Results tagged “countyclerk”

If you're one of the hundreds of thousands of people that will get stuck with a higher property tax bill this year, one of the things you may be wondering (besides 'why me?') is where that money goes, specifically. Thanks to a new search engine Cook County Clerk David Orr put up the other day, property owners in TIF districts can now see how much of their tax money is going into Mayor Daley's personal slush fund. Progress Illinois took it for a test drive, using Mayor Daley's permanent index number.

For fun, we plugged in Mayor Daley's PIN number (17-22-109-027-0000) and found that a whopping 92 percent of his property taxes were redirected into the Near South TIF last year. By contrast, cash-strapped schools are getting a mere 3.9 percent of the Daley's property tax dollars. This goes to show how much strain the TIF system are putting on those local taxing bodies entrusted to deliver education and other public services.

Among all of the jockeying for Cook County State's Attorney and the sparks and drama of the presidential primaries, one of the more significant local races this primary season hasn't gotten nearly the attention that it deserves.

If you're anything like Chicagoist, you're counting the days (only 382!) 'til Shrub is out and new leadership is in. And hey, America, let's not screw it up this time.

Today, a coin toss by the Cook County Clerk will decide the winner of a Bedford Park Village Trustee race. The two candidates, John "Chuck" Holloway and Ronald Robison, both received 101 votes in the consolidated vote on April 17th.

Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court and would-be Mayor of Chicago Dorothy Brown has been getting all bent out of shape over the word choices of a certain South Side preacher. After Rev. James Meeks told the press that he had no intention of endorsing for mayor "anybody who's going to lose," Dorothy Brown has practically barnstormed the local press, accusing the minister of "hurtful" and "sexist" remarks. Meeks retorted that he wasn't necessarily talking about her.

In a shocking bit of news, no one is accepting responsibility for the election night delays that came out of Cook County Clerk David Orr's office. By 7:55 p.m. only 37 precincts had been processed. The Chicago Board of Elections, on the other hand, uses the same system and completed processing much earlier. Orr stated the $50 million to $60 million Sequoia Voting System would be able to handle all absentee and early votes directly...

Hey, have you registered to vote lately? We're just checking because the voter registration deadline for Cook County is upon us ... as in, today.

High noon came and went in the Cook County Board yesterday, and it seems that the bullets hit their mark. It was all about passing the 2005 budget. Three months late, and with a $73 million deficit, Board President John Stroger (at right) refused to make cuts, and instead insisted on increasing hotel and restaurant sales taxes two percent, lifting Chicago taxes to the nation's highest, 19.25%. Cutting the budget would lead to significant service...

"Yo, Chicagoist! Why the fuck do you give a rat's ass about Cook County gov'ment, budgets and shit? I mean, come on. Really, the Cook County Board really only controls the Forest Preserve and the County Hospital! They don't even run the jails! The elected Sheriff does that. They don't run the courts, the County Clerk of the Circuit Court does that. And they don't take care of taxes, the elected Treasurer and Assessor does that. They don't even take care of all the paperwork, the elected County Clerk does. So why do you keep bothering us with all this shiznit?"

While he stopped short of predicting record voter turnout in Chicago, Chicago Board of Election Commissioners chairman Langdon Neal said he expects turnout to beat the 70% of voters that voted in 2000. Way to go Chi-town that's well above the national turnout of 51.3% in 2000 for the federal elections. In Chicago in 1944, voter turnout was 91%. Holy shit! Can you imagine what a different nation the U.S. would be if 91% of people of voting age turned out for the federal elections?

Last night as Mayor Daley was leaving the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame event, a gay activist approached him and asked him to sign a petition. Daley said he'd "sign anything" and scrawled his name. But he didn't read the fine print and didn't realize that the petition demanded that County Clerk David Orr go against state law and "immediately issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples." Just like what happened earlier this year in San Fran.

Did you know there are two other people besides Barack Obama and Alan Keyes registered as candidates with the State Board of Elections for Illinois' U.S. Senate seat? Well there are and neither of them will win, but both of their names are eerily similar to those of two political celebrities. And that's hard-hitting political news--right?