Watch Tony on Fox Chicago Sunday
Tony was the featured guest on yesterday’s Fox Chicago Sunday program, discussing ongoing efforts to fight corruption and push for tax relief in Cook County. Tony has been ahead of the curve on these issues for years — and we’re happy that the media and voters are starting to shine a much-needed spotlight on these problems.
Please watch Tony’s interview here:
Would you like a pastry with your coffee?
Last week, we posted on revelations of Cook County’s “coffee czar.”
This week, we learn that county government is spending tens of thousands of your dollars each month on fresh bread, rolls and pastries.
As The Prairie Stater reports:
According to the county’s publicly-available online check register, the county paid out $19,404.03 to Chicago-based Alpha Baking Company during the month of January 2010.
According to an agenda for the Cook County Board Finance Committee dated April 16, 2009, Alpha was on track to receive a one year contract with the county “for the purchase of fresh break, rolls and pastries for John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County and Oak Forest Hospital of Cook County (Contract No. 09-83-30).”
The total value of that contract was $233,506.34.
As the story points out, Commissioner Peraica is responsible for pushing for the online check register that has made revelations of these questionable expenditures possible.
Do we really need a “Coffee Czar” in Cook County?
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, you remember that you live in Cook County and nothing is surprising.
Despite the constant warnings of financial Armageddon and push for tax hikes from elected officials at the state, county and city levels, we continue to see stories of waste, fraud and abuse of our tax dollars.
Take, for instance, this story from today’s issue of The Prairie Stater.
It appears that county taxpayers are footing the bill for coffee … To the tune of tens of thousands of dollars per month:
Thanks to the county’s new “Open County Initiative”, which allows the public to search and view the county check register online, we identified $76,291 in checks that were paid to Elgin-based ACE Coffee Holdings, Inc. since December 2009. According to the company’s Web site, in addition to coffee, ACE sells additional products, such as cups, lids, sports drinks, water, tea and snacks. Additional government entities with which the company has had contracts include the Illinois Tollway Authority, Community Consolidated School District 54 (Schaumburg), the Oak Park Township Senior Services Nutrition Program, the University of Illinois and the Illinois State Board of Education.
The story goes on to detail the company’s significant campaign contributions to local politicos.
Commissioner Peraica is also quoted:
I’ve long said we have pay-to-play on ’steroids’ here in Cook County, but it appears it might actually be fueled by coffee.
Need we say more?
Tony at the Chicago Tax Day Tea Party
Tony provides this video update from the Chicago Tax Day Tea Party, held earlier today at Chicago’s Daley Plaza:
Text REFORM to 77007: Tell the Board of Review Not to Play Politics With Your Property Taxes
This week the focus is on federal Tax Day — the deadline for us all to file our federal income taxes.
And, yes, while federal taxes are burdensome and growing, we must not forget about the tax shenanigans going on right here in Cook County.
The insiders fought my efforts to roll back Todd Stroger’s record sales tax increase — but we won.
Now, they are trying to play politics with your property tax bills by delaying their distribution until after Election Day.
Text REFORM to 77007 on your mobile phone to tell these insiders not to play politics with your property taxes.
In short — they are terrified of a Cook County tax revolt on Election Day.
We’re making it easy for you to send a message: text REFORM to 77007 on your mobile phone.
By sending that text, we’ll reply right away with a text to patch you through to the Cook County Board of Review to demand that they stop playing politics with your property tax bills.
When you call:
- Be respectful and stick to the facts.
- Tell them you are a concerned taxpayer who wants to ensure that property tax bills are sent out on time — before November Election Day.
- Thank them for listening to your concerns.
Your grassroots action helped us roll back Todd Stroger’s tax increase.
Let’s use that same enthusiasm to ensure that the insiders don’t abuse the property tax system here in Cook County.
Thank you for continued support in the fight for honest reform. I am proud to continue working for you as Cook County Commissioner.
Illinois schools out of money? We know where $13 million went …
Filed under: Blagojevich, Corruption, Spending, Taxes
The next time Governor Quinn or Mayor Daley tell you there’s simply no money left for Illinois schools (as part of their sales pitch for higher taxes), please remember this story from today’s Sun-Times.
If you don’t have time to read the story, we’ll sum it up: politicians pass new law to require vision testing in schools; optical business gives big money to Illinois politicians; optical business wins contract; taxpayers lose.
This story focuses on Chicago-based eyeglass business, Tropical Optical, which is run by Daniel Arce, who also runs the Mexican American Political Action Committee. As the Sun-Times reports, Arce’s business and the PAC have “given more than $590,000 in political contributions” to a number of local politicians, including Rod Blagojevich.
