Todd Stroger's (now-former) Deputy Chief of Staff spent the night in Cook County Jail after being arrested and charged with defrauding the county of $300,000 in a scandal involving multiple no-bid contracts awarded at a dollar threshold just low enough to avoid county board approval. Carla Oglesby was held on $250,000 bail after she was arrested Monday afternoon. State's Attorney Anita Alvarez served a warrant issued as part of an investigation by her financial crimes unit. more ›

Carla Oglesby, Todd Stroger's former deputy chief of staff, was arrested Monday afternoon by the Cook County State's Attorney's financial crimes unit on a warrant related to charges stemming from an ongoing corruption probe of Stroger's office. Oglesby was charged with theft of government property, money laundering and and official misconduct. more ›

With Mayor Daley announcing he will not run for reelection for mayor next year, there's a mad scramble across the city's political landscape. Things are about to get all Lord Of The Flies up in here with candidates coming forward and nominating petitions galore. Speculation is already beginning about what serious candidates will come forward and we'll have our own round-up in the morning. But we got to thinking, who would we actually like to see run just for the sheer insanity of it? Because, let's face it, if there's one phrase that can be used to describe the local political landscape, it's "sheer insanity." So here they are, in no particular order, the top five crazy candidates for mayor we'd like to see come February 2011. more ›

(Soon to be former) Cook County Board President Todd Stroger beat back an attempt by county commissioners to reign in his hiring authority, after the board failed to override his veto of a hiring freeze ordinance by two votes. The board voted 9 to 6 to override the veto, with one member voting present, even though the voted 16-1 in favor of the original hiring freeze. The failed veto override comes after an opinion from the state's attorney's office that found a hiring freeze would "result in an unconstitutional change in the form of government,” and therefore be unlikely to survive a legal challenge. more ›

Amid the hoopla over Carla Oglesby's alleged steering of a county contract to her PR firm, one voice has been absent in the local news: Carla Oglesby's. But no more! In an interview with ABC7 Chicago, Oglesby defended her work before the county. "I think working for President Stroger period is a political liability, how about that?" said Oglesby in defense of her work with the county. She says she sees nothing unethical about her business, CGC Communications, getting a contract worth $24,975 - $25 below the threshold of county board oversight. "You certainly can be working on a campaign or for any other client and be working for the county on a project. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that and certainly nothing illegal about that," she told Ben Bradley. more ›

(Soon to be former) Cook County Board President Todd Stroger is heading deeper into the "Screw It Zone." In the wake of Stroger's veto of an ordinance designed to limit his ability to spend taxpayer dollars and hand out raises at will to workers on the county payroll, deputy chief of staff Carla Oglesby, whom Stroger suspended earlier this month, returned to work Tuesday. Oglesby was placed on unpaid administrative leave after an investigation into charges that she commandeered a county contract worth nearly $25,000 for her publicity firm from Stroger. At the time, Stroger said he'd make a decision about Oglesy's future with the county after Inspector General Patrick Blanchard had finished his investigation. Oglesby is back, but Blanchard told the Tribune that the investigation "is active and it is ongoing." more ›

Soon to be former Cook County Board President Todd Stroger vetoed an ordinance yesterday that would impose a hiring freeze on his administration during his last months in power, and bar him from giving pay raises. The county board is likely to override the veto, but Stroger says he's prepared to challenge the action in court. The county board passed the ordinance last week, along with two others that require him to report all personnel changes, raises and contracts that have not been previously approved by commissioners. Stroger's financial shennanegans have been the source of controversy of late, as he's financed new furniture for his office and increased the pay of people in his administration by tens of thousands of dollars. more ›

In an effort to increase transparency, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger is releasing the tax returns he and his wife, Janine, filed in 2008 and 2009. If the other three candidates that are running for the seat don't as well, “it tells me there must be something they don’t want you to see,” he told the Tribune. The other Democratic candidates replied quickly to denying the request. more ›

With the Democratic primary just one week from tomorrow, Todd Stroger is flexing his political muscle by booting appointees that aren't getting all the way behind his re-election bid. According to the Sun-Times, Stroger has dumped three county employees that have ties to political organizations other than his own, or that he may not perceive as being behind him 100 percent. Because all three are in exempt positions, they serve exclusively at the will of the county board president, and may be removed anytime. more ›

After yesterday's Tribune/WGN poll that showed current Cook County Board President Todd Stroger a distant third in that race, a new poll shows the Governor's race is heating up with the two expected front-runners, well, where they were expected to be. According to the poll of 600 likely Democrat voters done last week, Gov. Quinn has a sizeable lead with 49 percent and opponent state comptroller Dan Hynes trailing at 23 percent. Third place was "Undecided" at 21 percent. Things were much closer on the Republican side where Jim Ryan leads with 26 percent and Andy McKenna behind at 12 percent of the 600 likely GOP voters polled. State Sen. Bill Bradley had 10 percent, State Sen. Kirk Dillard had nine percent. But greater than all of these candidates was "Undecided," which came in at 31 percent. So while it seems like we're heading for a Quinn-Ryan showdown next November, the Undecided element is still large enough to make a difference, especially on the GOP side. more ›

• Investigators are looking into an incident in which one teen used a stolen car to run over another, giving the victim life-threatening injuries. The cause? A feud over a girl via a "social networking website."
• Cook County Board Pres. Todd Stroger is now turning his ire towards Gov. Quinn for signing the bill that enabled commissioners to override his tax rollback veto.
• Jay Cutler says there's no feud between him and Brian Urlacher after Urlacher's controversial comments earlier this week.

