Stroger's whereabouts unknown to campaign manager during candidate forum

Yesterday, a coalition of Democratic groups hosted a forum for the Democratic candidates for President of the Cook County Board at DePaul University.

Todd Stroger failed to attend.

Sun-Times (Lisa Donovan):

Stroger's campaign manager, Vincent Williams, reached by phone after Sunday's political forum, didn't know why he missed the event: "I haven't spoken to the president today, so I don't have an answer."

Missing a major candidate forum without an explanation is not normal. Having the campaign manager clueless makes it hard for normal people to have confidence in the candidate's competence.

ABC7 is on the case.

After initially saying he was not actually confirmed to attend the debate, Stroger's campaign said Monday they knew of the debate, and pulled out after a Sun-Times report appeared in the paper Sunday alleging a conspiracy in the board race.

In the article Stroger attacks Dorothy Brown. I'm not really sure why Brown getting busted doing something underhanded (according to Sun-Times (Tim Novak) Brown's nominating petitions were in some cases circulated by the same people who circulated Terry O'Brien's) would keep Stroger from appearing.

Why do you think Stroger failed to attend?

President of the Cook County Board candidates forum

On Thursday, November 5, HACIA (Hispanic American Construction Industry Association) hosted a forum for candidates for the President of the Cook County Board at Instuto Cervantes. The following candidates attended (in order they were seated on the stage, from left to right): Todd Stroger (D), Toni Preckwinkle (D), Terry O'Brien (D), Tom Tresser (G) and John Garrido (R). According to the moderator Danny K. Davis (D) had to be in Washington, DC for a health care vote and Dorothy Brown (D) sent her regrets.

According to the moderator WLS, WSNS and CBS-2 all had TV crews there to film the forum.

HACIA prides itself on improving the number of construction contracts awarded to MBE (minority business enterprise) and WBE (women business enterprise).

Biographically this is what the candidates said about themselves.

Stroger, who is the incumbent, hammered that he has improved diversity in Cook County government. He also said he'd lived in the same house for 40 of his 43 years, minus one three year period when he moved ten blocks away. In his opening Stroger said he'd served in three levels of government: state, city and county.

Preckwinkle mentioned the development that has happened in her ward since she'd been alderman. She also included examples things the City of Chicago has done while she's been in the city council.

O'Brien explained he's been a commissioner at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District for 21 years and has been president of that board for the last thirteen years. He contrasted the relatively smooth functioning of the MWRD with Cook County government.

Tresser founded the organization “No Games Chicago”, which opposed bringing the Olympics to Chicago in 2016. Tresser said that he started on led thirteen non-profit organizations in his life. He mentioned opposing Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics, but only once. Tresser teaches at IIT and DePaul. When Tresser referred to himself, he usually described himself as a “community organizer”.

Garrido is a lieutenant in the Chicago Police Department and a lawyer with a small practice. He serves in the 25th District (Northwest Side, Grand Central). Garrido characterized the district as 1/3 Black, 1/3 Hispanic and 1/3 “White”. Garrido's grandparents were from Mexico and Ireland. His wife is Polish.

MBE/WBE

Apparently, there was a 1990 court ruling (Richmond vs. J.A. Croson Co.) that changed how municipal government handled preferences for MBE and WBE. The City of Chicago, Cook County and the MWRD all responded differently. If I understood O'Brien correctly, the MWRD policies did not get challenged in court.

The city and county were challenged in court by the same plaintff. Preckwinkle explained that the city's post-Croson affirmative action withstood scrutiny because it was based on better documentation of inequities in city contracting in the absence of affirmative action. While noting that the problem predated Todd Stroger being in county government, she explained the county lost in court because it failed to assemble the documentation to justify a robust affirmative action program. Preckwinkle praised that the county is finally doing what is required by the courts to implement a strong affirmative action program.

When discussing her personal involvement in MBE and WBE programs, Preckwinkle indicated that she had consistently taken a leadership role in city council to ensure that MBE and WBE were included in city contracting.

Stroger said two things to burnish his credentials as a supporter of MBE and WBE. He told a story about an unnamed county official who wanted to avoid looking for a MBE or WBE vendor because there was an emergent need for services. Stroger refused to approve the vendor and told the county official s/he needed to look harder. Stroger said that since this incident he he hasn't had an official push to avoid looking for a MBE or WBE vendor.

Also, Stroger said Cook County had increased to 25% MBE and 10% WBE which exceeds the goals set.

Tresser expressed desire to increase MBE and WBE contracting levels to the percentages of minorities and women in Cook County. He said Cook County is 41% minorities and over 50% women.

Garrido drew attention to his Mexican heritage, but I didn't note that he ever said he supported affirmative action programs to diversify either the government workforce or vendors.

Sales tax

Preckwinkle reiterated her commitment to repeal the 1% sales tax increase over four years. She reasoned the incremental repeal would allow her administration to learn where waste existed in county government. She also expects that the county can secure more federal and philanthropic resources for health care expenses, which are approximately 1/3 of county spending.

O'Brien expressed a preference for cutting the sales tax completely from the beginning. He reasoned that if the sales tax continued the county would become dependent on the money. O'Brien emphasized the regressiveness of sales taxes. O'Brien said, “Difficult decisions will have to be made.... I'm not afraid to do it.” While he delivered the line with conviction, he did avoid naming specific cuts.

Tresser said, “We can't trust that we know the true financial picture [of Cook County government].” He said he's, “inclined to roll sales tax back as soon as possible.” He repeatedly emphasized that current accounting practices make it impossible to say if Cook County does or doesn't have enough revenue to fulfill its missions. Tresser said he'd do “forensic accounting... maybe a firm that goes after mob money.”

Garrido started with, “Collar counties have a great stimulus; it's called Cook County.” He claimed that 76% of residents don't shop in Cook County because of the higher taxes. Garrido called for roll back of the entire amount, immediately.

Stroger immediately jumped on the claim that 76% of residents don't shop in Cook County. He called it, “bunk”.

Stroger explained that Cook County only gets 17% of the sales tax revenue in Chicago. The State of Illinois gets 61% and the city gets 12%.

Stroger noted that Cook County hasn't raised property taxes in sixteen years. “We're not a business. We provide services.” Stroger broke down spending as 51% for public safety and 41% for public health. “The county is run well.”

There were some other moments when I thought candidates were effective.

Stroger gave an organized answer to the question about priorities. He said the most important thing is for county government to give services. Second is to make sure there's diversity. He wants, “Everybody gets their fair shake.” And he finished by saying that, “You can't believe everything you read in the newspaper.”

Stroger also made a valid point about the format which didn't allow rebuttals. He noted that almost all barbs and attacks were directed at him, so it was somewhat a four on one with the one guy not allowed to fight back.

