Preckwinkle Takes Out Trash On First Day

By Chuck Sudo in News on Dec 7, 2010 3:20PM

New County Board President Toni Preckwinkle didn't let the dust settle under her feet after giving her inaugural speech. Preckwinkle set a 2013 deadline to roll back the unpopular penny sales tax hike implemented by the outgoing Todd Stroger and showed dozens of Stroger staffers the same door Stroger was shown by voters last spring.

These decisive moves were a strong start on Preckwinkle's mission to balance a $487 million county budget deficit. Many of the Stroger appointees whose jobs were lost yesterday were in positions targeted for consolidation anyway. Preckwinkle made ridding county government of the Stroger appointees a top priority.

“As I’ve traveled the county, a single theme has emerged from the residents of every region and every walk of life. That theme is a need for change, for a new day in Cook County.”

Among those Stroger appointees who lost their jobs yesterday are William Moore, director of Planning and Development, and Bruce Washington, director of Capital Planning, both of whom head offices that will fall under a new Economic Development office, and County Director of Homeland Security David Ramos.