Natarus Calling It Quits?

This February, 42nd Ward voters, by a nearly 10% margin, rejected thirty six years of rule by Burton Natarus. Despite his loss, Natarus remains in political office as the Committeeman for the 42nd Ward.

Now it appears that those days might be coming to an end.

It is well known in the 42nd Ward that Natarus had almost no field organization. Precinct captains were virtually unknown. Despite all of his time in office, he developed no organization at all.

In addition, his political instincts were questionable at best. In a city that values "Don't back no losers", Natarus strongly supported the candidacy of Toddler Stroger, only to see the Toddler crushed in the 42nd Ward. The support for the Toddler may well have cost Natarus his aldermanic seat (it was one of may miscues, but the language used to describe Toddler's opponent surely riled some voters).

Natarus's political website -- www.natarus.com -- has been down for several days. It looks like Natarus is ready to walk away.

We certainly hope so, as despite the wealth of many 42nd Ward residents, it remains a strongly Democratic ward. The 42nd needs leadership now, and it needs a field organization to turn out voters and to help finance candidates. Natarus provided none of that.

Here's hoping that Natarus.com is down for good.

Edited to add:
Turns out the site is back up. That's too bad, but we still hope that Natarus does call it quits. The 42nd Ward Democratic Party needs leadership, and Burton Natarus has provided none. It is time for him to fade away.