Preckwinkle explained the legal aspect of MBE and WBE issues well. She also connected the need to diversify contracting to the need to get beyond giving jobs and contracts to people and companies connected to certain ward organizations.

Preckwinkle also handled the question about getting a fair treatment by the media gracefully. “I agree with Todd, he hasn't always gotten a fair shake.” She continued, “Part of the job is to manage the media.” Preckwinkle explained that being a leader in politics requires “not only doing the right thing but persuading people it is the right thing to do.”

O'Brien's most effective points were that MWRD has refunded $56 million to taxpayers it didn't need under his leadership and that MWRD maintains a AAA bond rating with all three bond-rating agencies. O'Brien was the only candidate to discuss measuring the percentage of vendors who were small businesses.

Tresser did something I liked in the first round of questions. The moderator had deviated from the format briefed. Tresser spoke after the three Democrats and asked about when the opening statements would be allowed. The moderator had forgotten and apologized. Opening statements went next.

Tresser had an effective close too. He read headlines about problems in city and county government, including mentioning Dorothy Brown and the headline gigging O'Brien for owning a business that did business with MWRD.

Garrido seems to have a knack for the one-liner. He said, he was “fed up” and “tired of being treated as an ATM” by politicians. He finished his opening statement by saying, “Unlike some this is not a birthright. I'm going to have to work for it.”

Generally Garrido wants to expand the inspector general's office and shrink the rest of Cook County government. He wants to reduce the workforce to 20,000. Garrido says the current workforce is 25,000. Stroger says it was 25,000, but has already been reduced to 23,000. Garrido also promised to reduce the Shakman exempt positions.

Weaknesses

Stroger raised the issue of his cousin in his opening statement, although he didn't mention Donna Dunnings (see Chicagoist (Chuck Sudo)) by name. Stroger defended himself by saying she was qualified. Stroger's defense seemed to be that as long as he wasn't violating regulations by hiring unqualified people he shouldn't be held accountable for making bad hiring decisions. He saved his opponents from having to use Dunnings to attack him because he used Dunnings to attack himself.

When asked what to do to minimize corruption and increase transparency Stroger responded that he's “done it already.” He stated the inspector general has the power to go into any office and investigate allegations of fraud, waste and abuse. The problem with Stroger saying the county is doing everything it should be doing both in delivering services and investigating corruption is that it's easy to infer that Stroger has done all the good he can imagine doing.

Stroger gave the number three as the number of Latinos he's put in leadership positions, but the number 29 for women in leadership positions. Unless his administration has significantly more women than men in leadership, it seems like there should be more Latinos in leadership. HACIA claimed that 24% of Cook County residents are Latino. If you assume women are slightly over half of Cook County then there should be almost half as many Latinos in leadership as women.

Preckwinkle squinted while on stage. Apparently she has real problems with the stage lights pointing in her face. She also had this problem at the Malcolm X College forum.

O'Brien delivered the line about not being afraid of difficult decisions just the way an actor or politician is supposed to deliver the line. I felt like he meant it. However, it would be more credible if it was packaged with something specific he was going to cut or do that was unpopular with some constituency.

I'm not sure how Tresser's claims about the Cook County budget will wear. Saying it's too FUBAR to evaluate allows Tresser to avoid answering questions specifically. However, Tresser might be right. When I discussed the budget with Commissioner Forrest Claypool's then chief of staff, he characterized the budget as being a tool to hide the truth more than a tool to manage what happens.

When answering the question about getting treated fairly by the media both Tresser and Garrido complained about being ignored.

After the forum some of Tresser's supporters were hassling the Stroger entourage about Stroger and company leaving in a huge SUV with municipal plates on it.

Candidate websites:

• Todd Stroger
• Toni Preckwinkle
• Terry O'Brien
• Tom Tresser
• John Garrido

Stroger fires Commissioner Robert Steele's brother

Cook Count Commissioner Robert Steele voted to repeal the Todd Stroger tax increase multiple times.

Last week Steele's brother Byron Steele was fired. See Sun-Times (Carol Marin and Lisa Donovan).

Called in by his boss, James D'Amico, Byron Steele said he was told, "This is a decision from the president, it comes from on high."

There's a scene in Apollo 13 where James Lovell (played by Tom Hanks) tells Ken Mattingly (played by Gary Sinise) that he's not going to be part of the mission because he's been exposed to German Measles.

Mattingly (Sinise) asks to appeal the decision of the flight surgeon. Lovell (Hanks) says it's his call and there's no appeal.

Of course, in the previous scene Lovell (Hanks) was arguing the flight surgeon on behalf of Mattingly.

Everyone knows Lovell is lying. Lovell knows it. Mattingly knows it. And the audience knows it.

But he is preserving the notion that as the commander/boss when he makes a call, it's his call.

In a professional organization, D'Amico wouldn't blame Stroger for the firing. But--here's the rub--in a professional organization Stroger wouldn't be tinkering with hiring and firing decisions except for his immediate lieutenants.

If Stroger knew what he was doing, he'd spend his time and mental energy managing the big picture and leave the hiring and firing decisions to the actual supervisors.

Further commentary: if Stroger felt strong, he'd wait until after the February 2 election to fire people. Once he's the Democratic nominee, he can fire his enemies' friends, relatives and allies with impunity. (This is also true if he loses to another candidate.)

By firing Steele now Stroger is threatening county employees. He's telling them to support Stroger's re-election or expect to be terminated.

Rep. Ford interviews Todd Stroger on WVON

Sunday, on his weekly WVON radio program State Rep. La Shawn Ford interviewed Cook County Board President Todd Stroger.

Ford's questions were a combination of obsequious and opening the door so Stroger could make the points he's making in his campaign for re-election. Ford made a big deal of Stroger's education based on being admitted to St. Ignatius College Prepatory School (competitive admission) and getting a BA in history from Xavier University in Louisiana. At one point Ford referred to Stroger being “crucified” in the media.

(Ford is a strong proponent of Catholic Schools, so it's not surprising he started by emphasizing Stroger's Catholic school roots.)

I called and asked three questions. Two callers made points about Kiddieland. Otherwise the callers were all Stroger supporters who spent time attacking either the media or Rep. Danny Davis for running against Stroger.

Stroger mostly left me thinking less of him after the interview than before.

Stroger mentioned that he started college as an engineering major, but decided to switch when he realized engineers sit at their desks all day. Stroger wanted to move around more.

I am 95+% sure Stroger is lying. Stroger quit his engineering major because he either couldn't do the course work or wasn't willing to make the effort to do the course work. Engineering is hard; history is easy. Stroger's line about engineers spending all their time at their desks is BS. Good engineers push to spend more time with the equipment and seeing how the operators handle the equipment in real life (as opposed to how they should be handling it according to designers). Good engineers spend time in design labs. The excuse Stroger provided for quitting engineering is designed to sound reasonable to someone who is ignorant, but it's simply not true.

