More Nepotism In Illinois Politics?

I saw this one coming a mile away:

Stroger, who suffered a serious stroke in March, intends to serve out his current term as county board president and will push for the party to nominate his son, Ald. Todd Stroger (8th), to replace him on the ballot for president, according to two Democratic committeemen who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

I don't know how Illinois compares to other states, but I've never been comfortable with the in-your-face nepotism that is accepted as part of our political culture. By nepotism, I am referring principally to familial appointments to political office and not so much to family members placing themselves on the ballot and running in a competitive primary election. In recent years, the wives of deceased Senator Vince Demuzio and Representative Tim Osmond have been appointed, as have the sons of deceased Represenative Roger McAuliffe and retired Senator Denny Jacobs. I don't mean to suggest that there is anything wrong with these folks -- they may be fine individuals by any standard. It's nothing personal, just the "principle" of the thing.

I realize that the apparent plan suggested by the article is for John Stroger, not Todd, to continue to hold the county board presidency while Todd is nominated as the general election candidate. This hardly absolves the situation in my mind because the elder Stroger, having already won the primary, would simply be keeping the seat warm for his son. Anyone who understands Chicago politics knows that the real competition for political office is during the Democratic primary. If Stroger the Younger is appointed he will most assuredly coast to victory.

I suppose it bothers me because, as Americans, we live and breath within a society that embraces the merit system and eschews any vestige of a more old-world European familial-based aristrocracy. There seems to be no real reason why a family member should be considered to be "entitled" to an elected office. Sometimes it's done for sentimental reasons. But are we to expect that, when a private sector job opens because of death or retirement, a family member should be offered the job out of "sentimentality?" I suppose it's just another example of how the culture of government can be somewhat of a fantasy land.

I'm well aware of nepotism in the private sector, but helping a family member get a private sector job is not really comparable to appointing a family member to an important elective office where normal competition for the job typically entails public consideration.

I can understand a diversity of opinions on this subject, but the absolute naked nepotism will never quite sit well with me. If a sitting Governor retired while in office and somehow engineered for a family member to succeed him through appointment, people would likely find it either distasteful or outrageous. I don't get the sense that the same sentiment exists when familial appointments occur within lower offices.