Results tagged “forrestclaypool”

That then-U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel of the 5th Congressional District of Illinois wanted a hand-picked replacement who could essentially serve as a "seat-warmer" when he was selected as then-President-Elect Obama's Chief of Staff is no surprise. That "seat-warmer" would hold Rahm's seat in Congress until Rahm was done working for Obama and could return to his place on the Hill. And that Rahm had contact with Blagojevich about various replacements - including the infamous "for sale" U.S. Senate seat - is also no surprise. Rahm's admitted they talked shop but also maintained he did nothing wrong. But this morning we're getting more specifics courtesy of an investigation by the Sun-Times who reports that Rahm wanted Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool as his "seat-warmer." more ›

The Sun-Times reports that U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis is forming an exploratory committee to consider a run for Cook County Board president early next year. The field is already crowded with at least six other officials showing interest. The Chicago Reader has a roundup of the potentials, which includes, Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin, Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown, Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, and of course Todd Stroger. Currently there is no clear candidate for the Republican primary. more ›

• Metra found out today they're the recipient of $46 million in federal cash.
• The Parking Ticket Geek has shots of today's Parking Meter protest.
• Cook County Commissioner Willaim Beavers took a cheap shot at departing commissioner Forrest Claypool, calling him a, "born loser."

In a surprise move, Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool announced yesterday afternoon that he would not be running for County Board President. Claypool, who ran as a reformer against John Stroger in the 2006 Democratic primary, said in an email to supporters that he has "decided not to be a candidate again for Cook County board president. Nor will I be a candidate for a third term on the board." He has also canceled his June 30 fundraiser, and "will be returning all checks." In an early May poll, Claypool was ahead of both incumbent Todd Stroger and 4th Ward Alderman Toni Preckwinkle. more ›

Paul Vallas isn't the only person (maybe) running for Cook County Board President. Incumbent Todd Stroger has made it clear that he intends to run for re-election, and Forrest Claypool, who was poised to take the seat before John Stroger was felled by a serious stroke, is also rumored to be considering a run. Fourth Ward Alderman Toni Preckwinkle has also expressed interest in the job. (She even has a Facebook page!) "He's (Stroger) a nice man," Preckwinkle told Russ Stewart at the Chicago Daily Observer. "But it's not the job for him. He's damaged and crippled the reputation of (county) government. It's time to professionalize it." more ›

The Cook County budget showdown is gearing up as county President Todd Stroger is expected to unveil his 2009 budget proposal today. Stroger has already put pressure on Cook County commissioners to approve a plan to borrow $720 million. The Stroger administration argues that the money is needed in order to keep the county afloat. Donna Dunnings, the county’s chief financial officer and Stroger’s cousin, told the Trib yesterday that massive layoffs are in store if the plan is rejected. more ›

Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool has decided he won't run in the special election to select a replacement for outgoing U.S. Congressman Rahm Emanuel, who is vacating his Fifth District seat to become President-Elect Obama's Chief of Staff. Claypool told the Sun-Times, "It was tempting and something I gave a lot of thought. It would be an exciting time to be in Congress and support the president-elect’s agenda and work with people I know and have a long history with in a time of national crisis. But I’ve spent six years working hard to reform county government — I think I can make a bigger difference locally than nationally.” more ›

Just yesterday we were speculating over who would replace outgoing Senator Barack Obama who has a new job. Now we turn our attention to the departing Rahm Emanuel, who even though he was just reelected to his U.S. House seat on Tuesday, is leaving Congress to become Chief of Staff in the Obamistration. Governor Blagojevich, who seems to have plenty on his plate already, will have to set a special election to fill Congressman Rahm's seat (unlike with the Senate seat, where Blago is allowed by law to name a successor). FYI - Rahm holds the same seat (5th District reprezent!) Blago did before he bolted in '02 to become governor. The law requires the special election be held if there is more than 180 days until the next election (in this case, it is - 2 years, actually) and the election must be set within 5 days of the official vacancy. more ›

We almost missed this silliness last week: county highway workers have been ordered to observe a "no-drive" day every other Wednesday to cut fuel costs. Barring an emergency, Cook County Highway Department crews, the same people that fix potholes around the county, stay at the garage twice a month to do other, non-driving odd jobs. Highway Supt. Rupert Graham says the policy is modeled after Illinois Department of Transportation schedule. IDOT keeps most crews off the road once a week to do maintenance work around garages or to attend training. Graham told the Sun-Times that the department is trying to be "smarter than they have in the past in how we use our fuel." County commissioner Forrest Claypool doesn't see it that, way, saying "we've known about [high] fuel prices for a long time, but people still use roads for their daily lives. People still pay taxes to maintain roads," Claypool said. "Salaries for workers who aren't working on the roads is a far larger expense than savings from unused gasoline. It's fuzzy thinking at best." 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 ›

