N06, what Todd Stroger said to Proviso Dems

(photo by Carl Nyberg)

Alderman Todd Stroger, candidate for President of the County Board, took questions from the audience at the Proviso Democratic Organization last night. My take: he was better than atrocious, but not so good that he closed the sale for people wavering.

Stroger’s opponent in the November election is Commissioner Tony Peraica (Republican—Riverside). The Cook County Democratic committeemen selected Stroger to replace his father as the Democratic nominee after his father, John Stroger, withdrew from the ballot. The elder Stroger had a stroke about one week before the Democratic Primary in which he narrowly defeated Commissioner Forrest Claypool.

(In the past Rep. Karen Yarbrough has asked me not to report on what happens in meetings of the Proviso Democratic Organization. She feels it would inhibit discussion. So this entry is written based on what Stroger said and did without the audience questions or reactions.)

Stroger started by saying, “I have a good record, an extensive record.” He has been an alderman and a state representative, although he has neither served on the county board nor run in a competitive election. Later Stroger added that he has “Democratic values” which means he’s for the “working class, poor and working poor.”

“I know how to work with people,” added Stroger. His opponent has been criticized for not playing well with others.

Stroger addressed technology issues facing the county. “The county will need updating… [John Stroger] wasn’t a modern person; I have a Blackberry.”

Stroger described the health care system as “threatened” and promised, “We’re going to talk about health care and the environment.” He reminded people of his inspector general proposal.

In the Q&A session Stroger described his IG proposal. Instead of having a four-year term, the IG would have a six-year term. The IG would be authorized to investigate allegations under any of the seven elected officials, not just areas supervised by the President. And the President would choose the IG from a list nominated by the Chicago Bar Association and Cook County Bar Association ("The oldest African American bar association"). Stroger added the caveat that he couldn’t guarantee his proposal would be passed by the commissioners.

[UPDATE: Stroger's proposal would have the county board vote on the list of nominees submitted by the bar associations. See Chicago Defender (Demetrius Patterson). This would remove the conflict of interest of having the President pick his own IG. However, many of the commissioners have their cronies getting jobs and contracts in the county. So, it's not like they don't have the same basic conflict of interest the President has.]

When discussing the federal monitor of county hiring Stroger said he was opposed to spending $400 per hour on a monitor. He used gestures to show that a federal monitor would receive job applications and place them in an inbox. He made a federal monitor seem like just another layer of bureaucracy. He said, “I see no reason to give up even more independence to the federal government.” He then likened a federal monitor to the intrusiveness of the PATRIOT Act and said it was like the federal government “bugging houses”. He finished talking about the federal monitor by asking, “What makes them more qualified [to evaluate job applicants]?”

During the Q&A Stroger said, “I’m not sure what the Machine is. I’m independent of the mayor. He’s got his thing; the county has its thing.” Later he said, “Political hiring is a thing of the past.”

Stroger made the following statements about the county hospital and county health care system. “County is not doing a good job collecting from the insured. There’s an attitude everything is for free… County is $50,000 behind in collection… People should be treated with respect… Too many people depend on County.”

Stroger acknowledged “the liberal wing of the Democratic Party” is upset with how he was selected to be the nominee. He said he recognized the need “to appease them.” He then touted the support he has received from Commissioners Larry Suffredin and Mike Quigley. Then he said, “We’re searching for Forrest Claypool’s number in the car.” Stroger added definitively, “He will be onboard.” (This didn’t happen; see Chicago Tribune (Mickey Ciokajlo)). Stroger also said he’d be campaigning “up north” although he wasn’t clear where he meant.

When Stroger spoke about the 1,300 people hired after President Stroger became incapacitated Todd Stroger explained them in a few ways. He said 426 were deputy sheriffs required by a court order. He made other claims, including saying the Peraica’s chief of staff was among the 1,300 hired since John Stroger’s incapacitation.

(I called Mike Manzo, Peraica’s chief of staff to ask about this. Manzo said he was promoted to chief of staff in 2005. He called Todd Stroger’s statement “a lie.”)

Todd Stroger was vague when listing his accomplishments in the legislature. He mentioned the Safe Neighborhood Act, a gun running/assault rifle bill, juvenile detention, fly dumping, raising the minimum wage, a domestic violence bill and a nursing home bill. He said many of his bills were not passed into law because the Republicans controlled the Senate. He also said that it had been a long time ago and he’d have to check what bills he passed.

Stroger said his campaign was trying to reach younger voters, by email and other methods. Stroger said, “I’m not as modern as I used to be…. I don’t know all the technical stuff. They just kick me out the door and tell me, ‘Go talk to people.’”

Stroger has taken to calling himself a “Bill Clinton Democrat”. He explained this meant he cared about working people, sought to promote opportunity and cared about health care.