3 Vie For Bloom Township Democratic Committeeman Post

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL - The three-way race for Democratic committeeman in Bloom Township is one of interest, with the three candidates in the March 20 race all taking vastly different routes to finding themselves on the ballot. With longtime incumbent Terry Matthews, there's the establishment. In Art Wiggins Jr., there's the relative political newcomer trying to break the machine and with Lori Wilcox, there's a factor of mystery.

The intrigue begins with an assertion from Wiggins that Wilcox' name on the ballot is a mere political trick by Matthews and the Unity Party to split votes between the two African-American candidates, he and Wilcox. Wiggins says that Wilcox is affiliated with Matthews and the Unity machine led by Chicago Heights Mayor David Gonzalez and that her name on the ballot "ensures that I would not get all the African-American votes."

"The only way to cancel out the vote for a black man is to have a black woman on the ballot," he said, adding frustration at things said "in the rumor mill" to the effect of Matthews using Wiggins to steal votes from Wilcox. Matthews is the only white candidate among the three.

Indeed, Matthews and Wilcox have been politically aligned in recent years. Matthews, who in addition to committeeman is the mayor of South Chicago Heights, supported Wilcox in her successful bids in 2011 and 2015 for Chicago Heights City Clerk, a position she continues to hold.

But Matthews said that alliance ended when Wilcox sought the committeeman post, a position Matthews has held consecutively since 2004, in this race.

"I was surprised," Matthews said of Wilcox being on the ballot, indicating he filed an objection in connection to the signatures of both her and Wiggins in hopes of getting them both off the ballot.

"The signatures I said were no good, Cook County said were good so I ended up losing that objection," Matthews said. "Rather than continuing to fight that, I dropped the issue. Lawyers are costly."

But Wiggins says the time, energy and money that went into keeping his name on the ballot took away from his actual campaign.

"It absorbed enormous amount of campaign time and portion of funding," he said. "This objection process is unfair to candidates."

Matthews said Wiggins' claim of collusion between himself and Wilcox to ensure Matthews would win another term is false.

"There's no truth to that whatsoever," he said. "Art likes to drum up drama like that."

To Wiggins, this is "politics as usual" in Bloom Township, a governing body he says is "completely controlled" by the Gonzalez machine.

"The political party we have here has destroyed bipartisan politics," said Wiggins. "Both Republicans and Democrats run as Democrats in Bloom Township and have in effect stolen the vote from the citizens."

He says if elected, he'll focus on helping to clear up the confusion in residents' water and refuse bills and on retaining and acquiring business. Gonzalez' power in the township would go down drastically as Wiggins said he would "lose every endorsement" from the Bloom Township committeeman.

Matthews, meanwhile, touts his record of helping Democrats get elected to important positions as reasons to re-elect him to the Bloom post.

"When I started in 1995 (Matthews' first stint as committeeman), Bloom Township was one of the most Republican townships in the country, and one by one since then we have elected Democrats to mayoral offices, to trustee positions and school boards," he said.

"Over the next four years, we will maintain electing good Democrats to positions in Cook County, Bloom Township and the state of Illinois."

When it comes to Wilcox, there's that aura of mystery. A Facebook page called "Friends of Lori Wilcox" includes campaign flyers that apparently show that she is seeking the Bloom committeeman post. Posts made in the week before the election appear to show that she wants to win the election.

But she's also a finalist for the job of city clerk in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is more than a two-hour drive from Chicago Heights. READ MORE: Chicago Heights City Clerk A Finalist For Job In Michigan

"That shows that she isn't committed to Bloom Township," Matthews said. "I don't think she'll be able to commute that far."

Wiggins, in one of many Facebook and YouTube videos he's shared promoting his campaign, said township residents should be "furious" that Wilcox is seeking the job in Grand Rapids and that "this shows you that this was the plan all along."

Wilcox did not respond to requests from Patch to address her candidacy in Grand Rapids nor her candidacy in this race. Initially, her Facebook page indicated a statement would be issued but it was not as of press time.

For the two candidates who did respond, there couldn't be more of a dichotomy. Matthews as the one whose held the key political position for years and Wiggins as the one who looks to shake up local politics and cut into the Gonzalez machine.

Who can vote?

Bloom Township includes portions of 12 municipalities in the south suburbs. It is bordered by 186th Street in Lansing/183rd Street in Homewood, Steger Road, Western Avenue and the Indiana State Line.

Chicago Heights, Park Forest, Glenwood, Homewood, Flossmoor, South Chicago Heights, Lansing, Steger and Ford Heights are among the municipalities included in the township.

Photos via Art Wiggins Jr., City of South Chicago Heights, City of Chicago Heights