In my first question I asked Stroger what he did as an investment banker. Stroger likes to mention his experience as an investment banker on the campaign trail. It sounds like a serious job.

Stroger connected taxing bodies who wanted to sell bonds to bond buyers. He was paid on commission. I'm sure there was some paperwork to do, but I suspect there is very little uncertainty associated with this work. The taxing body decides to borrow money. The rating agencies rate each taxing body. And then the bonds are sold to investors. Bonds are very conservative investments, so it's not like an investor needs to be convinced to take a risk.

Which taxing bodies did Stroger make commissions from? He listed a few, including City of Chicago, Chicago Park District, State of Illinois and District 152 (Harvey elementary schools).

One of the galling things Stroger said in the interview was that he didn't expect to go into politics, he saw himself in the private sector. What is the definition of “private sector” in Stroger's mind? Using political connections to get commissions on sale of bonds? If private sector means private investors raising capital and selling private goods and services to private (not government) customers, Stroger has never held a private sector job. Or, he hasn't mentioned it on the campaign trail.

I asked if Stroger bore increased responsibility for Donna Dunning not working-out as the CFO for Cook County government. Stroger fired his cousin, Dunning, as CFO because of her role in the Tony Cole scandal. See Eric Zorn (Chicago Tribune).

Stroger claimed hiring Dunning reflected positively on him. He said Dunning was successful because Cook County government is “in the black”. Stroger keeps hammering the message that Cook County government had a deficit (although Stroger used the word “debt”) of $ ½ billion when he assumed office and now has a surplus. Stroger's critics contend Stroger's 1% sales tax increase exceeded the needs of the county and that much of the excess taxation has gone to hiring people who aren't needed for Cook County to provide services.

In my final query I asked Stroger to explain the difference between good management and bad management. I asked this question because I suspect Stroger hasn't had experiences in well run organizations and poorly run organizations. He doesn't appreciate the difference; he doesn't know when to delegate issues and when to get involved personally. For example, he dictates who should be hired for low level positions (like when Tony Cole was hired). He doesn't understand that his job as President is to set a direction for county government and keep his lieutenants moving toward the goals he sets. Everything else should be delegated.

Stroger's answer to my query was, “Good management is when things go well; bad management is when they go poorly.” There are a few ways to take Stroger's answer. 1) He's an idiot; 2) He thinks the people listening are idiots; or 3) he just wanted to be disrespectful toward me.

Arlene Jones and then Chris from Edgewater called to encourage Cook County government to do something to keep Kiddieland operating. See Arlene Jones (Austin Weekly News). Both Jones and Chris wanted the Cook County Forest Preserve District to provide land. On this point Stroger balanced acknowledging the passion of Jones and Chris with the constraints on using FPD land for non-forest preserve purposes.

(BTW, I'm pretty sure the origin of making it all but impossible to shift the use of forest preserve land to non forest preserve purposes goes back to the building of Proviso East High School, which sits on land owned by the Forest Preserve District. Forest preserve advocates made the case that there wasn't a point to having a forest preserve if local politicians could raid the land for worthy projects easily.)

I was surprised that so many people called to criticize Rep. Danny Davis for running for President of the Cook County Board. Some said he's doing great in Congress and should stay there (or should have run for U.S. Senate). Others said Davis wasn't particularly productive in Congress. And some emphasized that Davis is just too old and should make way for younger voices. One caller was upset Davis got $160 million for "White folks".

At least one person, Eunice from the South Side, made the argument that Mayor Richard Daley has engaged in much mismanagement, insider deals and cronyism as Stroger. The media seems to accept Daley's misdeeds as part of the package while attacking Stroger for the same transgressions.

This is a strong enough argument that it should be discussed (as opposed to most of the arguments made by callers which were just silly). At a forum on TIFs (see (BobB) Prairie State Blue), Ben Joravsky made this argument on behalf of Stroger. Joravsky's position is not so much asking people to go easier on Stroger, but to ask, why the #%&* Chicagoans don't push to hold Daley accountable.

Danny Davis won't buy a car from Whites, Latinos or Asians

In this entry I will discuss what I observed about the racial politics of the candidate forum for the Black Democrats running for President of the Cook County Board. (Part 1, Part 2, Progress Illinois (Adam Doster) and Laura Washington (Sun-Times & Washington Report)).

First, I'm baffled that the media outlets that seem to relish in finding fault with current President Todd Stroger (Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times) didn't cover the event as news. Washington's coverage was an opinion piece. As far as I can tell, Chicago Defender and the other media outlets didn't cover it either. Cook County Board President is a first-tier race. It's a bunch of money, jobs and power. Why wouldn't media outlets send reporters? Seriously. According to Google Maps it's 4.3 miles by car, about eight minutes from the Tribune Building. Do the major media outlets think Malcolm X College has a “no White people allowed” rule?

Stroger's appeals for support because he's a Black man were the most in-your face.

In his concluding remarks Stroger said, “We let the major papers tear our leaders down.” He then told of shaking the hand of a Black boy at the Bud Billiken Day parade. Stroger said the boy could see, “This Black man is doing something powerful!... This is about Black people and how we are perceived.”

Stroger never called the Sun-Times or the Chicago Tribune the “White” media, but it seemed pretty strongly implied.

Dorothy Brown and Toni Preckwinkle both made appeals that on substance that would have been substantially the same in front of non-Black audiences. Brown emphasized her credentials and her success in getting $187 million out of the Illinois General Assembly. Preckwinkle emphasized her plan and generally being organized in how she presented her ideas. Preckwinkle explained what she has accomplished as alderman, but didn't come back to it. If Preckwinkle did emphasize one thing about her history it was her recognition by groups like IVI-IPO for her independence.

Stylistically, Brown and Preckwinkle differed. Brown's supporters were quite vocal. They were both loud partisans for her and willing to heckle Stroger. Brown's speaking style was also loud, indignant and in-your-face.

One of Laura Washington's commenters wrote the following of Preckwinkle.

Toni’s style definitely puts her at a disadvantage in this race. She’s trying to be the Barack Obama of Cook County. Obama’s style is why he lost to Bobby Rush in the congressional race in which they squared off. Back then, urban blacks could not relate to him, and this is part of Toni’s problem. In using “urban” I’m being polite, as there is another term that better describes the types of blacks who cheered on their candidates at Malcom X. To a lot of urban blacks Toni and Barack are “bougie.” Though, very few urban blacks would say this about barack today openly for fear of reprisals. Toni plays better with certain types of black people—they tend to be college educated and professional and want the blacks who represent them to be of the Harold Washington style.

And, instead of channeling Barack Obama, Toni needs to channel Harold Washington–before it’s too late (LOL!)!!!!!!!!!!

