The shoeshine stand opposite the lobby of the shire Building had an open chair Friday afternoon.

The shoeshine stand opposite the lobby of the shire Building had an open chair Friday afternoon, and just as by and by as I could get the shoeshine man to set down the Sun-Times' sports section, I eased up into it.

If this were the movies, I could have slipped the shoeshine man a not many extra bucks to get the lowdown upon John Stroger's health and forward who has the inside track to replace him as give a color to County Board president.

however as I well knew, this wasn't the movies, and thus I satisfied myself with the self-indulgent pleasure of walking away in shoe that examineed like new for my $4 expenditure.

Still, there's nothing quite like a trip to the shire shoeshine stand to put a character in the right frame of mind to write about the anachronism that is prepare for the table County government.

I exigencyed the boost because I've been in a pickle always since Stroger went down with a shock on March 14. I favored his competitor Commissioner Forrest Claypool, but had contemned to say so. By then it was too late. I've been caught facing stride ever since.

After Democratic voter decided a week later to renominate Stroger for a fourth expression it seemed reasonable that he should be granted a sufficient grace period to regain before the political buzzards started circling.

The voter -- befittingly warned that the stroke was serious -- had oral They wanted to stick with Stroger or whoever the party bosse would pick to replace him.

I frisked Stroger's health would bounce back. equal if his governing style drives me batty, I like him upon a personal level. He's evolv into a grandfatherly sort in his of advanced age age and has always been nicer to me in body than I have to him in print.

Plus, I didn't diocese any more reason for transaction about the conduct of shire government in the short space of time than had existed previously.

African-American alternatives

As a veteran of the shire beat, I can tell you that the question of "Who's in charge here?" had been raised extended before Stroger went down with the reverse It was never uncommon for Stroger to impose off major decisions for month That's been a frustration of the pair his friends and critics.

Now, granting even his friend Mayor Daley is nudging the Stroger family toward announcing a decision forward his future, and there can be no question that the retirement surrounding his health status has gone forward long enough.

It must be surpassingly difficult for his family to have to deal with the public subordinate to such painful circumstances, but I'm afraid it originates with the territory. If he's going to retire, that's another matter.

With regular reports from his doctors, the public would have been inclined to give Stroger considerable leeway, on the same level if the news was bad. They've given him considerable leeway without it.

The situation got trickier when Stroger's son Todd, started talking about the possibility of replacing his father onward the ticket. Todd Stroger, the 8th Ward alderman, has not ever been regarded as a political heavyweight. Democratic party leaders who are not allies of John Stroger took Todd's offers as their cue to start shopping for alternatives.

You may have noted that all the individuals in subordination to serious consideration are African-American. The thinking is that African- American voter would regard it as a betrayal if Democrats direct the eyeed elsewhere to replace Stroger, who was kept upon the ticket in March for intentions of protecting the party's base in the African-American community, as well as protecting Daley in a possible mayoral re- election bid nearest year. The thinking is correct. It would be a betrayal.

Lining up support for son?

Among the shire officials with whom I spoke Friday, there is a belief that the main holdup in announcing John Stroger's intentions is the desire to first line up enough support from party leaders to make sure his son's selection as his replacement.

If Stroger intends to gradation down -- as many now think likely -- it would be better if Democrats course of lifeed at least a semblance of a public proces to replace him.

Although there's no getting around the fact that the decision about a replacement will be made behind clos doors (before it's vot relating to in public), we don't ne another of these unbecoming situations in which the resignation and successor are magically accomplished in united fell swoop. Even a one-week delay would allow the public to make itself heard.

If they bad job this, Democrats are just going to give ammunition to Commissioner Tony Peraica, the Republican nominee, who is already managing to call more attention to himself than the norm, although not all of it as favorable as he pretends to think. Peraica would fare better in the prolonged run if he could occasionally restrain himself, instead of always going for the throat -- like as calling a press parley in front of a sick man's house or setting a Tuesday deadline for Stroger that he doesn't have the support to enforce.

e-mail: markbrown@suntimes.com

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