Former 24th Ward Ald. Michael Scott will join the Cook County Board of Commissioners, at least until December.
Members of the Cook County Democratic Party met Tuesday night to fill a board and ballot vacancy left by the untimely death of county Commissioner Dennis Deer.
Scott, surrounded by many of his former colleagues from the Chicago City Council, emerged victorious after a brief open interview and a short behind-the-scenes vote by party officials whose wards and townships overlapped the County Board’s 2nd District. In the end, Scott won more than 50% of the vote on the first ballot, among four candidates.
Barbara Deer, the late commissioner’s widow, was another top contender. A former Chicago Public Schools speech language pathologist and CEO of Metamorphosis Health, she praised her husband’s ability to work with other elected officials and constituencies across the district. While she pledged to continue his work to promote economic development, expand access to affordable health care, and work to reduce violence, party members opted to continue the Scott political dynasty.
Scott’s sister, current 24th Ward Ald. Monique Scott, was one of the party members on the selection committee, but did not ask questions during the interview portion. Of the 17 selection committee members, she held just over 11% of the vote. Their father is the late Michael Scott Sr., former head of the Chicago Board of Education and Chicago Park District.
Michael Scott resigned from the City Council in 2022 for a community and industry relations job at Cinespace Studios. He previously worked as an area manager at the Chicago Park District.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot then appointed Monique Scott to complete her brother’s term representing the West Side ward. Monique Scott subsequently won a full term.
Asked Tuesday by his former colleague, 28th Ward Ald. Jason Ervin, why he wanted to reenter the political arena, Scott said it was a love of service.
“Every time I step away from a job of service I honestly hear in the back of my head … my father, imploring me and letting me know that there is not a higher calling — except for being a priest or man of the cloth — than serving your community,” Scott said.
The county’s 2nd District is no stranger to appointees, or to the practice of choosing family members to fill empty seats.
Deer himself was slotted into the seat by party officials after the death of Commissioner Robert Steele in 2017. Steele was initially appointed to that seat in 2006 after his mother, Bobbie Steele, resigned.
11th Ward Democratic Committeeman John Daley, also a beneficiary of political dynasty, told Scott that political family members are often judged, but “have to prove themselves … and you have.”
Scott will serve in the role until December, and his name will be placed on the November ballot to complete the rest of Deer’s term through 2026. The Cook County GOP can also select a name to place on the ballot, but Scott is favored in a heavily Democratic district.
The 2nd District stretches north to Division Street, south to 75th Street, east to King Drive and west to Laramie Avenue. It encompasses neighborhoods near downtown, including River North, South Loop and West Loop, but also Austin, Englewood, Garfield Park and North Lawndale, as well as business corridors along Michigan Avenue and the Illinois Medical District.
Bill Conway, the 34th Ward alderman and Democratic committeeman, chaired the selection committee because he had the largest share of Democratic voters in Deer’s district. Aldermen Pat Dowell, 3rd; Walter Burnett, 27th; Stephanie Coleman, 16th; and Monique Scott also had large portions of the weighted vote.
The panel’s questions focused on how to plug the county’s looming deficit, thoughts on the county’s Forest Preserve District, and whether the applicant would approach the role differently than the late commissioner.
Among the four candidates that presented, Scott had the clearest command of county functions: he pledged to increase access to the forest preserves, help with property tax appeals, and help address the district’s housing crisis using the county’s Land Bank Authority.
He also told the selection panel that he wanted to ensure the next county state’s attorney “is resourced properly. We all know how bad the crime epidemic is in the city of Chicago, one way to stave that off is to make sure that office is resourced.”
Scott told the Tribune he intends to keep his job at Cinespace, but to stop lobbying the city and state.
Maintaining both jobs “affords me the opportunity to serve, something that I love to do, and to make sure that my family is set up and put in a position that they are successful, which is what I love to do even more. So I am blessed enough to be able to have the best of both worlds,” he said.
Other applicants for the vacancy included Kim Davis Ambrose, an engagement manager for the county’s Justice Advisory Council in Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s office, and John C. Gholar, an attorney for JPMorgan Chase.
Six people originally applied by last Friday’s deadline. Three of them — Chicago Against Violence founder Andre Smith; Eddie Johnson III, a technology coordinator at Ashburn Elementary School; and Caleb Z. Davis, a student at Marist College — withdrew. Though he had initially expressed interest, Reyahd Kazmi, a consultant and lobbyist who is married to Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia, did not apply.