The Cook County Board of Commissioners had a contentious meeting yesterday as they tried to resolve a looming budget shortfall of nearly $300 million. The board must pass a budget by Feb 29 or face a partial shut down of the county government. Board President Todd Stroger has been trying to convince county commissioners and the public that unless the county sales tax is raised to two percent from its current 0.75 percent, county health......

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......

It wasn't all about roasting pigs out in the 'burbs this week: An Aurora couple (pictured above) was busted for running a prostitution ring on Craigslist, which included offering up the services of a 17-year-old runaway from Wisconsin. It looks like the GOP chairman in Will County liked our drunken election night idea. But we said nothing about drinking and driving, sir! Let's drink and vote responsibly, people. Steger school administrators dyed their hair......

Just days after the death of his father, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger has indicated that he may agree to give control of the county hospitals to an independent agency. Stroger's chief of staff Lance Tyson told Crain's Chicago Business "the intent is to take health services for the poor out of the sphere of politics and put it into a sphere of greater business expertise." The proposal to turn the county's health care......

Former Cook County Board President John Stroger has died, Mayor Daley announced this morning. He was 78. Born in Arkansas, Stroger moved to Chicago in 1953 and was named Democratic committeeman of the 8th Ward in 1968. He was elected to the Cook County board in 1970, and was elected board president in 1990. He never fully recovered from the stroke he suffered in March 2006 and officially retired in July of that year; his......

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......

The Hyde Park Co-operative Market has faced some trying times recently. They closed their 47th Street location in 2005, but are still paying rent on the empty store space due to a lease in which they're locked in until 2023 that's held by Certified Grocers, who also serves as the co-op's supplier. While they've been paying rent on the 47th street location, they're a year behind on rent at their 55th Street store (note: Adam......

Crook County Board President Todd Stroger unveiled his $3.2 billion budget Wednesday. Stroger has struggled to give the appearance that his government is small and fiscally responsible, eliminating about 735 positions over the last three fiscal years, and reducing 1,800 positions from this year's budget. Now he claims that bringing the county's tax take to $888 million by 2009 — by tripling the county sales tax and doubling gas and parking taxes — is necessary......

A blue-ribbon committee of business and health care executives announced their recommendation yesterday that an independent board assume oversight of Cook County's health care system. The ten-member committee was appointed by Board President Todd Stroger last spring at the urging of Senator Dick Durbin. Stroger said that he is open to independent management of the county's health care system, stating the obvious to the Chicago Tribune: "It's obvious that the [County] Board does not work......

Wednesday, some of you were upset at the thought of a short-term solution to the CTA's ongoing budget crisis. We were upset at the thought of bus lines being cut, fares being raised and people losing their jobs just because the legislature couldn't give the transit budget deficit one more serious consideration. We said we think it would be a good idea for the CTA to take the $24 million dollars that the governor offered......

SHOOTING: Two homeless men shot in a 24 hour span in Uptown -- they appear to be unrelated. In more shooting news (why is there so much?!): Police have two "persons of interest" in custody Sunday morning after two teenagers were shot in a playlot on the South Side in the Woodlawn neighborhood, blocks from the University of Chicago campus. TRAINS: Our dear friend warns us: This is why you NEVER put headphones in......

Bill Clinton was in town today to sign books at Borders on North Michigan. A woman arrested for battery of an off-duty police officer claims that the arresting officer offered the cop filing the complaint a "free shot" while she was cuffed in the squad car. She also claims that the next day she was pulled over as a joke and let go. What is he smoking? Cook County Board President Todd Stroger says......

In other news, Blagojevich says that he will cut $500 million from the budget and spend more on a health plan he favors. Yesterday, Cook County Commissioner and once and future candidate for Board President Tony Peraica announced that he would run for Cook County State's Attorney in 2008, which current three-term State's Attorney Dick Devine will be vacating at the end of his term. "It's time for Cook County to have a State's Attorney......

There's no love lost here between Chicagoist and Cook County government. In fact, not only has Todd Stroger (as well as the other comedians that pass for "Commissioners" on the county board) been a target for our anger, frustration, and disappointment, they've been fodder for our ridicule and a symbol of what's wrong with local government here. Looking back at the news from last week, we've been following the story of Sally Lemke, the nurse......

Although the week is shorter, that doesn't mean that there hasn't been political news out there to round up! This week, we're making a special dedication to Chicagoist's favorite bad guy, the man that makes us the national butt of every political joke in town, the guy that represents everything that is wrong with our local political system, Todd "The Toddler" Stroger. Without further ado, let's take a gander at his follies and foibles, and......