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... more ›

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?... 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 ›

It seems like Cook County politics becomes more and more like a bad soap opera every time we open the newspaper. While Todd Stroger is threatening more cuts and tax hikes to cover the tab on the bloated executive payroll, Tony Peraica is giving speeches about prosecuting the crooks. Forrest Claypool wrote an op-ed piece earlier this week about the disaster that the County's health care system has devolved into, and Todd Stroger won't even... more ›

Remember when all the county hacks on the payroll were running around like chickens with their heads cut off, crying about how Forrest Claypool was going to destroy Cook County by laying off everybody? Remember when progressives and reformers were begging people to vote for Tony Peraica and all the DINO pork-choppers were saying that he was Ronald Reagan reincarnated, hell-bent on destroying the social safety net of Cook County? We hate to say we... more ›

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... 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 ›

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 ›

After a brief jaunt out west, Chicagoist is back at the homestead, making camp here on the prairie that is sweet home Chicago. But just because we took a long weekend doesn't mean that our elected officials did. Here's a look back at what's been newsworthy so far this week: Illinois junior senator Barack Obama has a huge lead — in MySpace friends! Outpacing Hillary Clinton's "friends" by some 20,000, he's clearly in the lead,... more ›

Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool more ›

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... more ›

The drama on the Cook County Board of Commisioners just got a little more interesting. Cook County commissioners approved a settlement agreement yesterday that will allow attorney Michael Shakman to approve the County Board president's choice for inspector general. Shakman is the man behind the Shakman Decree, the 1983 court ruling that makes it unlawful to take political factors into account in public hiring. He took the county to court in September after charges of... more ›

So we all know that Cook County Board President John Stroger suffered a serious stroke in March, still won the Democratic primary against Commissioner Forrest Claypool, is recovering at the Rehabilitation Institute, and will decide if he wants to remain on the ballot sometime in July. But yesterday Claypool publicly raised a question many have been wondering for weeks: With Stroger out recovering, who is running county government? Even though officials insist Stroger is still... more ›

This just in: Forrest Claypool has conceded the Cook County Board presidential election to John Stroger. The new voting machines really loused things up yesterday, causing problems with malfunctioning equipment and workers who were unsure what to do. Did you see the news clip of the chick who got her thumb stuck in the machine? High drama! So ballots were still being counted, and early this morning only about 85-88% of votes were tallied in... more ›

The primary election results are in, and here are some of the candidates you will see on the ballot in the November election: Governor-Democrat: Rod Blagojevich (70.1%) This was no surprise since Eisendrath never seemed to get his campaign off the ground. We know a lot of people who voted Eisendrath as part of showing their disapproval towards Blago. Governor-Republican: Judy Baar Topinka (38.0%) Topinka held off a late surge from Oberweis, who early on... more ›

Cook County Board President John Stroger suffered a stroke yesterday, and his political future is now uncertain. He was taken to the hospital yesterday morning after complaining of feeling tired and experiencing pain in his legs. Stroger, age 76, is unable to walk, has slurred speech, and feels disoriented. He is in intensive care, but in stable condition. He shows no signs of hemorrhaging or swelling in the brain, although it is uncertain if he... more ›

In case you missed it last night, the big awards show was incredible. No, not that awards show. We’re talking about the awards Chicagoist gave out to politicians for outstanding achievement in campaign commercials—The Campaignys. Because none of the nominees were present, the members of the Academy of Campaign Commercial Arts and Sciences accepted their awards (cans of Sparks, a drink near and dear to our blood alcohol levels) and drank them on their behalf.... more ›

Ah, February. You went by so fast, yet you left us with so much political discord. As usual, County Board President John Stroger and Commissioner Forrest Claypool were all up in each other’s business. Maybe we could solve the county’s financial woes by having these two battle it out in a pay-per-view cage match. For a day or so it looked like Senators John McCain and Barack Obama might engage in a full out war... more ›

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... more ›

Veiled lies, attacks on one’s integrity, and attempts to destroy one’s reputation… sounds like another fun-filled day in the race for Cook County Board President. A couple of weeks ago President John Stroger and Commissioner Forrest Claypool, who is vying for Stroger’s position in the upcoming election, got into a shouting match over the budget for county hospitals during which the issue of race was brought up by Stroger—a topic which is now the... more ›