At what would be the last meeting for a trio of names familiar to those who follow Cook County politics, Todd Stroger, Tony Peraica and Forrest Claypool took some good-natured jabs, said goodbyes, and thanked supporters. Stroger, who lost the Democratic primary to 4th Ward Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, defended the unpopular penny-on-the-dollar sales tax increase he worked to implement. “That penny literally kept the government running. Without that money, we would have had to shut some doors, cut days off, not provide some services as we actually are dictated to (provide) by the state.” Stroger told press after the meeting. He also publicly thanked his cousin, Donna Dunnings, saying “I’d like to give her a lot of credit for the success we had,” as she, according to the Sun-Times, "openly wept" in the audience. Dunnings was fired by Stroger in 2009 after a patronage scandal that had her bailing a former steakhouse busboy out of jail, twice, amid allegations that he was improperly promoted and carried on an inappropriate personal relationship with her. more ›

7th Ward Ald. Sandi Jackson filed petitions to run for re-election this week. At the same time, she also filed to run for city clerk, a seat being vacated by Miguel Del Valle who is running for mayor. Jackson has until the end of the month to decide which office she wants to run for and withdraw one of the petitions, but in either case she will likely face a candidate at least affiliated with county commissioner and former ward alderman Bill Beavers. Beavers's daughter Darcel, who lost to Jackson in 2006 is looking for a rematch, throwing her hat in the ring, and Mersaydes Young, a staffer in Beavers's office is running for city clerk. “We’re going to weigh both seats and pray,” Jackson told the Tribune of how she will make her decision. more ›

Juvenile Detention Center Director Earl Dunlap faced harsh words from County Commissioners yesterday on everything from his communication with the board to the way he dresses. more ›

According to a new Sun-Times analysis of last Tuesday's county-wide primary races, those candidates that attempted character assassination of their rivals by associating them with unpopular Cook County Board President Todd Stroger lost, almost across the board. Stroger's approval ratings are basically in the same territory as President Bush's—somewhere between rock bottom and Herbert Hoover—so the prevailing logic was that if you could associate a candidate with Stroger, it would be like transferring his unpopularity onto them. Makes sense, right? more ›

21st Ward Alderman Howard Brookins accepted Jesse Jackson's endorsement for Cook County State's attorney Sunday at Jackson's South Side Rainbow/PUSH headquarters. more ›

One of the more contentious races in Tuesday's election is at the Cook County Board of Review, where incumbent Joe Berrios is facing a stiff challenge in trial lawyer Jay Paul Deratany. For many homeowners throughout Cook County, the Board of Review is their best chance at finding relief from both the monster property tax increases proposed by Mayor Daley and the County Board and the skyrocketing assessments of County Assessor Jim Houlihan. more ›

Congressman and mayoral wannabe Jesse Jackson Jr made some strange bedfellows this weekend when he announced that he's endorsing Larry Suffredin for Cook County state's attorney. more ›

In quick succession, the Cook County Board shot down a series of tax hikes yesterday, including proposed increases on electricity and natural gas. Five other increases backed by Democrat Roberto Maldanado, including taxes on SUVs, hotel stays, jet fuel and liquor sold in bars, died without support from any commissioners. The 2-14 vote against the electricity and natural gas taxes, proposed by Stroger ally Bill Beavers, signaled the unofficial death of Board President Todd Stroger's... more ›

The Board meeting we went to a few weeks ago was excruciatingly boring, but some parts got cattier than a sorority house during period week. Looks like that was the theme yesterday, too, when things really got ugly at and after the meeting, with Bill Beavers leading the charge. But he wasn't the only one--lots of people got in on the action. Liz Gorman on Tony Peraica: "loser," "pathetic, pathological liar," "abusive weasel," "no man,"... more ›

Chicagoist wasn't the only one reminiscing about Harold Washington this week. With the Cook County Commission deadlocked over the budget, County Commissioner Bill Beavers lashed out at the opposition in a press conference yesterday, saying that if Stroger were white, his budget proposal would pass. “This is a remake of the Harold Washington days with the 29, 21,” Beavers said, adding “it’s basically dealing with who’s going to control the county, white or black.... If... more ›

Jesse Jackson Jr wants the FEC to tell him whether he can use his campaign funds to help his wife, 7th Ward Alderman Sandi, to unseat Bill "Hog With the Big Nuts" Beavers as ward committeeman. In the advisory opinion request he submitted to the federal commission on October 15, he specifically asked for clarification on several issues, including how much money, if any, his re-election campaign can give his wife, as well as the... more ›

Tony Peraica, Cook County commissioner and state’s attorney candidate, is having the worst week ever. As if being a homophobe right-winger in Cook County wasn’t bad enough, now the rest of the local GOP combine has turned against him. Joe Birkett, Judy Baar Topinka’s running mate for lieutenant governor, is backing Mary McMahon, an assistant state’s attorney in Democrat Dick Devine’s office, as the GOP candidate for State’s Attorney. This after he spoke at a... more ›

Mike Quigley would have you believe that he supports good government for Cook County. He came into office in 1998, the lone reformer on the bloated and corrupt board. By his second term, he found brotherhood: joining forces with Forrest Claypool, Larry Suffriden, and Tony Peraica, they managed to form an alliance and win some victories against John Stroger's Machine. In 2005 he threw his hat in the ring to challenge the former County Board... more ›

Has Cook County politics become so cynical, so corrupt, and so arrogant, that it just doesn't matter anymore? If recent calls for an investigation of $500,000 that is "missing" from the county budget are any indication, we have to wonder if there is a light at the end of the tunnel for both taxpayers in Cook County and the people that use the services that the county finances. Tony Peraica, the Republican that was supposedly... more ›

When we read the news about what's going on with Cook County these days, we just want to pull out our hair and scream. What the fuck is going on!? We remember all the bullshit that opponents of Forrest Claypool and Tony Peraica spewed about job cuts and budget slashing during last year's election, and how everyone was saying that if a Republican ran the county it would go to hell in a handbasket. Three... more ›

Not all political news can be about hogs and nuts, but we'd like to dedicate this edition to our dear friend from the 7th Ward, Bill Beavers, without whom we wouldn't have nearly so much arrogance to write about! more ›

Chicagoist doesn't ususually go in for the rough talk. We like it smooth. Easy. Gentle, baby. But we've had enough of this shit. Not only is Bill "I think I'm the Godfather" Beavers trying to extort Blagojevich for $100,000 in campaign money by threatening him with the black vote, he's also gone ahead and built up a little slush fund for him and his buddies to use. The Governor basically told the Toddler to shove... more ›