The Chicago Tribune reports that convicted ex-alderman Issac “Ike” Carothers wants to represent the West Side on the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
The Tribune also reports that Earlean Collins, the longtime commissioner Carothers wants to replace, now plans to retire.
Collins and Ald. Deborah Graham (29th), a former state lawmaker who came up through Carothers’ old 29th Ward organization and succeeded him on the Chicago City Council, both told the Tribune they declined Carothers’ request for an endorsement.
But Ald. Emma Mitts (37th), a Carothers protege, is backing him.
“I think he has done his time, and it’s up to the voters to decide whether to give him a second chance,” Mitts told the Tribune.
Carothers got out of federal prison last year after pleading guilty to bribery and tax fraud. He resigned his post as 29th Ward alderman in early 2010 after admitted to backing a zoning change in exchange for $40,000 in work at his home.
Also running in the March 2014 primary are lawyers Blake Sercye and Richard Boykin, and West Side resident Brenda Smith, among others.
To read the rest of the Tribune’s story, click here.