I disagree that Preckwinkle is trying to be Obama. I think her performance at Malcolm X was a natural continuation of her speaking style going back 20 years. (Perhaps as a new politician Obama imitated Preckwinkle. If you were an educated, light-skinned Black person looking to imitate someone successful in the Hyde Park area, who would you imitate?)

The issue of Black candidates splitting the Black vote was hammered home over and over. Cliff Kelley, the moderator, told the audience that Martin Luther King III (in Chicago to promote Olympics) said that Atlanta might elect a White mayor because four Black candidates were running. Davis referred to the split between Eugene Sawyer and Tim Evans. Davis mentioned that seven COGIC bishops were negotiating behind the scenes to get support for one Black candidate.

Danny K. Davis made one remark that I considered a bombshell. Cliff Kelley, the WVON moderator, asked about affirmative action in contracting. (Somebody from the audience shouted about companies fraudulently getting business because they have bogus owners to make them eligible for women and minority set asides. This issue wasn't addressed by any candidates.)

Kelley complained that government work in his neighborhood isn't being done by people who look like him and then asked, “How will you assure minority contracting?”

Preckwinkle gave a detailed answer of how she, aligned with other alderman including “Ike” Carothers, pushed to get set asides for minority and women owned businesses, as part of the negotiations with the International Olympic Committee.

Stroger told of the minority expo that occurred while he's been President and cited an increase from 25-34% of county contracts with minority owned businesses and an increase of from 10-16% of county contracts with women owned businesses. Stroger also attacked unnamed county officials trying to bypass minority contracting requirements by claiming “emergencies”.

Davis began with a general statement about affirmative action. Then Davis said, “If you ain't African-American don't expect to sell me no car.”

I ran this by some people who are neither Black nor White, people who like Davis, and they were taken aback.

Is Danny Davis really saying he wouldn't buy a car from an Asian or a Latino who lived in his district under any circumstances? Davis has gotten a bunch of votes in his life from people who aren't Black, and raised money from people who aren't Black. Presumably he wants to get voters from non-Blacks for whatever office he's seeking in 2010 (he's preparing for two mutually exclusive races).

What's the message Davis wanted the audience to take away from that statement? I think the message is that Black county employees will get promoted ahead of other county employees. And to the extent Davis influences who gets hired for county jobs, Blacks will get jobs ahead of others to the maximum extent allowed by the law.

There are a number of ways to talk about affirmative action and increasing opportunity for women and people who have historically been excluded. Normally liberals talk about diversity and fairness being for the benefit of everyone. The greater good of opening doors of opportunity justifies the relatively small inconvenience to people who have to wait for another opportunity.

Davis has been in in politics for decades. Even when Davis was an alderman, he didn't represent an all Black ward. There was the Island and the tres chic neighborhood on Race and Midway Park near West Suburban Hospital (where Davis lives). Since getting elected to the Cook County Board in 1990, Davis has had to appeal to a substantial number of voters who were not Black.

Davis knows how to discuss affirmative action delicately. But when asked about affirmative action, Davis reframed the discussion as one where only one salesman is going to get a commission. And Davis is going to give the commission to a Black salesman no matter how good the Latino, Asian, White or Arab salesman performs.

Is Davis losing his mental acuity? Has he always felt this way? Or was he making a cynical pitch for Black votes?

Davis boasted on his high approval ratings in suburban Cook County. It's not going to take a political whiz to take Davis saying he wouldn't buy from someone who isn't Black and create a TV ad that drives Davis' favorables down across Cook County.

Davis lamented the fracture of the Harold Washington coalition (Blacks and progressives). But Davis did his part to fracture the coalition. Progressives participate in the coalition because they want to see quality government services delivered to people who need them without a bunch of money skimmed for patronage and machine politics. What Davis seems to want is for Blacks to get the lion's share of the jobs and then Davis will float a plan to expand government services. If it passes that means more jobs for the Black political class. If it doesn't, Blacks got the jobs that were available. Poor people will just have to wait. After all, Jesus said, we'll always have poor folk.

Prez of Cook County Board, candidate forum, part 2

Earlier I gave a summary of what happened at the WVON forum for Black Democrats running for President of the Cook County Board.

Incumbent Todd Stroger repeatedly made appeals based on ethnic solidarity, being a victim of the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times and some attempts to invoke liberal populism.

Clerk of the Court Dorothy Brown emphasized her credentials and accomplishments in her current job. She used a passionate, somewhat indignant style to make her case.

Congressman Danny K. Davis had a folksy style. He spoke in general terms and sold the idea that he could create consensus amoung the seventeen commissioners and generally bring “hope” to the people.

Alderman Toni Preckwinkle had the fewest supporters in the audience, had trouble connecting with the audience, but she made the case that the Fourth Ward has become more desirable for homeowners and businesses for her having been alderman. She was also the only candidate to speak in specifics about what she would do if elected.

There were issues I felt should be covered more to do justice to want the candidates said. So, I wrote this entry and expect to write at least one more.

Moderator Cliff Kelley asked candidates who are their core voters.

Preckwinkle began by explaining her base in the Fourth Ward and on the South Side and moving outward. She mentioned aldermen she had worked with, especially the Latino caucus. She then mentioned progressives and and independent Whites and ended by mentioning women. Someone from the audience heckled Preckwinkle for not mentioning the West Side, the location of the forum.

Brown quoted a poll which had her leading with 34%, Davis with 30%, Preckwinkle with 10% and Stroger with 8%. Brown said the people were “interested in dollars and cents, not Black and White”. This resulted in heckling. Brown and Stroger supporters seemed the most organized in the audience, so I assume the heckling was from Stroger supporters. Brown finished by saying the election of Barack Obama proved that people vote across ethnic lines if the candidate is “qualified and can get the job done.”

After saying he had a strong base in the Seventh Congressional District Davis cited his own polling. Davis said he had 65-6 favorable to unfavorable rating across Cook County. Among South Side voters his favorables were 71-8; among West Side voters 65-8; in the south 'burbs 61-10. Davis said that the only politicians more popular than him were President Barack Obama and Senator Dick Durbin. Davis noted Mayor Richard Daley's popularity exceeded Davis in the city, but Davis beat Daley in suburban Cook.

Stroger began by saying, “My core voters are people who care about universal health care.... people who care about health and public safety.” He went on to draw attention to the City of Chicago's deficit ($ ½ billion) and the State of Illinois' defict ($7 billion). He emphasized, “The county is solid!”

Cliff Kelly quoted former Cook County Commissioner (now U.S. Representative) Mike Quigley saying that he was disappointed because there had not been any serious discussion of reform in the race.

Preckwinkle disagreed and said Quigley was in Congress and “has not been attentive.... [Quigley is] not as informed as he should be.”

Brown stated Quigley was “out of touch” because her campaign was about reform. Brown touted her support of citizen review commissions and noted, “Quigley did not support that idea.”

