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If Cook County Commissioner John Daley is determined to hold somebody responsible for passing out misleading campaign materials in his 11th Ward during last month's election, Anthony Sutor says he needs to investigate no further.

"I did it. I OKd it. I want the crybaby to know it came from us," said Sutor, the campaign manager for a trio of anti-Hispanic Democratic Organization candidates who were soundly defeated in the March primary.

It wasn't my intention to devote a second column to something as silly as dirty-trick palm cards, but Sutor forced my hand with his unsolicited admission and tough talk.

It's not every day that somebody volunteers to go toe-to-toe with one of the city's most powerful Democratic ward organizations -- or picks a fight publicly with the mayor's brother.

"Screw him," Sutor said of Daley. "Remus shouldn't be taking the hit for this. We were the ones."

If you read Tuesday's column, you know that the backdrop for Sutor's confession is an unusual State Board of Elections complaint filed by Daley against Richard Remus, a former Cook County jail supervisor who finished a distant third in the Democratic primary for sheriff.

Daley's complaint accused Remus' supporters of illegally distributing campaign materials labeled "The Official Palm Card for the 11th Ward Democratic Party" to voters outside 11th Ward polling places.

Daley, you see, is the 11th Ward Democratic committeeman, which makes him the boss of the 11th Ward Democratic Campaign Committee, what most people would consider the "official" Democratic organization in the 11th Ward. The palm card being distributed by Remus' volunteers supported an entirely different set of candidates than Daley was endorsing, hence Daley's concerns that some of his constituents were misled.

Normally, such an affront would have been answered with a dose of street justice, meted out on the spot by Daley's political workers. But for some reason, possibly related to the fact many of Remus' volunteers were not-so-easily-intimidated Cook County jail guards, there was no Election Day retribution. Instead, Daley turned afterward to the State Board of Elections, an agency better known for slaps on the wrist than smacks upside the head.

But Sutor called me to tell me Remus wasn't involved.

'THAT'S PART OF POLITICS'

Sutor said he was responsible for both preparing and printing the disputed "official" 11th Ward palm cards in his capacity as campaign manager for legislative candidates Oscar Torres and Francisco Rodriguez and Cook County commissioner candidate Leonard Dominguez. Sutor, whose own political committee is named the 25th Ward Independent Democratic Organization, said he worked out an alliance with Remus supporters to hand out his materials in the 11th Ward, a common practice for independent campaigns short of manpower.

Sutor said he sees nothing improper about the "official" palm card tactic, arguing he covered himself by not claiming the palm cards were from the "Regular" Democratic organization, the term historically used in Cook County to differentiate the official Democratic party from opposition groups.

"We did not plan on misleading the voters at all," Sutor insisted at first, giving ground only when I told him that wouldn't fly.

"I didn't mean it to be a dirty trick. I mean it to be a trick, yeah," he offered next. "You try to get as many votes as you can. Am I trying to confuse people? To a point."

"That's part of politics in the city of Chicago," concluded Sutor, 38, whose lengthy experience includes working with convicted former Ald. Ambrosio Medrano.

'MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF THIS'

For those who may be unfamiliar with the concept, a palm card is just a printed list of candidates, usually on a half-sheet of paper, that campaign workers pass to prospective voters at election time as a reminder of which office-seekers their organization supports. The card is intended to be something you take into the polling place so that you'll know how you're supposed to vote.

In wards such as the 11th where people routinely vote as instructed, the palm card is therefore an important tool for keeping voters in line. That's also what makes it a valuable tool for political tricksters.

Sutor said he also distributed "official" palm cards in the 14th and 25th wards which also weren't authorized by the Democratic powers in those wards.

"Daley's trying to make an example of this so nobody else will come into the 11th Ward and try to do this against him again," said Sutor, who said he plans to do just that by helping Rodriguez run for alderman next year.

These are tense times for the 11th Ward organization with homeboy Robert Sorich, Mayor Daley's former patronage chief, slated to go on trial next month, which may explain John Daley's uncharacteristically tough talk that he's not "dicking around" with his complaint against Remus.

But 11th Ward voters resoundingly cast their ballots in March for the Daley-backed candidates, and there's no indication they're ready for a change.

# posted by Medical Information : 2:54 AM