Which one can you trust the most?

By Rick Pearson and Bob Secter, 

Democratic governor candidate Bill Daley, the son of Chicago's most famous political boss, decried cronyism Thursday and sought to separate himself from a practice that had become a family hallmark for decades in city politics.

At the same time, Gov. Pat Quinn, who has long pitched himself as a good-government reformer, defended his appointment of a powerful suburban Democratic township boss to the city's transit board — a move beneficial to the governor's re-election chances.

For at least one day, the still-budding Democratic governor primary was all about role reversal.

Spurring the bitter rhetoric was Quinn's appointment of Thornton Township Supervisor Frank Zuccarelli to the CTA board.

Daley contended that Quinn's decision was "a disgrace" that relied upon a "baloney" legal loophole that would allow Zuccarelli to double dip at taxpayer expense. Zuccarelli's pay-and-benefit package from Thornton Township is $186,418 a year, and the CTA post would pay him an additional $25,000 annually. Zuccarelli did not respond to a request for comment.

Hitting the governor on the issue of patronage led to the obvious questions about a Daley family political empire that was heavily reliant upon the practice to build allegiance and street muscle. At a news conference near a CTA Brown Line station in River North, Daley said times had changed and scoffed at attempts to compare him with his famous father, the late Mayor Richard J. Daley, or his brother, former Mayor Richard M. Daley.

"I'm standing here as my own person. You can make judgments about past administrations or relatives or whatever you want, but I'm telling you what I believe and how I'll be as a leader," said Daley, who called on the Illinois Senate to vote down the appointment if Quinn refuses to pull Zuccarelli's name from consideration.

"This is the 21st century. This is not the 1950s. This is not 50, 40 years ago. This is the time when leaders have to step forward and do things differently," he added.

The first Mayor Daley wasn't shy about using his clout to help kin, Bill included.

"If I can't help my sons, then they can kiss my ass," Richard J. Daley famously thundered in 1973 as he was being criticized for lagging city insurance business to a firm with ties to son John, now a Cook County commissioner.

During the same decade, the first Mayor Daley hired a firm to inspect parking meters for the city, which quickly decided to buy its insurance from a brokerage newly formed by Bill and John Daley.

Two other young lawyer sons, Michael and future mayor Richard M., won lucrative appointments as court-ordered receivers and guardians from some Cook County judges. The political fate of those judges was controlled by a Democratic Party run by Richard J. Daley.

The irony of Bill Daley's latest attack on Quinn was not lost on political scientist Dick Simpson, a former alderman who long ago fought a series of losing battles over ethics and patronage with Daley's father.

"It is interesting since Richard J. Daley and Richard M. both had patronage machines of different sorts," said Simpson, now on the political science faculty of the University of Illinois at Chicago. "It's interesting that Bill Daley no longer thinks patronage is relevant."

Bill Daley maintained that Quinn is concerned about controlling his own political fate in naming Zuccarelli to the CTA board. Democratic county slate-makers are to meet next week to endorse statewide candidates. Zuccarelli, as chairman in the heavily Democratic township, holds a significant bloc of votes for the endorsement.

"Some people may say, 'Well, this is different for a Daley to do.' But maybe people learn that I'm not what they think I am or what they think I would be," Daley said. In another twist, Daley indicated that he might not seek the endorsement of Democratic county slate-makers, a ritual that his father once controlled with an iron fist.

Quinn denied that politics played any role in his appointment of Zuccarelli to the transit board and said people who are "complaining" about it "should look in their own family." The governor said that when his rival's brother was mayor, he appointed a campaign manager to the CTA board "right after the campaign was over." In 2009, Mayor Richard M. Daley named 2007 re-election campaign manager Terry Peterson as chairman of the CTA board.

"I'm not going to let him be a punching bag," Quinn said of Zuccarelli, who was elected in the spring to a sixth term as township supervisor.

In addition, Quinn sounded some political touchstones in defending his appointment, noting that Zuccarelli was a military veteran — a constituency the governor has traditionally sought to cultivate — and contending that the transportation needs of the south suburbs have been "overlooked" for years.

Recently, Quinn signed into law legislation furthering state and local efforts for creation of a third airport near Peotone — a top agenda item among politicians in the south suburban region.

Tribune reporter Monique Garcia contributed.

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