Davis said, “Reform is like beauty; it's in the eye of the beholder.” Davis then spoke about campaign financing. He advocated for limits on both contributions and spending, finally calling for publicly financed elections.

While none of the candidates praised Quigley, Stroger spoke with the most hostility. He explained Quigley's philosophy of reform as telling Stroger, “Those people you hired should be fired.” Stroger then said, “We've made change.” Stroger then equated change and reform. Stroger finished by saying of Quigley (and perhaps Commissioners Forrest Claypool and Larry Suffredin), “The only change they want? I want your job.”

Kelley asked Davis circulating why he is circulating two sets of nominating petitions (one to run for re-election as U.S. Representative and one for President of the Cook County board) if he's committed to running for President.

Davis said he had vowed not to be the candidate to split the Black vote as happened when Eugene Sawyer and Timothy Evans opposed each other for mayor. Davis said he believes he will be so far ahead in the polls the other Black candidates will drop from the contest and support him.

Stroger took the opportunity to praise Davis whom he called “a champion” of Cook County in Congress and “great counsel”. With Davis being on the Ways and Means Committee, “Now he can do even more.” This resulted in a standing ovation. “In conclusion,” Stroger said, “I support Congressman Danny Davis for the Seventh Congressional District.”

Brown drew attention to potential candidates for Congress being “disadvantaged” by Davis keeping the option of running for re-election. She also objected to Davis' polling, “I was not in his poll.” Brown said her name recognition was 80% in the city and 74% in the suburbs. She finished by saying, “A leader must be decisive.”

Davis reacted to the comment about other candidates by muttering something about how it shouldn't be a big deal for them to circulate nominating petitions for Congress if they are serious candidates.

In his concluding remarks, Davis made the following claim, “I ain't ever had a job that I didn't do better than the person before me.”

I'm going to write more on this forum later. There was a significant amount of racial politics, which I haven't wrote about yet. You can also read Laura Washington (Sun-Times) or Progress Illinois (Adam Doster).

candidate forum, Black Dems running for Prez of Cook County Board

On Thursday, August 27, WVON hosted a forum for the four Black Democrats running for President of the Cook County Board at Malcolm X College (near West Side). Terry O'Brien, the non-Black Democratic candidate, was invited, but had a conflict. The crowd filled the seats and had people standing in the balcony. WVON's Cliff Kelley moderated.

Campaign message:

Dorothy Brown
Brown introduced herself and included the line, “We need new ideas, not new taxes.” She positioned herself as having relevant financial and management experience based on her education (JD, MBA and CPA) and her running the office of the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court (2,100 employees). Brown repeatedly mentioned that she has saved $187 million as clerk. Brown described the county as facing a crisis, financial and management.

Danny K. Davis
Davis started by saying he believed the county and state were in need and could be in crisis. He said he wants honest and open government. He acknowledged that people want to pay lower taxes. He explained the two “essential” functions of Cook County government as being health care and criminal justice. Davis offered himself as qualified to run the health care system because he ran a health care clinic before he was an elected official and because he was a leader in the National Association of Community Health Centers. On criminal justice, Davis expressed the goal of reducing crime and recidivism and to generally give hope. Davis emphasized the role the seventeen members of the county board play and said that he would be most able to bring the board together.

Toni Preckwinkle
Preckwinkle said government has two obligations: 1) to deliver quality service, and 2) to deliver services efficiently and effectively. Preckwinkle touted her experience as alderman improving the quality of life in the Fourth Ward as proof she has the energy and vision to be President of the Cook County Board. Preckwinkle said she'd do three things as President: 1) eliminate the 1% sales tax increase over four years which would make Cook County more competitive which would increase jobs; 2) continue the independent governing board for the Cook County health care system; and 3) reduce the jail population through increased substance abuse treatment.

Todd Stroger
Stroger emphasized having three balanced budgets multiple times during the presentation. He drew contrasts with city and state budgets that have large deficits. He complained the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times unfairly attacked him. Stroger said he was on the side of the people and the people were on his side. During the evening he injected positive information about Cook County government. Stroger's supporters were quite vocal, gave him standing ovations and frequently broke into chants of, “Four more years!”
In his concluding remarks Stroger said, “We let the major papers tear our leaders down.” He then told of shaking the hand of a Black boy at the Bud Billiken Day parade. Stroger said the boy could see, “This Black man is doing something powerful!... This is about Black people and how we are perceived.”

Style:

Brown
Dorothy Brown came across as passionate and energized. There was something not quite right about the modulation for me. Maybe it was too much, too much of the time. Her supporters were about as numerous and loud as Stroger's.

Davis
Davis appeared to be the elder statesman. The moderator, Kelley, helped by being most deferential to Davis. He could connect with the audience without theatrics. Davis was often smiling knowingly as other candidates spoke in a way that made Davis seem like he was watching little leaguers learn the game of politics.

Preckwinkle
While having her ideas organized and giving details was her strength, the style of her presentation was her weakness. Toward the end Preckwinkle's forehead was furrowed. It might have been the light pointing too directly at her face. But it was easy to get the impression she was scowling because she was frustrated. Was she frustrated with Kelly, who treated the male candidates better? Was she frustrated with the audience that seemed to be more interested in style than substance? Was she frustrated that her campaign didn't muster more people for the audience? Maybe it was just the light.

Stroger
Stroger has gotten more effective on the campaign trail than he was four years ago. Four years ago he appeared amiable, if a bit hapless. At the Malcolm X forum he was indignant at be treated disrespectfully by the major media outlets. Stroger used emotion and used details to make his case. Stroger failed to state a vision for the future, but when he said he was on the side of the people he said it with conviction.

Points about county government:

Cook County government spends about $3 billion per year, of which about $882 million go to the hospital, according to Preckwinkle.
Between 2005-07 Cook County forfeited $139 million of Medicaid payments for failing to apply in accordance with federal procedure according to Preckwinkle.
Dorothy Brown was the only candidate that drew attention to the patient intake system. Patients are expected to arrive at 5 AM; the hospital stops allowing patients to get in line at 7 AM. As Brown noted, this kinda sucks if you're sick and there is inclement weather.
Preckwinkle noted Cook County is “in trouble with the federal government for overcrowding” at the jail.

Criticisms of Stroger:

In response to complaining about media coverage, Preckwinkle noted that part of the president's job is to manage relations with the media.

Brown chided Stroger about the forums organized by Cook County government to advise homeowners about mortgage and foreclosure issues. Stroger said the program was an example of Cook County government serving its citizens. Brown countered that the county spent money on something that a foundation (she mentioned the name) would have done for free.
At this point, Kelley made it the clearest that some candidates were more equal than others. Kelley modified the format to allow Stroger to respond. Stroger denied spending money. Brown said he did. Stroger said it was federal money to deal with mortgage issues. Brown countered that the money could have been spent helping people if the forums would have been done for free.
I liked how Brown handled Kelley modifying the rules to help Stroger. Brown simply said her piece and kept talking when Kelly tried to give Stroger the last word. Brown didn't complain Kelly was putting his thumb on the scale, she just took control of the situation.

