By Gregory L. Giroux
Congressional Quarterly

Electoral votes: 22

Delegates: 190

Chairman: Michael J. Madigan

Hotel: Burbank Airport Hilton (818) 843-6000

1996 Election:
Clinton – 54%
Dole – 37%
Perot – 8%

In 1960, the Democratic Party nominated John F. Kennedy for president at its convention in Los Angeles - and Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley went home and helped deliver him the election. A huge vote advantage in Chicago enabled Kennedy to win the "swing" state of Illinois by just 8,900 votes over Republican nominee Richard M. Nixon, a victory that put the Democrat over the top in the Electoral College.

Forty years later, some similarities endure. Democrats are again convening in Los Angeles to nominate their standard bearer. Illinois remains a key "battleground state." And the Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Al Gore, will be counting on a Chicago mayor named Daley.

But this time it is Richard M. Daley, the son of the late and legendary mayor. Elected in 1989 to the office Richard J. Daley held until his death in 1976, the younger Daley has become a political giant in his own right.

Re-elected overwhelmingly in 1991, 1995 and 1999, Daley welcomed the Democratic National Convention to Chicago in 1996. That gathering to renominate President Clinton sharply contrasted with the disastrous 1968 Chicago convention that exposed deep fissures in the Democratic Party and permanently tarnished the elder Daley's reputation.

Given that Chicago today is the nation's most populous city headed by a Democratic mayor, Daley has a critical role in Gore's campaign. Fully 20 percent of Illinois' presidential vote in 1996 came from Chicago, and a total of 40 percent came from Cook County (which envelops the city).

But Daley may not even be the most influential Gore backer in his own family. The mayor's younger brother, former Commerce Secretary William M. Daley, left his Cabinet post in June to become Gore's campaign chairman. He replaced former California Rep. Tony Coelho, who resigned for health reasons.

Gore hopes to extend the Democratic winning streak in Illinois established by Clinton, who carried the state - with Gore as his running mate - by 49 percent to 34 percent over President George Bush in 1992 and by 54 percent to 37 percent over former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole in 1996.

Gore easily won the Illinois Democratic primary on March 21 after the competitive phase of the nominating process was over. Yet Illinois can hardly be regarded as a lock for Gore: the Republican nominees won each of the six presidential contests previous to 1992.

As a testimony to Illinois' clout in the electoral vote sweepstakes, some Democrats this summer were floating the name of Illinois U.S. Sen. Richard J. Durbin as a potential vice presidential running mate for Gore.

In 1996, Durbin - then a House member from the Springfield area - headed the Illinois delegation to the national convention. Later that year, Durbin trounced Republican Al Salvi in the contest for the seat of retired Democratic Sen. Paul Simon.

Illinois' 10 Democratic U.S. House members are automatic delegates. Among them is Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr., son of the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, the longtime civil rights activist who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988.

Another leader of Illinois' African-American contingent is Rep. Bobby L. Rush, who was trounced in a 1999 mayoral primary challenge to Richard M. Daley and had to fend off a House primary challenge himself last March.

Of the Democratic House incumbents in the delegation, only nine-term Rep. Lane Evans faces a competitive race in the fall. Evans' Republican opponent, for the third consecutive election, is former television newscaster Mark Baker, whom he narrowly beat in 1996 and 1998.

On the other end of the competitive spectrum is six-term Rep. Jerry F. Costello, who did not even draw a Republican challenger this year.

Congressional wives Carolyn Rush, Sandra Jackson and Georgia Costello are delegates. Also attending is Jo Poshard, wife of former U.S. Rep. Glenn Poshard, the unsuccessful Democratic nominee in the 1998 race for governor won by Republican George Ryan.

At least two delegates are looking ahead to the Illinois governor's race in 2002. State Rep. Lou Lang has already formed an exploratory committee and two-term U.S. Rep. Rod R. Blagojevich recently established an Illinois-based political action committee. Blagojevich's father-in-law is Chicago Alderman Richard Mell, who is also a delegate.

The delegation also includes the top-ranking Democrats in the state legislature: House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, who also is the delegation chairman and state Democratic Party chairman; and Senate Minority Leader Emil Jones Jr. Prominent Cook County officials who are delegates include Board President John Stroger and Commissioner John Daley, another brother of the Chicago mayor.

The 190-member delegation also is dotted with the aldermen and ward committeemen who are staples of Chicago politics.

Several delegates have been major political players but have been out of the political spotlight for a while.

David Wilhelm was a key campaign adviser to candidate Bill Clinton in 1992 and served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1993 to 1994. Former Rep. Cardiss Collins retired after the 1996 election as the most senior African-American woman in the U.S. House. Neil Hartigan served as Illinois attorney general and narrowly lost the 1990 gubernatorial race to Republican Jim Edgar.

With no race for governor or senator on the ballot, Illinois Democrats can devote most - but not all - of their attention to the presidential contest.

A top priority for Illinois Democrats is retaining control of the state House, because redistricting will ensue after the November elections. Democrats control the state House by just 62-56; Republicans control the state Senate and the governorship.

ILLINOIS NOTABLES: U.S. Sen. Richard J. Durbin; Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley; U.S. Reps. Rod R. Blagojevich, Lane Evans, Jesse L. Jackson Jr. and Bobby L. Rush; state House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, who is delegation chairman and also is Illinois Democratic Party chairman; state Senate Minority Leader Emil Jones Jr.; Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White; state Comptroller Dan Hynes; Cook County Board President John Stroger; former Democratic National Committee Chairman David Wilhelm.