Mr. O'Connor is the Alderman of the 40th ward. There is tons of information available on him and his record.
Conclusion
This candidate is a machine politician who is too hubrisitic to put forth any effort for this campaign. LESS effort than Cary Capparelli if that can be believed. He shows no special insight or knowledge that makes him especially better qualified than any of the other candidates in the race. In addition, there are major concerns about a conflict of interest of his position as alderman and his wife as a real estate agent. And he has taken only cursory action to quell the suspicions.
Analysis
Let's begin with the framework. Issues. Alderman O'Connor does not have a campaign website but he does have an aldermanic website. I can't really get a sense of where he is on any issues because he doesn't state his views with one exception. He thinks the terror alert system should have only four catergories and the worst should be "Holy Shit!" At least Cary Capparelli has some views.
Background and Competence, alderman O'Connor is a 7 time alderman, obviously has a lot of clout and a lot of pull with the city and seemingly has served his ward well. He seems competent, involved, and has a clear track record of giving back, (even the salary for giving back pays $98,000 a year). Although of the ~$1.5MM given to his ward by MENU, $750,000 is allocated to "lighting improvement." I have very specific views on how government money should be spent. It should improve TFP, total factor productivity. Unless the vast majortiy of the lighting improvement was to change over to more energy efficient lights, it was just a waste, whne the city is in budgetary trouble. If I were him, I would earmark the funds for road improvements (using the expensive material that only needs to be replaced 1/4th of the time), offer energy assistance via insulated window vouchers or solar panel subsidies, or a few one-time scholarships. Maybe there are some serious "lighting" issues in the 40th ward but I'd be interested in knowing whose hands (what companies) that $750,000 ends up in.
Not having a campaign website tells me he's full of hubris. And according to this Sun-Times article, he's the favorite of the establishment. I'm not too keen on the establishment, especially when the establishment is run by someone with the last name "Daley." This position is for someone with a federal eye. He's been an alderman for quite a while, he's developed an expertise for what's going on in the city and his corner of it, maybe he's too valuable to let leave? Either way, I don't think he has anymore claim to expertise being a congressman than some of the non-politicians in the race.
And finally, the piece de la resistance, this guy has huge conflict of interest. Read about it here, here, and here. He responds to the allegations on his aldermanic website but the fundamental facts of the scenario are unchanged. there is a conflict of interest. Even if his wife is not involved in ANY of the projects that he will vote on, builders that she works with are, meaning that Alderman O'Connor could trade them votes for their use, or continued use of his wife as a selling agent on OTHER properties. The economic incentive can still be wielded. Everything may be above board, but the situation smells soooo bad.