Other coverage:

Progress Illinois (Adam Doster)

I didn't see coverage in the Trib, Defender or Sun-Times.

[UPDATE: I asked the National Association of Community Health Centers about Davis' experience. This is the email response I received:

Rep. Davis was instrumental in helping to start the National Association of Community Health Centers and served as President before getting elected to Congress. He is also a former employee, board member and patient of two health centers and a long time friend of the Community Health Center Movement. Health centers were started as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty and today they serve 20 million people, nearly 40 percent of whom are uninsured. Congressman Davis has championed for their support and expansion as a Member of Congress, which is why he is a repeat winner of NACHC’s Health Center Champion Award.

[end UPDATE]

Davis circulating petitions for two offices?

I received a phone call tonight from someone who had previously said Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL07) was only circulating nominating petitions for Cook County Board President. S/he said that a minor paper (unknown which one) reported Davis is circulating nominating petitions for both President and U.S. Representative (Congress).

S/he followed the information with a question about whether I would still blog through February. I responded that I would. Besides the IL-07 race, I am interested in the race for the Cook County Board's First District, currently represented by Earlean Collins. I am also interested in the race for President of the Cook County Board and potentially Proviso Township Committeeman.

BTW, I was discussing various candidates for President of the Cook County Board.

• Dorothy Brown
• Danny Davis
• Terry O'Brien
• Toni Preckwinkle
• Todd Stroger
• Larry Suffredin

Comments:

Brown ran against Mayor Richard M. Daley and she's still in politics. If Brown doesn't get on board with supporting Stroger, what further punishment is she going to incur? Brown is probably annoyed at various Black ministers who are aligned with the Democratic Machine. She figures if they backed Daley against her; she can mess-up their situation by splitting the Black vote against Stroger.

Brown also has a winning move in that she can wait until it becomes clear who is the strongest candidate and throw her support behind him/her.

I expect Davis to either file for re-election to Congress or to fold his tent completely and retire from elected politics. According to people in the meeting of the Cook County Democrats in 2006 (when the party needed a candidate to replace John Stroger on the ballot) Davis made a pitch that he was tired of commuting to Washington, DC.

I don't think "I'm tired of commuting to DC" is the pitch that inspires people to stick out their necks for you. "Don't make no waves; don't back no losers," still applies in Chicago. I don't see committeemen taking a risk with someone who doesn't want to work hard. Politics may not reward virtue, but the game doesn't reward sloth and resting on yesteryear's accomplishments.

Davis is running to reconnect with people he met during his 1991 campaign for Mayor of Chicago. He gets to be in the media. And he gets to be important when he endorses Preckwinkle.

O'Brien is hoping that multiple Black candidates stay in the race and he wins based on consolidating the "White" vote. The Democratic Party presumably doesn't want an overly Irish ticket. So there are big picture factors that work against O'Brien.

Preckwinkle has made the greatest inroads into the activist community and has impressive fundraising. Being from Hyde Park is sexier than it was before Obama.

Stroger will have the support of some of the Machine and some Black voters. But the Machine values some level of competency. Stroger may reliably defend the perks and privileges of the Machine, he brings more trouble than he's worth. County government will get more scrutiny with Stroger at the helm.

Suffredin will switch to either running for re-election to the County Board or running for Cook County Assessor against Joe Berrios. Suffredin may know more about county government than the other candidates. But he doesn't connect with voters well on the campaign trail compared to more formidable politicians.

[UPDATE: A reader sent a link to the Pioneer Press (Patrick Butler) article on Davis.

"He is definitely running" for Todd Stroger's spot and will also be getting petition signatures for a race for a seventh Congressional term.

"While he can't run for both jobs at the same time, he has until Oct. 26 -- the last day for filing petitions -- to decide" which office he'll go for, [campaign spokesperson Tumia] Romero said.

[This is typical of Danny Davis. He's obviously slinging bullshit and he thinks that because he's a member of Congress we're supposed to ignore it's bullshit.

[The one angle that sorta makes sense is if Davis is trying to bluff candidates out of the IL-07 race. By circulating petitions Davis is making it difficult for most candidates to organize and raise money. Jim Ascot is the one candidate that will plow ahead whether Davis is running or not.]

how does Vallas run for Cook County Board Prez affect Peraica?

Carol Marin (Sun-Times) reports Paul Vallas will run for President of the Cook County Board as a Republican. The current President is Todd Stroger.

h/t Capitol Fax Blog

What are the implications for the Cook County Democratic Party?

If the Cook County Democrats run Todd Stroger the party has a good chance of losing the seat. Vallas has a long record of public sector accomplishments.

I expect the Cook County Dems will want to run somebody who has a good reputation with the goo-goos, but won't cut patronage as aggressively as Vallas would as a Republican.

The Illinois Democratic Party (functionally the will of the Illinois Democratic Party is equivalent to the desires of Michael J. Madigan) will probably want to prevent the possibility of a strong Republican emerging who would be a threat to run for governor. Madigan's daughter, Lisa, is preparing to run for governor.

So, the Democrats might be fairly united to keep Vallas from winning.

Stroger is a weak candidate.

The Democratic Party unofficial rules seem to be that Democrats have to replace Black Democrats with Black Democrats.

Who is a Black Democrat who is popular with the goo-goos, who wouldn't rock the boat much on patronage? And Alderman Toni Preckwinkle has already started a campaign.

What's this mean for Commissioner Tony Peraica, who represents much of Proviso Township?

Peraica seems to have a special skill at winning elections by thin margins, although he got clobbered in his last election; Anita Alvarez got close to 70% of the vote for Cook County State's Attorney in 2008.

Since Peraica has made himself a thorn in the side of Cook County Commissioner Liz Gorman, the chair of the Cook County GOP, much of the official Republican Party would be happy to throw Peraica under the bus. Gorman and Peraica really dislike each other.

Vallas is a stronger candidate than Peraica, so the Illinois GOP will support Vallas too.

Peraica could run for another position in Cook County government, but if I'm not mistaken, President of the County Board is the only position he could seek simultaneously while running for re-election to the county board.

My personal take is that Peraica has drifted to the Right more and more in how he talks. His political instincts remain a mix of reformist instincts, government as business, progressiveness and social conservatism.

Mike Manzo, Peraica's chief of staff, has moved to DuPage County, which is traditionally the base of the Illinois GOP. Manzo ran his wife for county board against the GOP establishment. Formerly Manzo was president of the board of education of Proviso Township High Schools and he also ran against Ron Serpico for village president in Melrose Park.