Vito Zaccaro was working at Cook County ... that is Stroger Hospital as a Cook County Sheriff's officer when the inmate he was guarding pulled a shank on him, stabbed him in the neck and wrestled with him for his gun. Losing blood from his neck, he retained control of his weapon, and chased down Willis Reese in his attempt to escape. Now, two months later, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger's office has denied......

That Todd Stroger. He makes being Cook County Board President seem easy. When he isn't slashing budgets, trying to hand out no-bid contracts to his mobbed-up friends, and devastating the already minimal social safety net that the county has set up for the most vulnerable residents, he's running late to an endorsement session held by black ministers or trying to get family members cushy jobs on the county payroll. And this week was no exception.......

It's been another spring week of wacky weather here in in the Windy City. And just like the sunshine, our elected leaders have been coming out to shine. Let's take a look back at some of the more notable events thus far: Black Business Group Doesn't Like Blago's Tax Plan. The Alliance of Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs (ABLE), a group representing African-American businesses has reviewed the governor's proposed budget plan, and they've given it what......

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......

Chicagoist wants you all to go to this story and look at the expression on CTA Board President Carole Brown's face as she rides a bus this February. Classic. The picture accompanies an article detailing Brown's plan to have the CTA's Office of Inspector General do an audit to see if buses and trains are cleaned as often and thoroughly as they should be. At a board meeting Wednesday, Brown was given the party line......

Here's the scenario: Cook County's in the hole by about $500 million. Infamous Board President Todd Stroger wants to slash jobs without raising taxes, which has many people up in arms, including newly elected Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. Stroger wants to dispose of some of Dart's courtroom staff and police force. What's a rookie sheriff of the most populated county in Illinois to do? Taking a cue from downstate Kankakee County, Dart is mulling......

Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool...

The other day we regaled you with a quick overview of the sideshow that is the aldermanic race in the 50th Ward. It seems that besides talking a lot of smack about each other, there is a bit of a war going on on the internets, and everyone wants to blog about why you should vote for them. Greg Brewer has a video weblog that has been running on YouTube for a while now, and......

First he loses the private elevator, what’s next? The family name off of the hospital? We speak today of Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, whose days of riding a private elevator are over. Stroger was given the private elevator in the County Building last month, in order to keep him from chatting with all of the regular elevator riders. When he rode the public elevator, his chatty side got the best of him and......

The big news yesterday was that Daley would run for relelection. Lined up at city hall with all the aldermanic candidates was none other than Terry Peterson, former Chicago Housing Authority CEO and Daley's campaign manager, carrying less than 25,000 signatures to put Hizzoner on the ballot. This is a far cry from past campaigns when Daley surrogates would arrive with nearly a quarter million signatures. While some have speculated that filing light like this......

At Wednesday's first meeting of the newly installed Cook County Board, Todd Stroger kept his first promise of the new term — moving to appoint a tougher, more independent inspector general. Under a bill introduced by Commisioners Mike Quigley and John Daley, a new inspector general will soon have broader powers of oversight across all county offices. Assumed to be retired Circuit Judge Julia Nowicki, thanks to an agreement between the county and attorney Michael......

While Chicagoist was busy stuffing our faces with traditional Thanksgiving fare, another tradition of sorts was taking place here in our fair city. Taking her lead from the recent coronation of Todd Stroger as the the replacement of his father on the Cook County Board, interim President Bobby Steele announced that she wants her son, Robert, to take her place on the Board when she retires in early December. This is more than just a......

Jobs come and go. Like the economic pundits keep saying, the vast majority of people are going to switch jobs and careers several times over their lifespans, and that will only happen more often in the future. We ourselves went the temp agency route for a while; an eight-week long stint here, a two-month-plus gig there. We worked at a few places for only a couple days. However, we don't remember receiving an unuusally hugeass......

In case you missed it, there was an election yesterday. Chicagoist hopes you got out and voted. And after we rocked the vote, we rocked the Daily Bar & Grill at a special election night happy hour; you should have been there. That said, it was an exciting day: The Democrats have taken the House, but the Senate is still a toss-up. And yes, that means that Nancy Pelosi will be the new Speaker of......

One of Chicagoist's favorite movies of 2005 was the adorable documentary, Mad Hot Ballroom, which told the story of New York Public School students who cha-cha-cha-ed and fox-trotted in a local competition with training they received in extra-curricular dance programs. We were apparently not the only fans of the film, as former Chicago School Board President Michael Scott brought a similar program to Chicago Public Schools after seeing the film. Current Board President Rufus Williams......