Democratic Committeeperson Eamon Kelly, who has led the Democratic Party of Evanston (DPOE) since 2013, plans to resign and nominate Mayor Daniel Biss as the recommended candidate to fill the vacancy, Kelly confirmed to the RoundTable.

The local party’s board of directors will vote on Biss’ nomination at a virtual meeting Thursday evening. If the vote passes, Biss’ name will be sent to the Central Committee of the Cook County Democratic Party to either ratify him or appoint another party member instead.

Kelly told the RoundTable he’s stepping down to focus on his legal career, and is “super excited” to recommend Biss as his successor ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

“What he’s able to offer in his experience in fundraising and volunteer organizing, I think he’s gonna be in a better position to lead us in this really important election,” Kelly said. “It’s not very often you get somebody who’s run a statewide campaign [and] with his infrastructure.”

Biss echoed the upcoming election’s importance in a text message to the RoundTable.

“I greatly appreciate Eamon’s service to the party,” Biss wrote. “Democracy is on the line in the 2024 election and I’m excited to support the Democratic Party and help re-elect President Biden in any way I can.”

The mayor is not the only one interested, however. Deputy Committeeperson Christian Sorensen told the RoundTable he’s “certainly interested in any vacancy” for the local party’s top position.

“I believe my profile matches, I have interest in the job, I think it’d be a good fit,” Sorensen said. “But I also understand that there are other prominent Evanstonians, both politically and municipally, that are interested in the job, and we’ll have to see what comes on Thursday.”

The committeeperson’s role

Committeepeople are the elected leaders of local political parties in the 50 Chicago wards and 30 suburban townships across Cook County. Kelly has served as Evanston’s Democratic committeeperson since he was appointed in January 2013 to succeed former State Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg, and has run for reelection uncontested three times since then, winning most recently in June 2022. 

The DPOE’s bylaws state the committeeperson is the “chief executive officer of the organization,” and is “responsible for all political activities of the organization.” Kelly said this comes down to two essential jobs: representing Evanston’s local party when the county party endorses candidates in each election cycle, and leading the local party’s fundraising and volunteer efforts, both within Evanston and elsewhere.

He said the DPOE is “super important” in the county party due to Evanston’s historically high turnout in primary elections and volunteer turnout.

“We have a track record, particularly in presidential elections, of being able to generate volunteers that go to swing states and try to be the difference maker in those elections,” Kelly said.

While the committeeperson votes on behalf of Evanston Democrats for endorsing county and judicial candidates, the DPOE’s membership votes on endorsements in other elections at membership meetings. These endorsements typically cover federal and state elections, but endorsement votes can also be called for municipal and school board races, but only “on the recommendation of the Committeeperson and as approved by the Board of Directors,” according to the bylaws.

Directors and elected officials will vote

Biss’ nomination will be voted on by the DPOE’s board of directors, which consists of 12 directors elected by the membership and Democratic legislators who represent Evanston at the county, state and federal levels. Staff for U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky and State Rep. Robyn Gabel each confirmed the legislators would not be able to attend, and other elected officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Jacob Kaplan, executive director of the Cook County Democratic Party, told the RoundTable that appointees must be ratified by the county party’s Central Committee before they officially fill the seat. He said this would likely happen at the county convention sometime in mid-April following the March primary election. 

As for the recommendation vote, Kelly told the RoundTable in a follow-up text that he’s confident in Biss’ approval at Thursday evening’s meeting.

“I am optimistic the board will support my recommendation,” Kelly wrote. “I look forward to continuing to support progressive Democrats as a fundraiser and volunteer.”