I think it's fair to say that Peraica and Manzo see themselves as reformers who see a need to reform and purify the Republican Party and then the Republican Party will be a true vehicle of reform. And they are both committed to social conservatism.

I can see a scenario where Peraica loses his re-election and moves to DuPage County to run for office there. Peraica and Manzo would then seek to takeover the DuPage County GOP and then use that as their base to purify the Illinois Republican Party.

baby birds squeak for money in Maywood

On Thursday, June 26, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger and Maywood Village President Henderson Yarbrough led a meeting that had the nominal subject of community violence. The cynical perspective of the meeting would be to say that county employees were preening to justify their jobs and a number of community members were asking for money for their own ideas about how to reduce violence.

Almost all the discussions about violence concentrated on youth violence. Proviso Township, which includes Maywood, already spends vast money on its children. We have this program called the public schools.

The public schools serving Maywood are horribly mismanaged. No amount of putting church ministers, deacons and local busybodies on payroll to implement “violence reduction programs” is going to change that the schools suck.

The Maywood community has consistently voted to put corrupt people in charge of the schools. And these elected officials have provided jobs and contracts for their cronies while neglecting education for students.

What sort of message does this send to the community? If the community respected their own children they'd spend the money for educating the children on the children, not launder the money through contractors, including lawyers, to make the politically connected rich.

Many of the speakers thanked Stroger for getting their project money. And others kissed his ass just to suck up. Reverend Sampson said "God bless" and bowed to Stroger.

I think it's weird--and un-American--to treat public officials as royalty. The term I like is "public servants". The elected officials and the people they hire work for us. We don't have to prostrate ourselves for basic services. We, the citizens, elect them and pay the bills.

Along these lines, a woman called out that the county employees all got to speak before the citizens and wannabe county employees. (This is a feature of county meetings that is standard. The meetings are to present the perspective of county employees to the chumps who attend these meetings. The ordinary taxpayers are the last to speak.) As the woman observed, a large number of the county employees left before the actual citizens got to comment.

Feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions.

Todd Stroger coming to Maywood

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger is coming to Maywood to talk about violent crime in the west suburbs. See Proviso Herald.

When? 6:30 PM, Thursday, June 26, 2008
Where? Maywood Village Hall, 125 S. Fifth Ave, Maywood

What would you ask Stroger?

I'm thinking of questions like....

Let's assume you wanted to reduce crime in the western suburbs, what power or authority do you have to affect things?

If you aren't doing particularly well at delivering services and restraining spending in the areas of county government you are responsible for, why should we hold out hope you will do something constructive outside your areas of responsibility?

Are you going to be calling-out corrupt local politicians who enable corrupt police officers who in turn enable street crime?

Stroger tax increase proposal

President of the Cook County Board Todd Stroger says it's essential to raise taxes... big time... to prevent cuts in vital county services.

Chicago Tribune (Mickey Ciokajlo):

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger wants to triple the sales tax and double the gas and parking taxes to pay for 1,130 new county jobs and cover rising costs.

Stroger's critics are skeptical. They point out that in the past Stroger preferred to cut essential services for the poor, rather than jobs for his cronies.

A Sun-Times editorial expressed significant skepticism.

Ah, but look what happens in 2009, when the county gets a full calendar year of those new taxes. It collects a staggering $981 million in extra money -- which Stroger admits is way more than the county will need. But don't worry, he says. He'll simply find a way to put the extra money back in taxpayers' pockets. He says he'd cut the parking tax and the gas tax, maybe even the real estate tax, which amounts to $720 million a year. He's not sure.

"We'll repeal the other taxes and the 2 percent will keep us going," he told the Sun-Times editorial board.

In other words, Stroger wants us to trust him.

Mary Mitchell (Sun-Times) gives a defense of Stroger's tax increase proposal.

If you want to weigh-in on the Forest Preserve portion of the tax increase there will be a hearing at the Maybrook Courthouse on Thursday at 6 PM. See Sun-Times (Steve Patterson).

Todd Stroger wants you to pay more sales tax

Raising Cook County sales taxes by two percent seems like a big deal.

Yesterday Cook County Board President Todd Stroger wanted to increase sales taxes in Cook County by two percent, but narrowly failed to get the votes to act. See Sun-Times (Steve Patterson).

The proposal is not dead and will likely be voted upon October 16.

campaign worker used to paint Peraica team as thugs

Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica (R-Riverside) is running for State's Attorney.

Peraica was something of a media darling when he ran against Todd Stroger for President of the County Board. Media people liked Peraica because he was accessible, gave good quotes and reflected back the media's perception of Stroger. Peraica railed against the cronyism, corruption and incompetence.

On election night Peraica's campaign was celebrating, including drinking. Mike Manzo was at the location where the ballots were being tabulated by the Cook County Clerk. There had been a number of irregularities and Manzo witnessed a bunch of Stroger people being on the inside.

Manzo called Peraica and informed him that the campaign should get there people to come over to prevent any cheating.

Peraica marched his campaign staff, many under the influence of alcohol, to the location and they were not allowed to get the equivalent access that the Stroger campaign had.

The media saw and filmed Peraica's celebrants, including intoxicated people, marching like an angry mob. This became the defining image of the campaign: Peraica's angry mob.

The Democrats and their allies in the media are now playing-up stories that re-enforce this image. This is somewhat analogous to the media deciding Howard Dean was unhinged for opposing the Iraq War (before it was socially acceptable on the DC cocktail circuit to say the invasion was a bad idea). So, when the media got an image to match the story they already told themselves, they repeated it over and over again.

For Democrats that want to pooh-pooh Peraica, his complaints about election fraud in Cook County were quite similar to complaints Democrats were making about electronic voting in other parts of the country. The basic complaint is that the dominant party has access to the machines and the votes and if the votes were tampered with the tampering is exceedingly difficult (impossible?) to detect.

I imagine if the Peraica campaign would have had it to do over again... they would have done certain things differently.

But the image of Peraica as the leader of an angry mob is getting re-enforced by other stories now. Capitol Fax Blog (Rich Miller) tied together a couple stories under the title "More thuggery from Peraica".

There are those who say that Peraica’s infamous march to the County Building on election night last year was simply an unfortunate, isolated incident, despite the obviously stupid move of leading a drunken mob across town. But Tony apparently loves him some thugs, and likes to have them do his bidding.

I like Peraica. And the need to reform Cook County government, and especially law enforcement in Cook County, doesn't disappear because the reformers are uncouth.

I think Cook County Commissioner Liz Gorman, who is chair of the Cook County GOP, is closer to the mark on Peraica than the image the media is trying to sell.

Capitol Fax Blog quoting Daily Southtown (Steve Patterson):

“Peraica thinks everything is a fight, but it takes two to fight, and I won’t be part of this,” Gorman said. “He’s tossed too many grenades. One was bound to backfire on him.”

