Special Mayoral Election Ordered in Chicago

CHICAGO — A Cook County judge ruled Friday that a special mayoral election should be held in 1989 so that voters can pick a successor to the late Mayor Harold Washington.

Circuit Judge Eugene Wachowski issued the ruling after listening to arguments by half a dozen attorneys representing two groups that had filed opposing lawsuits.

Alderman Timothy Evans, considered a potential candidate and an opponent of interim Mayor Eugene Sawyer, called the ruling a “marvelous, marvelous victory” for the citizens of Chicago.

A spokesman for a group that favored allowing Sawyer to complete Washington’s term, which would have ended in 1991, said the ruling will be appealed.

Wachowski said it was up to the city Board of Elections whether to call a special election in 1989, which it did earlier this week.

Washington died last Nov. 25 of a heart attack and Sawyer was elected by the City Council a week later. Hundreds of Washington and Evans supporters demonstrated against what they said were “back-room deals” that unfairly left the citizens out of deciding who should be mayor.