Writing a Ticket

No Governor of Illinois has ever served three terms. Last week two-term Democrat Otto Kerner, 59, announced that he would prefer not to challenge history. Kerner's unexpected decision to quit--and possibly get a federal judgeship--left Illinois Democrats with reminiscences of 1948, when Cook County Political Boss Jake Arvey forged a winning ticket with Adlai Stevenson for Governor and Paul Douglas for the U.S. Senate. Today the political boss is, of course, Chicago's Mayor Richard J. Daley, and the most likely candidates are State Treasurer Adlai Stevenson III and Sargent Shriver, head of the federal War on Poverty.

Like Arvey, Daley must line up a Democratic ticket strong enough to capture the Governor's chair, carry the state for the President, and run at least a respectable senatorial race against a formidable Republican incumbent--in this case, patriarchal Everett McKinley Dirksen. Also like Arvey, who steered Stevenson instead of the less manageable Douglas toward the Statehouse, Daley is believed to be leaning toward young Stevenson for the governorship despite his reputation as an independent-minded politician. Much as he would like an agreeable team man in Springfield, Daley would like a winner even more, and he can count on Stevenson to run well in Republican strongholds "downstate"--meaning everything outside Cook County.

Shriver, whose biggest booster for elective office in Illinois has so far been himself, has also been mentioned as a possibility for Governor. When Shriver moved to Washington in 1961 to work for Brother-in-Law John F. Kennedy, he kept a room in Chicago's Drake Hotel, thus meeting the legal residency requirements. In recent years, he has shown enough interest in the Governor's chair to irritate both Kerner and Daley. Nonetheless, Daley and his Democratic machine may urge Shriver to challenge Dirksen in the hope that his national image--and Kennedy finances --will be enough to defeat the ailing 72-year-old Senate minority leader.

For all the speculation, however, Illinois Democrats know very well that ultimately one man will write the ticket--Dick Daley.

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