Chicago mayoral candidates Cook County State’s Attorney Richard M. Daley, Ald. Timothy Evans and Ald. Edward Vrdolyak will find out Tuesday how well their campaign efforts have paid off.

Three NIU students expressed their opinions on who they believe would be the best mayor and why that person would be better at the job than the other candidates.

Morenike Cheatom, Student Association minority relations adviser, said Evans is the best candidate for mayor because he will “work for equal representation” in Chicago. She said he has a lot of expertise in city government.

Cheatom’s only criticism of Evans is that he is “riding on the coattails” of the late Mayor Harold Washington by running on the Harold Washington Party ticket. She said he should run on the basis of his own expertise, not Washington’s.

Cheatom said Daley could return Chicago to the era of machine politics, which was at its height during the late Mayor Richard J. Daley’s 21-year term of office. She said not enough time has passed for machine politics to be eliminated in Chicago.

As for Vrdolyak, his candidacy is “an ego trip. He thinks he can win. He has a big following with the ethnic whites,” Cheatom said.

Ed, a junior finance major who asked that his name not be used, said he would support Daley because there would be less fighting in the Chicago City Council since Daley is white. “That sounds racist, but the City Council was in a deadlock when Washington was mayor (because of conflict between Washington supporters and the Vrdolyak 29).”

If Daley is voted mayor, machine politics could be revived if enough of the politicians involved when former Mayor Daley was in office would come back and support it, he said.

Ed does not think Vrdolyak has a chance in the race because “a lot of people don’t like him. He seems really shifty.”

Angel Rodriguez, Organization for Latin American Students president, said he supports Daley because he has “integrity” and wants the city to work and for city politicians to work together. He said Daley goes to Hispanic neighborhoods and talks to Hispanics to discover their needs.

Rodriguez does not support Evans because he seems only interested in blacks’ needs. He would not support Vrdolyak because Vrdolyak is a Republican.