Laura Washington talks about the County Board Race...

So basically she does a run down of all the candidates for the Presidency of the Cook County Board. She didn't seem to do what Rev. Jesse Jackson did this weekend to call for the end to the silence with regards to John Stroger's health. But she did discuss who might be good fits for the job of County Board President.

Of course Todd Stroger's (8th Ward Alderman) name has come up often. He wants the job but Washington isn't exactly falling into line that if white politicians can anoint their children, so can black politicians. This is what she said about Ald. Stroger...

There's 8th Ward Ald. Todd Stroger. His public flip-flops about his father's condition and intentions are laughable. Cook County government -- a $3 billion corporation -- requires a keen administrator. He's a nice young man, but Todd Stroger has never run anything.

Which is why I think he'll be eaten alive if they let him have it but if he did get the nod this comment from Washington sizes up that situation...

Cook County needs a leader and a manager -- not a placeholder or a puppet.

So how about those other contenders. What about CHA chief Terry Peterson? Well he's not interested. Though he and Ald. William Beavers (7th ward) are considered compromise choices according to Washington. Then there's Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown...

...the ambitious Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown. Besides, her independent black base gives the royal families of Stroger, Daley and Jackson the heebie-jeebies.

I like her already. But before this there was Cook County Commissioner Bobbie Steele. Almost in the same breath with Dorothy Brown. When Washington wrote this I honestly would have had absolutely no idea...

Cook County Commissioner Bobbie L. Steele is a 20-year board veteran and says she is up for the job. As a woman who has paid her dues, she's my sentimental favorite. She is up against her gender, and she knows it. Black male politicians are a sexist bunch, and they are not about to move over for any woman. I must say that even though he has no official sway in the decision, kudos should go to the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. for backing Steele.

Those ladies have an uphill battle but I would like someone who was outside of the "machine" as Dorothy Brown apparently is. But unfortunetly I'm not sure that Steele's or Brown's time is coming. Then a choice out of left field and I say this because the focus surely had to been on finding a black candidate for Cook County Board President...

The joker in the deck is Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan. There a tiny problem there. He happens to be white. He also happens to be very qualified. Houlihan is a policy wonk who actually has a plan to turn the county around.

Oh man I have to mention what she says about another potential candidate for the county board presidency. We've heard his name more than anyone else other than Todd Stroger. Rep. Danny Davis...

Rep. Danny K. Davis, aka The Voice of God, proclaims he is getting a raft of spontaneous "calls" for him to run. Davis is a veteran legislator and grass-roots advocate for the disadvantaged. No African-American official has worked harder to build political bridges between blacks and Latinos. Unfortunately, his operation has a reputation for disorganization, and I wonder about a congressman who would participate in a "coronation ceremony" for Sun Myung Moon. Davis did the crowning.

So she has some misgivings about that. It's interesting to see some intrigue around county government. And the characters seeking a very powerful and important seat. And just think this seems to be as a result of a man's failing health. And this man's health went down just before his primary election. Meaning that we see the drama unfolding at this very moment.

Cross-posted at Illinoize