Peraica, and the people around him, often refer to other Republicans as venal, corrupt or incompetent.

When Peraica kicked-off his campaign for State's Attorney he had a conference call for bloggers. Someone--not me--asked a question.

Peraica starting ticking through suburban townships where he had good words for the GOP committeemen, but they he got to Proviso Township and gave a more detailed analysis of the local political landscape.

Peraica said of Michael Corrigan, the Proviso Township Assessor and GOP committeeman, that he barely shows up for his township job, how could you expect him to do any work as committeeman?

Having seen firsthand how the Cook County State's Attorney covers for local politicians not following the law, I see the need for reform. And if Peraica fails to deliver reform at State's Attorney it will be easy enough to dump him in four years.

However, Peraica seems to have trouble focusing on saying things that advance his cause of getting elected without adding gratuitous insults of others, especially local Republican officials.

Gorman may think Peraica's a jackass, but she's not hell bent on sticking it to Peraica. One Peraica campaign worker told me that when he approached Gorman--he'd known her for a long time--she got her people out to help Peraica's campaign.

My two cents is that Peraica and his staff should resist their inclinations to engage in conflict with others when it doesn't advance their interests in accomplishing something specific, like winning an election.

Cook County stuff

County Board President Todd Stroger (D-8th Ward) is considering a property tax increase. See CBS2 (Dana Kozlov).

Commissioner Tony Peraica (R-Riverside) is using his website for video clips to make his critique of Stroger. (h/t Bill Baar's West Side by way of Illinoize.)


Also, Kevin Robinson (Chicagoist) has a county roundup that includes Cook County billing a correctional officer for being stabbed by an inmate, allegations of patronage hiring in the Recorder of Deeds office and discussion of Peraica's "no confidence" vote on Todd Stroger.

GOV, Congressional delegation jerks Stroger's chain

Crain's (Mike Colias):

Illinois' congressional delegation is pressing Cook County Board President Todd Stroger to clean up problems at the county's cash-strapped hospital system if he expects lawmakers to fight for more dollars from Washington....

Critics say the financial problems are rooted in an outdated governance structure that leaves oversight of the three-hospital system to the county commissioners and board president.

That presents "a clear opportunity to use the system for political hiring at the expense of best-qualified health management leadership," says a study last year by a health policy group affiliated with Northwestern University's medical school.

Is Stroger part of the problem because he wants to keep the perks of political power?

Is Stroger the victim, thrust into a situation where he has to commit "murder by spreadsheet" to deal with financial constraints he can't control?

POL, Stroger campaign committee fined over $250K

CBS-2 (Sun-Times News Group):

State officials want to slap more than $250,000 in fines on Cook County Board President Todd Stroger’s campaign committee for failing to properly report contributions.

Election officials say it is one of the biggest penalties they have leveled, and it comes after months of complaints about problems with other Stroger-related campaign accounts.

The Stroger campaign failed to report 78 contributions before the election. That seems like no big deal, if they were small contributors. But it appears the contributions total over $250,000.

That's almost $3,300 per contribution. How many of those contributions you figure came from high ranking county employees and companies doing business with the county?

BTW, it seems like some of the local committees are not in compliance with election law about disclosure. More on this later.

GOV, fired county employee bitter

David G. DeVos wrote a guest column published in the Daily Southtown.

I've spent the last 17 years of my life aiding the care of the patients at Oak Forest Hospital. I arrive to work at 4:30 a.m., five or. sometimes. six days a week. I work in the kitchen. I'm inconsequential in the grand scheme of things for the county, a middle manager whose purpose it has been, until now, to provide meals for patients and to do my part to improve the quality of these patient's lives in my own small way.

DeVos rips Todd Stroger in his letter.

It's the janitors and the cooks and the laundry workers and all of the support staff that serve the county selflessly and make a real difference in the lives of those people who need county services. The pleas of the people fell on deaf ears, but we won't be discouraged because Stroger and the commissioners are elected by those who were tossed to the streets.

We won't forget this, and it will be reflected by our votes. Let's see then if Todd still has that perpetual smirk on his face while he gives his concession speech.

HEALTH, death by poverty; dental care

I used to like in Prince George's County, Maryland. In many ways it's like Proviso Township. It's Black and suburban. One can point to indicators that there is wealth, but there is also suburban poverty.

At Daily Kos nyceve wrote Near nation's capital, an uninsured child dies of a toothache based on For Want of a Dentist
Pr. George's Boy Dies After Bacteria From Tooth Spread to Brain Washington Post (Mary Otto).

By the time [Deamonte Driver's] own aching tooth got any attention, the bacteria from the abscess had spread to his brain, doctors said. After two operations and more than six weeks of hospital care, the Prince George's County boy died.

Deamonte's death and the ultimate cost of his care, which could total more than $250,000, underscore an often-overlooked concern in the debate over universal health coverage: dental care.

Aside from the moral issue of allowing human beings to die for being Black and poor there's a local angle to this story.

One of the things Cook County Board President Todd Stroger wanted to cut completely from the Cook County budget was dental care. Todd Stroger didn't kill Deamonte Driver, but it wasn't for lack of trying. The chief thing that saved Deamonte Driver from being killed by Stroger was that he lived in PG County, not Proviso Township.

GOV, should Cook County tax sulphur dioxide emissions?

A fellow blogger sent me this email the Sierra Club sent to its local members.

Dear Sierra Club member -

Last Wednesday, the Cook County Board voted 10-5 to tax harmful sulfur
dioxide air pollution, emitted primarily from older coal-fired power
plants in Chicago. (GOOD NEWS!!) Sierra Club has been pushing for the
clean up of these power plants for years and this tax will be another
incentive for the owners to reduce it's emissions, not to mention a
good source of funding for medical programs that treat the illnesses
caused by this pollutions.

However, Board President Todd Stroger has threatened to VETO the
pollution tax!! (BAD NEWS!!)

You can help - please call president Stroger TODAY at 312-603-6400
and tell him to NOT VETO the sulfur dioxide pollution tax!!

Sulfur dioxide is a dangerous air pollutant that forms deadly fine
particulate matter. Fine particles trigger asthma attacks and
increase respiratory hospitalizations, heart attacks, strokes, lung
cancer cases and premature deaths.

Vetoing this tax only protects polluters and continues to put the
public's health at risk! The Chicago area still does NOT meet minimal
federal air quality standards set 10 years ago.A tax of $400/ton on
major source of pollution could raise as much as $7m to support needed
county medical services for those who suffer health problems from the
emissions.

Under State rules, sulfur dioxide from the coal power plants in
Chicago will not be fully addressed until 2019. A County tax on
pollution starting this year will provide a powerful market incentive
for dirty power plants and other polluting sources to reduce deadly
pollution much sooner.

Should Stroger forgo the revenue and veto this tax?