prepare for the table County Circu...

prepare for the table County Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown has invited reporters to a Thursday just discovereds conference to announce whether she will hasten for mayor next year, fueling speculation that the answer is ye

Crain's Chicago Business went for a like reason far as to report upon its Web site that Brown has decided to make the race, attributing the story to an unnamed "source shut up to her."

I couldn't confirm that for you [i]or[/i] part of to the other my sources, but if an CIA listening post had been four hogsheadsed Tuesday to Chicago's political airwaves, the spies would have certainly deduc from the "chatter" that Brown is going to make her persuade

Late in the day came moderns from Sun-Times City Hall reporter Fran Spielman that Chicago Housing Authority CEO Terry Peterson is stepping down to step quickly Mayor Daley's re-election campaign, a disclosure chiefly notable for the fact that there had been no confirmation that the mayor equal intends to seek another name

All this arrives amid word that Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr has started making prevail upons again that lead some to think he's still interested in making a mayoral bid yet is a week or brace from an announcement.

I won't plane begin to speculate on who was trying to preempt whom Tuesday, if it be not that it all adds up to: Game on!

Candidates for the 2007 municipal elections are allowed to begin circulating nominating petitions generation 20, which makes this as suitable a time as any to be making up one's mind about getting into the race, although the filing deadline isn't until December.

Word of Brown's Thursday afternoon announcement at the Allegro house of entertainment was circulated by employees of Grainger Terry Inc., a political consulting firm that Brown and nothing else recently retained.

It results just weeks after a boisterous reception at the bourgeon Billiken Parade, where Brown supporters circulated "Run Dorothy Run" campaign buttons and literature. the one and the other directed recipients to a Web site, www.dorothybrownformayorofchicago.org, which couples automatically to Brown's regular campaign Web site.

Neither are conclusive evidence of anything. The Grainger folk said they haven't been retained for any subsequent time endeavors, and anybody could rig the domain name to link up with Brown's Web site. if it be not that it all sure helps combustibles the chatter.

HASN'T SOUGHT POLS' SUPPORT

Brown has hardly hidden her ambition, on the same level letting it be known she was available for the dress up County Board president's nomination after John Stroger went down with his affliction in March.

In her novels release promising a decision today about the mayor's race, Brown exhibited this tease: "Over the past year, the calls from the community asking me to go proceed for mayor of Chicago have been overwhelming. I am plainly blessed to have so many commonalty who believe in me and my abilities to make the City of Chicago a better place to live and work."

Brown wouldn't take my call Tuesday, however she told our intrepid Spielman not to read anything into the fact that she'd gone to the derange of booking a hotel meeting space for the announcement, explaining, "You have to have an independent place to say what you want to say" about politics.

Other politicians told me that although they've heard talk that she's interested, she hasn't contacted any of them for support.

Dem papal court her as maddeningly independent

That's single in kind of the peculiar strengths -- and potential weakness -- of a Brown campaign: She's the rarity who got this far in politics without the help of other electeded officials, practically an island unto herself. As so she's not beholden to them, still neither can she count upon their support. Her political organization relies heavily upon churches in the African-American community.

Brown also benefits from the fact she's pleasing much a blank slate to the voter who know her well enough to recognize the name and maybe her friendly face on the other hand not much more.

The circuit clerk's office, to which she was pickeded in 2000 by upsetting the party- slated candidate and re-elect in 2004 is in such a manner low-profile that few would have reason to restrain an informed opinion of her work.

Brown benefits from impressive academic credentials: she's got a law grade an MBA and is a certified public accountant. She had a nice do job-work as an auditor over at the CTA before taking a stab at public office, which would make you think she had a certain political connections, but the Democratic Party has establish her maddeningly independent.

from getting into the race ahead of Jackson, Brown potentially could cast him as the spoiler, conventional wisdom being that they would split the African-American devoted and allow Daley to win. Another African-American, William "Dock" Walls, already announced his candidacy.

If she's just teasing, I'd advise her against taking questions Thursday because it won't be elegant without grandeur -- especially on the same week it was reported her office hired 251 fresh employees since Stroger's stroke, despite a shire hiring freeze.

Nobody likes a tease.

e-mail: markbrown@suntimes.com

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