On the sly

When 50th Ward Alderman Jack Sperling was notified of his appointment as a Circuit Court Judge in 1973, he shared the information with soon-to-be Aldermanic candidate Ray Cohen before the announcement was publicized. He wanted to give his ally time to get his affairs in order, raise money, and be positioned to launch a campaign before his potential opponents even knew a special election was going to be scheduled to fill Sperling’s unexpired Aldermanic term.