CBS2 Can't See the Forest for the Trees

Perhaps Mike Flannery of CBS2 in Chicago hasn't read the complaint that Don Gordon filed against Joe Moore. If he did not, he might be forgiven. If he did read it, he either doesn't understand the most important aspect of the complaint (the civil rights violations) or he chose to ignore it. Not only that, his math is off. Flannery's report wrapped up this way:

“This is not about whether Don Gordon or Joe Moore is alderman,” Gordon said. “This is about whether we had a fair and clean election.”One problem for the Gordon camp: the precinct where they claim the woman voted illegally is a precinct Gordon won by about 60 votes. Toss that one out and Joe Moore's victory margin exceeds 300.

Gordon's complaint does acknowledge that "Moore’s apparent margin of victory, at this time, over Gordon is 247 votes." However, it goes on to say, "When all the votes in the foregoing precincts are discounted, the election is reversed and Plaintiff Don Gordon is the winner and Defendant Joe Moore is the loser because Gordon will then have 2,120 votes and Moore will have 1,574 votes, and Gordon will be the winner with a majority of 546 votes." As I mentioned, Flannery's math is off, but he missed the really big picture: The civil rights of Gordon and hundreds of voters in the 49th Ward were, allegedly, violated, and this case could set a precedent for Illinois. Flannery, in a hurry to meet a deadline perhaps, could not see the forest for the trees. See "Rogers Park: The Selma of Chicago" for the civil rights aspect of this story.