Bankruptcy Reader

By Priya Jestin, Staff Writer

Can a previous bankruptcy history debar you from running for elections? Don’t give an immediate yes or no. It is a very human tendency to try and simplify matters. So, let’s try to reflect on the issue with an example. Tyrone De’Andre Hawthorne is standing for the 17th Ward aldermanic seat. He’s been endorsed by the Illinois Committee for Honest Government. But Hawthorne, a volunteer for Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH coalition, active Service Employees International Union member and laundry worker at Oak Forest Hospital, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in October 2002.

Hawthorne’s explanation was that he had spent too much of his personal money for the previous elections and that left him bankrupt. Well, even if we accept the fact that being a people’s representative has nothing to do with personal finance, there’s still the issue of money management.

I know it is a bit patronizing to ask how a person who cannot manage his own money can be expected to manage that of an entire ward. But isn’t it true. We do expect a certain amount of credibility from our elected representatives, don’t we? I mean if we can expect the highest standard of public and private behavior from our Presidents, isn’t it only fair that we expect the same from all our elected representatives. So, while aldermanic candidate bankruptcies may not seem very important to most people, it’s important because it’s a reflection of someone’s ability to manage money, a key part of being an alderman.