Results tagged “countycommissioner”

One of the races that we've been watching this winter is the Democratic Primary in the 3rd Congressional District. Incumbent Dan Lipinski is hoping voters will send him back to D.C. for a third term, but he's facing a tough challenge from Mark Pera, an assistant county prosecutor from Western Springs. That challenge may have gotten a little tougher yesterday when Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool endorsed Pera. If you don't remember the 2004 general...

County Commissioner Forrest Claypool mostly stayed out of the fracas this week, but he's still going after Stroger. And he pronounces "patronage" so the first syllable rhymes with "rat." Don't most of us pronounce it so the first syllable rhymes with "rate"? Also...is Mark Suppelsa secretly foxy?...

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...

Using racist slurs and donning a tablecloth and pretending you're in the Klan won't get you fired from your City job. Joseph Annunzio, you're having the best, most inappropriate and offensive week ever! Congrats on retaining your $77K per year gig with the City's Department of Transportation. If the name "Annunzio" sounds familiar, it's because Joseph's uncle was 14-term Illinois Rep Frank Annunzio. The HR review board decided that Annunzio did make "racist, derogatory and...

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...

Amid criticism and sermons, the Cook County Board voted 9-7 this afternoon to defer until mid-October any further action on theproposed two percent sales tax increase. So while the tax hike isn't off the table yet, the deadline for first-quarter tax increases was today under state law — which means any increase that may happen won't take effect until April 1, 2008, at the earliest. (The county's fiscal year ends November 30.) County Commissioner Roberto...

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...

Remember growing up, there was that one graveyard you just didn’t go into? You weren’t sure why, but something about the place just gave you the creeps at any time of day. Chicagoist recalls wistfully (maybe not wistfully; more like hysterically) one dare-fuelled drive into Barrington's famed White Cemetery, where two of our friends wouldn’t even breathe the open air, opting instead to cover their mouths with their shirts. And when the car became mysteriously stuck in the boneyard’s driveway … well, it wasn’t a feel-good situation. (Later reflection points to the winter weather rather than impish ghosties.)

Illinois budgets are in trouble all over -- at a meeting with legislative leaders late Tuesday, Gov. Blagojevich warned that unless a budget deal is reached, state government could shut down next month. Selling sex toys on the side and earning a $64,000 salary wasn't enough. Karen Bailey, a top assistant to Cook County Commissioner Jerry "The Iceman" Butler, faces felony charges for allegedly stealing nearly $300,000 from an 87-year-old woman, prosecutors and police...

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...

Does it ever seem like interesting political news dries up after an election? Surely the pols who ran are taking a vacation — and why wouldn't they? After a grueling election, knocking on doors, rallying the troops, and getting out the vote, it's no wonder that they want to take some rest and relaxation. With that in mind, we present you our weekly roundup of political news. Manny Flores to Seek Fourth District Congressional Seat....

As Luis Gutierrez makes the rounds for Barack Obama, Latino politicians around the city are jockeying for the opportunity to run for his soon-to-be vacated Congressional seat. Gutierrez has announced that he will "retire" in 2008, but makes no mention of what he will do after that. Last week, Cook County Commissioner Roberto Maldonado (D - 8th) announced that he had created a campaign committee to raise funds for an '08 congressional bid. City Alderman...

Tea is a hot commodity these days. With almost as many varietals and blends as coffee, better organic farming practices, less acid, and health benefits galore, it’s becoming a welcome alternative to the morning cup o’ joe. John Daley first found this out during two trips to Sri Lanka after college. Later, when he was working in Washington, DC, he sipped tea when his workmates were downing multiple cups of coffee every morning. From those...

In case you missed it in the papers yesterday, Todd Stroger stood before God and Cook County, vowing "big changes." "We will transform this government into a more modern, more efficient operation," Stroger said."To get there, the transitions will be tough, the sacrifices painful, the dramatic change worth it." In remarks addressed to the rest of the newly installed Cook County Board of Commissioners (which included Bobby Steele's son Robert Steele), the Toddler announced that...

Hey there, little buckaroos! We sure do have us a whole herd a political tidbits to round up, so let's saddle up and git a rollin'! Mayor Daley has nothing but good things to say about convicted patronage chief Robert Sorich. In a press conference this week, he said they were all "fine young men," citing his personal knowledge of their families. He went to great pains, however, to avoid passing judgment over Sorich's 48-month...

President-select of the Crook County Board Todd Stroger is backing off a campaign promise to fire the county's controversial patronage chief, Gerald Nichols, who was suspended from his $114,000-a-year job in the wake of a federal probe. Stroger had vowed during the campaign to fire Nichols, and many expected him to do it immediately as a sign of commitment to reform. Instead, Stroger said Tuesday that he would lift the suspension on Nichols and bring him back on board to serve as an advisor.

"Sunday Social" via pantagrapher in Contribute.

