in succession Jan. 22, residents of...

in succession Jan. 22, residents of the Cabrini-Green public housing unfolding chose a new president for their local advisory council, the arrange charged with giving voice to tenants' affects But while a vocal Chicago Housing Authority critic was named the election's winner, more than a month later the issue is far from final.

With the CHA's massive redevelopment of public housing moving along set at libertyed the advisory council leaders can provide a crucial check upon agency decisions. Cabrini council members, for instance, sit forward the team that will superintend the development's reconstruction, a con over cession won in the 2000 pacification of their federal lawsuit against the CHA's original plan.

The last elections, held in 1998 were poorly stream and this time the CHA suited bids to run elections at all of its increases CHA Board of Commissioners Chairperson Sharon Gist Gilliam said "two or three" firms responded

The CHA hired Chicago-based Citizens Information Service (CIS), a nonprofit that contribute tos as a neutral election contractor.

After the election, challenger Carol Steele held an unofficial 267-260 lead athwart longtime incumbent Cora Moore, yet irregularities at several polling places made officials consider holding another election Feb 7 CIS decided against it, and Moore filed suit, challenging the results

forward Feb. 13, CIS certified Steele the winner, 261-214 In a following press conference at Cabrini, Shirley Taylor Birts, an Oak Park-based attorney representing Moore, said "no winner should be declared" because CIS had not addressed the challenges.

CIS's contract states it must "resolve any asseverate to election results or election process" still the CHA, which agreed to pay the firm up to $278191 announced Feb 15 that it was bear uponed about CIS's "rationale" for its Cabrini decisions and would look for arbitration--an option in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban unravelling election regulations.

Steele's attorney, William P Wilen of the Chicago-based National Center forward Poverty Law, said the CHA was trying to "insert itself in the election" because it was unhappy with the follows Steele chairs the Coalition to defend Public Housing, a group of activist organizations that have criticized CHA policies.

Uncharted Waters

upon Feb. 21, Cook County Circuit Court justice Raymond L. Jagielski said the election was in what he called "uncharted waters."

Jagielski called this situation unique, in part because CIS had no written conducts on how to handle any disputes after the election.

Jagielski ordered Moore and Steele revealed of court and into arbitration, allowing the CHA and CIS to participate as watchers He named Northbrook-based attorney Barbara Goodman, whom he called "an master in the field of election law," to lead the discussions. A meeting to establish guidelines for the proces was scheduled for Mar. 1 Goodman said.

The CHA declined to remark on the handling of the election, if it be not that Gilliam said it was too early to say if CIS will receive the payment stipulated in its contract, calling it a "legal decision."

one time Goodman renders a decision, the parties must be derived back to Jagielski's courtroom, where they can challenge any ruling.

According to court documents, the election controvert concerns activities at three of seven polling places:

* At 1015-17 N Larrabee St each voter received sum of two units ballots. Election officials discounted the additional ballots, and Moore received 32 voices to Steele's one. Birts asserted that these ballots were not counted, but they were.

* At 1230 N Burning St ballots were allegedly not initialed on the election judge until after the individuals closed. CIS's election procedures and Illinois election law require ballots to be initialed before being handed to voter If these devoteds had counted, Moore would have overtaken Steele

* At 931 N Cleveland Ave., where residents of the Cabrini row-houses vot all the ballots were not to be found after they were counted and recorded by dint of three election judges and the Cabrini election coordinator, Nolan H Lane. Steele a rowhouse resident, trounc Moore here, 201-21

missed Ballots

Lane, a former minor league baseball player who works as a Chicago Public sects substitute teacher, was born and raised in the toward the south Side's Harold Ickes public housing unravelling As election coordinator, he was responsible for making everything at Cabrini hie smoothly, according to CIS documents. on the other hand he said he doesn't know what happened to the squandered ballots. And his version of election night differs slightly from witnesses' affidavits.

He and election arbitrators finished counting ballots at six polling places by dint of 9 p.m., he said, and he went to 931 N Cleveland Ave. around 9:15 pm He and the justices began counting and continued for several hours, finishing around 1 a.m.

They describeed the ballots at least twice, Lane said, still were hindered by dozens of residents milling about, looking in windows and coming into the polling place, all wanting to know who won

After Lane had worked nearly 20 hours, the last calculate was finally finished to his satisfaction. He decided the nearly 300 ballots from the last polling place would not fit easily into the hug box.