Claypool & Stroger At It Again

By Amy Hart in News on Feb 13, 2006 2:33PM

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 up between the two of them end as badly as a Dick Cheney hunting trip.

Claypool, endorsed by US Congressman Rahm Emanuel, told Kay that Stroger oversees a patronage system similar to a “friends and family plan” for government that puts the bulk of the county’s money in bloated bureaucracies instead of services for citizens. He said he wants to reform the county’s healthcare, judicial, and forest preserve systems like he did with the Chicago Park District.

Stroger, who has the support of Governor Blagojevich, said he has saved taxpayers over a billion dollars in real estate taxes and that government has been run fairly under his watch. He said recent tax increases, such as the cigarette tax, are needed because of cuts in federal grants, and that Claypool is a libertarian who does not understand government and sides with the Republicans in an attempt to embarrass Stroger.

We would recommend that you watch the video of Kay's interview with both men, but alas, NBC 5 does not put City Desk segments up on its website. Oh well, we're sure you'll still be able to catch plenty of fireworks between the two before next month's primary.