where more votes were cast than there were voter applications (in Precinct #11 and others)
6. Precincts where voters were given two paper ballots instead of one (in Precinct #5)
7. Voters who cast ballots during the Early Voting period and again on the April 17 Election Day.

For additional information contact Citizens to Elect Don Gordon at 773-262-9473.

# # #

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Wal-Mart, Chicago, might compromise on "living wages"

Now that Chicago's municipal elections are over, it appears to be time for Wal-Mart and the City to revisit the big-box "living wage" debate.

Last year, in a bill sponsored by Alderman Joe Moore, the Chicago City Council passed a "living wage" ordinance that would've effected only "big box" stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Home Depot. Mayor Richard M. Daley vetoed that bill, and the Council failed to in its attempt to override.

From Crain's Chicago Business, free registration may be required:

Despite post-election chest thumping, the first signs of a potential compromise are emerging in the political war between Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and union-led advocates of a big-box minimum wage bill.

Sources on both sides say they're willing to sit down and talk at length, and they raise the possibility of a deal in which Wal-Mart would get zoning approval needed for more Chicago stores in exchange for agreeing to support a wider minimum wage bill that applies to more than the super-sized retail outlets known as big boxes.

Wal-Mart recently backed a similar law in Maryland, and while such a proposal would stir intense opposition from some partisans on either side of the fray, it might also provide a starting point for substantive discussions, sources say.

But sometimes, as with Palestinian extremists, people prefer to fight. When responding to the possibility of adding other retailers to the "living wage" battle, Madeline Talbott of ACORN said:

I don't know if you want every Walgreens and CVS on your case," Ms. Talbott says. "Wal-Mart is a great political enemy to have.

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A moronic statement from Ald. Joe Moore

Back to Chicago's North Side: It appears that Ald. Joe Moore, barring a recount showing otherwise, has won reelection in the 49th Ward by 227 votes out of almost 8,000 cast.

Yesterday afternoon I watched WGN-TV's midday news, and Joe Moore made this comment about Tuesday's' election:

Whenever you fight for the common guy, people are going to fight back. My opponent was very well funded by some very powerful special interests, Republican interests....

Lies. Gordon did receive multiple contributions from the Illinois Restaurant Association, as well as the group Chicago Chefs for Choice. The last one must've had something to do with Moore's anti-foie gras legislation.

The former group is a big player in state politics, but seems to split its political spending money pretty evenly between Democrats and Republicans. Chicago Chefs for Choice? I'll see what I can find out, as I do know two conservative Chicago chefs.

Moore's campaign fund is dominated by contributions from the Service Employees International Union. And earlier this month, Moore received $10,000 from the Chicago Federation of Labor, and the same amount from AFSCME Council 31. That's big money for an aldermanic race

It's Moore's campaign that was dominated by special interests, but necessarily not Republican ones.

I haven't the time to add up Moore's and Gordon's contributions, but a quick look at the reports available at the Illinois State Board of Elections site clearly shows to the casual visitor that Moore easily raised more money than his challenger.

Joe Moore, liar.

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