Chicagoist: Protests, Shit Talking, Layoffs: The Cook County Budget

matty

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 15:29:56 -0600

i really hope wha nsh says is correct. it seems like the machine doesn't even want to help its own constituents anymore. I hope this sparks calls for a reform.

Cletus Warhol

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 23:00:26 -0600

That's an interesting theory NSH, Toddler as some sort of unwitting pro-reform counterinsurgent? We'll see what happens there. Perhaps you're right (I guess stranger things have happened). The folks who are getting screwed royally behind this whole fiasco are those rank and file South and West side precinct level workers who busted ass for the Toddler, only to see the very jobs he was supposedly going to bring home for them evaporate in the new budget. You've got to think that betrayal is going to bite young Stroger in the ass at some point. Every union on earth is going to be lined up against him come next election. Beavers is simply out of control with arrogance and hubris. You just know, with that amount of shit talking and bluster, that he's gotten way too sloppy and overconfident in his sleazemongering. Fitzgerald will (hopefully) be feeding on his slimy ass within the next year or so. Speaking of Fitz, lots of cops are apparently planning on writing him in for mayor (at least that's the word on some of the malcontent cop blogs) and Michael Shakman for their respective alderman. Normally I don't cotton to that sort of symbolic protest, but since Richard II is going to win anyway (and his token opponents are lightweights at best) and there is no real aldermanic race in my ward (47th), I may just cast my lot into the wind (so to speak). Hard to say, there's plenty of time for me to sober up before Election Day.

J.R.

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 20:01:10 -0600

You know this is just Tod's way of raising taxes don't you. The idea is to get everyone worried that the county won't be able to provide critical services. He wants to cut all the stuff we care about like health and human services. Then the P.R. campaign will begin to convence you that the only way to pay for all the things we care about is to raise taxes.

john

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 15:59:05 -0600

Jerry, So am I can assume that you voted for Stroger over Peraica or did you leave the ballot blank? I'm just curious. As for the Mayoral election Brown or Walls are token candidates that are looking to increase their own profiles. I don't think they are serious candidates. Daley while surrounded by my corruption needs. I feel he's better than the other two. It's a shame the republicans can't get their act together to put together a viable option. By the way the Don Stevens regime is on par with the Stroger regime. Both corrupt and way too powerful. Again you you had a chance to vote out one group and you missed the chance. You're dead wrong in thinking the Toddler will be out in 4 yrso come and will just get stronger. Just remember there is a difference between Democrats and Republicans on a local level vs. national level. Why do you think Daley has always liked Bush more than he did Bill Clinton? I just can't stand when people vote for their party without really thinking. The issues are very much different.

NSH

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 15:47:15 -0600

Todd Stroger is a reformist's wet dream. He will single handedly kill the Chicago machine with his out of control antics.

jerry

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 15:23:38 -0600

The only time we were offered a legit choice in county government was when Claypool ran. He lost. Periaca was not a reform candidate. He's a corrupt member of the suburban republican machine, which is just as thoroughly corrupt as the city Dem machine, if only weaker. I've never even met Pat Quinn. That's the Lt Gov, right? I forget, the name sounds familiar. Now, how will writing in Claypool or Fitzgerald change anything? Try voting for an actual candidate who isn't Daley. Why aren't you voting for Brown, or even Walls, seeing as how they are actually candidates? And based on the number of enemies the Toddler is making these days, he won't last 4 more years. Claypool will have the opportunity to knock him off then.

DTK

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 13:50:41 -0600

Kevin gets my first place trophy for turning the incredible phrase - "Kiss Beaver's hog nuts." You my friend are a god-damned poet. I still can't help but chuckle when I think about Todd getting booed at the Obama rally. That was so sweet.

John

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 12:29:34 -0600

Jerry, While Peraica may not be the best choice in your eyes I think that the last election offered 2 choices. 1. Stay the corrupt course with Stroger who has proven he is not open to any realistic change 2. Try someone new at a time when the incumbent "the Machine" was weak. You should have given him a shot and could have easily voted him out of office in the next election. At least it would have sent a message that you disagree with the "one party" system we currently have because: The chance for a potential change has unfortunatly passed and real change will be almost impossible as the "machine" gains strength in the next 4 yrs. As for my vote in the Mayoral election. I plan on doing one of 2 things. Writing in Claypool or Patrick Fitzgerald who would be a truly reform unbiased candidate. Also question for. On a hunch are you the Jerry who has strong ties to Patrick Quinn? I'm just curious if you are because I think I know you.

Kevin

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 12:26:49 -0600

Jerry: Mike Quiqley is the biggest sell-out in Cook County politics today. He can't decide who's ass to kiss: Daley's or Beavers's. After he fell all over himself trying to run with Jesse Jackson Jr, and then being told to suck it when Jr dropped out of the race, he hightailed it back over to the county board so he could kiss Beavers's hog nuts some more. He even voted against the Suffredin/Claypool budget. There ain't nothing legit about that.

John

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 12:25:16 -0600

Jerry, While Peraica may not be the best choice in your eyes I think that the last election offered 2 choices. 1. Stay the corrupt course with Stroger who has proven he is not open to any realistic change 2. Try someone new at a time when the incumbent "the Machine" was weak. You should have given him a shot and could have easily voted him out of office in the next election. At least it would have sent a message that you disagree with the "one party" system we currently have because: The chance for a potential change has unfortunatly passed. As for my vote in the Mayoral election. I plan on doing one of 2 things. Writing in Claypool or Patrick Fitzgerald who would be a truly reform unbiased candidate. Also question for you are. On a hunch are you the Jerry who has strong ties to Patrick Quinn? I'm just curious if you I think I know you.

anonymous

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 12:25:16 -0600

I have a family member who is a public defender who has now lost his job. Sad. No only for my family member, but for the people who need the services.

jerry

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 11:21:24 -0600

Well John, I assume that you're voting for Dorothy Brown on Tuesday then? Or Dock Walls? And oh yes, Peraica is such a force for cleaning up corruption. He's only Betty Loren Maltese's lapdog. Periaca is every bit as corrupt as Stroger, he just exploits a stance as anti-corruption to try to gain power. Give over power to Periaca and all those county patronage jobs would go to Republicans instead. Nothing else would change on the patronage/corruption front. Except that King Donald Stephens would have more say in County matters. I did vote for Claypool, and he and Quigley are the only legit reformers at the County Board. Periaca's nothing more than a corrupt opportunist.

John

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 09:53:37 -0600

To all the people who didn't vote for Claypool in the Primary and left the Stroger/Peraica blank because they couldn't fathom voting for a republican, you got what you deserve. You had chance to really make a change at a local level and let it slip through your fingers. The Democratic controlled is extremely corrupt and Stroger's actions prove that he'll do anything including cutting much needed social services in order to protect his patronage appointees. I was disgusted by how many people who are democrat who either voted for Stroger or left the ballot blank because they think that since Peraica's a republican it would mean hell on earth. You made a big mistake that will be difficult to recover and will cost you dearly in the form of taxes and more corruption. Shame on you and you now are seeing the results. Remember this mantra for the future. Think globally and act locally.

geekgrrl

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 09:13:35 -0600

i'm surprised that eliminating those patronage jobs didn't yield more money for the budget. still, it's a start. i like to see claypool and peraica fighting fire with fire. stroger's actions have been unconscionable.