In the race for the Democratic nomination for County President, the bad blood between County Commissioner Forrest Claypool and current President John Stroger probably won’t be improving anytime soon. Both Claypool and Stroger appeared on NBC 5’s City Desk with Dick Kay yesterday morning. Unfortunately, Stroger is not keen on debates, so they did not appear together. Wait, maybe that’s a good thing. At this point we wouldn’t be surprised to see a meet...

It’s been a while since we talked about City Clerk James Laski’s involvement in the Hired Truck scandal. We’re sorry about that, but we were too busy trying to learn keno to write an update. And what a waste of time that turned out to be. So what’s been going on with Laski? Well, he vowed to stay on as City Clerk after being charged with taking bribes from trucking companies and lying to...

County Commissioner Michael Quigley has dropped out of the race to become County Board President and is throwing his support behind fellow commissioner Forrest Claypool by becoming chairman of Claypool’s campaign. The Tribune offers a love letter to Quigley today, praising him for his “unselfish act” in dropping out of the race and his “passion for repairing Cook County.” Can’t you almost hear Barry White playing softly in the background? This sets up a...

Cook County Board President John Stroger announced yesterday that he will be running for a fourth term. Stroger also alluded to possible property tax hikes next year to cover budget shortfalls, and defended his use of patronage, which immediately drew the ire of his political opponents. “We voted down tax increases and we proved they weren’t necessary. We didn’t have those tax increases and there wasn't a single cut in services the last two years,”...

Is there a more fun city agency to work in than the Chicago Department of Water Management? First we discover that if you pay a little bribe, you can make a lot of dough in overtime. City worker Richard Pacheco (as opposed to the other Richard Pacheco) said that when he gave cash to his supervisors, he in turn received overtime resulting in an additional $14,000 in pay. The extra cash must have come...

"Rebel", "agitator", "founder of the revolution". They're talking about Cook County Commissioner, Mike Quigley, who announced his long-expected candidacy for Cook County Board President at the Hotel Allegro this morning. Expecting a crowded race for president, Quigley, a Democrat, hopes to grab the public's attention by mounting his campaign early. So far the only other announced candidate is Republican Commissioner Tony Peraica, who announced in March. Democratic Commissioner Forrest Claypool is expected to officially announce...

The twelfth Hired Trucker was convicted this week, as Joseph Ignoffo of Ignoffo Trucking plead guilty to mail fraud and detailed how bagmen from the Water Department took bribes and directed political contributions to campaign funds for Cook County Commissioner and Mayoral Brother, John Daley. Ignoffo would make cash payments to Water Department Deputy Commissioner Donald Tomczak and later his underling, Gerald Wesolowski, in return for millions of dollars of city trucking business. Meanwhile, the...

Whee! Chicagoist just loves Cook County government! Between all the hospitals, and jails, and courts, and property taxes, there's just so much to love! That's why we're excited to read that Republican Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica is throwing down the gauntlet and holding a rally this Saturday to announce that he's running for County Board President. Sure it's been thirty-seven years since a Republican was County Board President. And of course current Democratic President...

The State of the City speech is usually a snoozer for Chicago media, a few major programs are announced, and a write up goes into the paper. But this year Mayor Richard M. Daley used the opportunity to make the first two substantive moves against corruption in his administration since the Hired Truck Scandal first began a year ago. First, he will privatize the entire hired truck program and take it out of city control,...

The Hired Truck probe/scandal dug into some new corners of Chicago's give-and-take politics, as John Cannatello, the alleged true owner of Bridgeport-based GNA Trucking, was accused of and indicted in federal court for disguising his business as woman-owned (through his wife's name), while he actually operated the business. Cannatello is the sixteenth person to be indicted in the U.S. Attorney's probe.

"Dead on arrival." -- County Commissioner Larry Suffredin commenting on budget And perhaps for the second time in ten years, Cook County Board President John ("I have a hospital named after me") Stroger may not have the votes to pass his proposed county budget (download exciting copies here). The sticking point for the $3.05 billion budget is over $78 million in new taxes, primarily a two percent increase in restaurant and hotel sales tax, putting...

We'll say this upfront: The Big News is that it takes Phoenix $2 million a year and 36 employees to handle all their documents, while it takes Cook County $19 million a year and 279 employees to do the same job. Ever earnest and diligent Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool produced a report this past week suggesting that if we upgraded our computer systems, we could cut the number of employees and save on the County Budget.

Ben Joravsky's column in the The Reader this week addresses something every property owner is thinking: Cook County's property tax assessments are wack. We briefly mentioned this fact earlier this week, but Joravsky's article picks up on an interesting study by Merlin Tripp, of Citizens for Fair Assessments and Taxes. Tripp's study uses the financial disclosures of various Chicago public officials to get a sampling of how much property tax bills have actually risen over...