Veteran Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd Ward) said Wednesday that he will run for clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County in next year’s election. Munoz would challenge incumbent Dorothy Brown, who was first elected to the jobs-rich office in 2000, in the Democratic primary in March.
“I’m running because the office needs some reform,” Munoz told the Chicago News Cooperative on Wednesday. “The incumbent has been there for 10, 11 years and has not brought the office into the 21st century.”
In a written statement, Brown said she plans to seek a fourth term next year.
“I’m very surprised that Ald. Ricardo Munoz would consider running for Cook County Circuit Court Clerk,” Brown said. “As proven progressives and reformers, we should be looking at how to increase our numbers throughout city, county and state government rather than running against each other.”
Then-Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed Munoz to the City Council in 1993, but he gradually carved out a reputation as one of Daley’s more outspoken skeptics among the mostly timid aldermen.
From his base in the Little Village neighborhood, the Monterrey, Mexico-born alderman has become a leader among independent Latino politicians and pro-union progressives in the council.
He has sought to expand his influence primarily through allies. In 2010, Munoz helped elect long-time ally Jesus “Chuy” Garcia to the Cook County Board and also ran Rudy Lozano Jr.’s unsuccessful primary campaign against State Rep. Daniel Burke (D-Chicago), brother of powerful Ald. Edward Burke (14th).
In the campaign to succeed Daley, Munoz endorsed Miguel del Valle and loudly expressed his criticisms about the eventual winner of the race, Rahm Emanuel.
Munoz’s last term in the council was turbulent, as he admitted struggling with alcoholism and saw his father sentenced to federal prison for his involvement in a fake I.D. scam.
Brown might become the target of more challengers emboldened by the clerk’s failures in recent bids for higher office.
In a 2007 attempt to unseat Daley, Brown received only 20 percent of the vote. And she led in early polls but won just 14 percent of the vote to come in third in the four-way Democratic primary for county board president last year.
Munoz said many lawyers complain that Brown’s office loses court files or takes too long to produce them upon request, and he promised to introduce digital filing if elected.
He also criticized Brown for alleged ethical missteps such as collecting cash from employees for the privilege of wearing jeans to work once a month. Brown defended “Jeans Day” at the clerk’s office but suspended the practice last year.
Neither Brown nor Munoz begins the race with significant campaign accounts. Brown’s committee reported less the $49,000 in cash on hand at the end of March, and she since has raised $6,200. Two campaign committees for Munoz had less than $23,000 as of March 31, and they reported receiving another $9,500 in the past three months, state records show.