John Kass: It's Easy to See Why This Inexperienced Lawyer Will Get on the Bench

Once there were five candidates for Cook County judge in a Southwest Side district dominated by Democratic boss Mike Madigan.

There was the incumbent judge, who had been a criminal attorney for 20 years before his appointment last year. There was also an attorney for the city of Chicago, a public defender and an assistant Illinois attorney general.

And there was that fifth candidate, who suffered from an acute shortage of legal experience.

But what does experience matter when it comes time to don the black robes and dance along The Chicago Way?

Though short on courtroom time, the fifth candidate did have something more valuable: oodles of political chops. And he had the Mount Olympus of political hack jobs, executive director of the Cook County employee pension fund. But his most outstanding qualification was that his father was the political brain (and fist) of former Mayor Richard M. Daley.

So guess how many candidates are left on the ballot now? If you said "just one," meaning the political guy with the father with the clout, you'd be right.

Say hello to future Judge Daniel R. Degnan, the son of Tim Degnan, Daley's political hammer.

One by one, the other candidates dropped out. At least two had their petitions of candidacy challenged by the incumbent and withdrew before a hearing. Then it was down to two candidates: Degnan and Judge Tom Carroll. According to several sources, Judge Carroll got a message of his own: It's not your turn anymore.

Now, Daniel R. Degnan is running unopposed as a Democrat in the 3rd Judicial Subcircuit. In practical terms, that means he'll have a job for life, with a six-figure salary and no heavy lifting and all those holidays off with pay.

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It's Easy to See Why This Inexperienced Lawyer Will Get on the Bench