County Commission Reaches Tentative Budget Deal

By Kevin Robinson in News on Feb 11, 2009 3:40PM

After an eight-hour marathon session, the Cook County Board of Commissioners reached a tentative budget deal. County commissioners closed a multi-million dollar budget hole in board president Todd Storger's proposal, banking on federal revenue that hasn't come through yet and doesn't deal with the county's pension obligations or a means to finance millions of dollars in construction projects. Nevertheless, last night's compromise sets the stage for approval. The budget plan was reached by making a series of cuts in Stroger's initial proposal and rejecting his plan to issue a bond worth nearly $400 million.

Reform commissioners were expecting a showdown on the budget, fearing that revenue projections in the budget proposal were artificially lowered and any additional spending would be used as a give away to Stroger's friends and family, but it appears that it may pass in a special session next week. “I am satisfied with the way the budget ended,” Stroger told the Tribune.