By a tally of 12-5, the Cook County Board voted to override President Todd Stroger's veto of the half-percent tax rollback approved last month and promptly vetoed by Stroger. According to Peraica, the meeting was an hour and a half late in starting. The Board was able to take advantage of a new law that cut the number of votes required to override a veto from 14 to 11. more ›

Given the success of recent summer blockbusters like The Dark Knight and Public Enemies that were filmed in the city, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger wants to ensure studios keep coming back even with the current recession. Stroger has proposed a Cook County Film and Entertainment Commission and Office to work with the current Chicago and Illinois Film Offices to that end. more ›

Todd Stroger filed for re-election of his seat as Cook County Board President late Monday afternoon. By filing the nearly 22,000 signatures he's collected to put him on the ballot so late - he filed less than an hour before the deadline - he'll secure the last position on the ballot, considered second to the top spot in terms of voting booth strategy. "I feel great," Stroger told the press after filing. "I feel like 150 pounds of dynamite." While Stroger is perceived as politically vulnerable after a tenure of tax increases and budget debacles, that 150 pounds of dynamite has yet to really go off on Cook County residents. The 22,000 signatures are only about half of what a few of his opponents turned in. Never one to take the blame himself, Stroger instead told the Sun-Times it had to do with his helpers: "Normally, you have people who collect signatures. It's hard getting people out there to collect signatures." more ›

Todd Stroger is none too pleased about that subpoena leak regarding the investigation of the Cook County finances. Went asked about the subpoena, Stroger said, "I don't talk about subpoenas because I don't know what they want, and I don't like to get in the middle of any investigation." Stroger didn't have a problem with Com. Daley giving other commissioners the memo, but he wasn't happy about commissioners calling the press about the memo: ""Committee members probably should have some confidentiality and not immediately call the press." [Sun-Times] more ›

Sure, we've talked to Ald. Preckwinkle. And there are several other options of opponents the Toddler will have to face in his campaign to keep his position for Cook County Board President. And while we don't make a habit of officially endorsing political candidates here (save the Leftcagoist comments) we're finding it hard not to root for YouTube user icephoenix23, especially after watching this video declaring his candidacy. Watch the whole thing. Trust us. more ›

• Cook County Democrats decided to not endorse any candidate in the race for Cook County Board President.
• The Sun-Times investigates swelling pensions for some state leaders.
• Today in disturbing statistics: "1 in 10 Chicago girls reports date abuse."

Saying that “it just wasn’t the right time for me for a number of reasons,” county commissioner Larry Suffredin, subject of perennial speculation about his designs on the board president's chair, announced that he would seek only re-election of his current seat. And while Todd Stroger has said that he'll be seeking re-election to the seat his father willed him, Michael Sneed (and we all know how credible her political ramblings are) hears otherwise. more ›

Besides the controversial marijuana decriminalization, the Cook County Board also tackled another tax rollback but unlike last time they might succeed in getting it past President Storger thanks to a veto-proof majority. The measure rolls back the tax by half a percentage point, from 10.25 percent to 9.75 percent. The measure passed by a vote of 12-2 with one present vote and Commissioners Peraica and Claypool absent, but both of those commissioners have said they will vote to override Stroger's expected veto at the Board's September meeting. UPDATE: Per Peraica's twitter, the vote was 13-3 with 1 absent. The Sun-Times has more information including a full break down of the vote. more ›

The Todd Stroger-Cook County Board patronage scandal has been rocking for more than a week, long enough that his political ally, and our beloved mayor, Richard J. Daley, has finally issued a comment. 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 ›

Remember all that drama last month when Todd Stroger was supposed to meet with county residents in Palatine, and then backed out at the last minute when it looked like village pols had set him up to be publicly ambushed by angry voters? Well, it seems like Stroger and Palatininans are talking about getting together again. more ›

There's no shortage of disrespect towards Todd Stroger in Cook County these days. His nickname's "The Toddler," he's derided in bars and coffee shops around Chicago, and set up to be politically ambushed at a town hall-style meeting in Palatine, many county residents have no love the Cook County Board President. But one county resident took it a step further Tuesday. more ›

As announced, Todd Stroger passed on last night's meeting with residents in Palatine. Palatine Mayor Rita Mullins took some of the blame for his absence, saying she understood why Stroger might be put off by the change of meeting format that came Monday. After a heated debate about the format of the meeting, Palatine Councilman Jack Wagner lost his temper. more ›

Cartoon for Chicagoist by Tim Daly more ›

With Friday's budget deadline looming for Cook County, Todd Stroger is finding himself in a very uncomfortable position. Stroger has been more ›

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. more ›