And, not surprisingly:
Since 2000, Arce’s company has gotten more than $13 million in taxpayer money to provide eye exams and glasses for more than 60,000 uninsured students from Chicago’s public schools, as well as providing vision tests for his rapidly growing Medicaid business, which has become one of the biggest in the state.
Please click here to read the full story.
And the next time a local politician cries poor, claims the government coffers are dry, and asks you to pay more in taxes — remember this one, small story of how your taxpayer money is really being spent to benefit not students, but a politically-connected businessman.
Property Tax Cauldron Begins to Boil
Property tax assessments have long been a tool of the Cook County Democratic machine to control votes and reward political allies.
In recent years, as this Chicago Tribune report from January shows, Illinois Democrat Party Chair Mike Madigan has teamed up with Cook County Dem Chair Joe Berrios to use this tool quite effectively.
But the tax assessment scheme is quickly turning into a political hot potato that is drawing the focus of the Chicago media, causing infighting within the Democratic Party, and promising to be a huge issue when voters turn out to the polls on November 2.
Much of the debate started last year, when Republican-turned-Democrat State Rep. Paul Froehlich resigned amidst reports that he was abusing the tax assessment process for political gain.
That someone could have engaged in these activities without the knowledge or consent of “higher ups” within the Cook County Democratic Party machine is doubtful (did we mention that Cook County Dem Chair Berrios is also a Board of Review Commissioner?)
Now, with 2010 being a year in which high taxes and government spending are top-of-mind in every public opinion poll, outgoing Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan (a Democrat) has warned that Madigan and Berrios are plotting to delay the second installment of property tax bills until after the November 2 election.
Why would they do that? Simple: with the county property tax cap having expired, and pre-housing bubble assessments promising to wallop county taxpayers with a huge property tax bill — the last thing the machine wants is an anti-tax voter backlash on Election Day. Click here to watch a video of Commissioner Peraica explaining the property tax bill issue in more detail.
The Democrat infighting further manifested itself today with the announcement by Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool that he is running for Cook County Assessor as an Independent. Watch below as Claypool announces his candidacy and takes aim at those who would abuse the tax appeals process:
Tutorial: How To Find a Crooked Property Tax Lawyer Using Public Records
From “Watchdog Jenkins”:
Corruption does not exist in a vacuum; meaning that Illinois did not earn its reputation for being the US’ most corrupt state simply because of a mysterious culture of corruption that exists behind closed doors. Instead, all of Illinois’ illicit activities occur right out in the open; utilizing the inattentiveness of a State’s Attorney, Attorney General, and Illinois State Board of Elections.
But at least there’s some good news for the rest of us: we can query public records to find the leftover “crumbs” of that corruption that benefit us for a change. Of course, we’d be much better off without the corruption in the first place.
Download the PDF on how you can find corruption.
Stroger Finally Accepts the Truth and Ends Deceptive Farce
Cook County Health and Hospitals produces a budget surplus for FY09; Brought $231M to county coffers
CHICAGO - Financial data released today showed that the newly formed independent Cook County Health and Hospitals System surpassed their revenue projections for FY2009 and spent less money than they were allocated in the FY2009 budget.
Combined, the CCHHS made a positive contribution of about $236.5 million to the taxpayers of Cook County.
According to data from the Cook County Comptroller’s Office, the CCHHS:
- contributed $231.3 million to the County’s general fund in FY2009
- brought in $194M more revenue then was budget in FY2009
- spent about $42 million less than what was budgeted in FY2009“These numbers show that we are committed to making sure that we are using our resources wisely without affecting patient care,” said CCHHS CEO William Foley. “We will continue to find ways to make our System more efficient while also searching for opportunities to better serve
our patient’s needs.”CCHHS (formerly known as the Cook County Bureau of Health Services) oversees a comprehensive, integrated system of healthcare throughout Chicago and suburban Cook County through its hospitals, ambulatory and community health network clinics, public health department, correctional
healthcare facility, and outpatient infectious disease center.The CCHHS is comprised of: John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County , Provident Hospital of Cook County, Oak Forest Hospital of Cook County, Cook County Department of Public Health, Cermak Health Services, the Ruth Rothstein CORE Center and the 16 Ambulatory and Community Health
Network ACHN) health centers.
This is what I have been saying all along, for the last year. There is no deficit. There is no shortage of funds.
There is no need to enact the Stroger Sales Tax.
There is ample reason to roll back the balance of the Stroger Sales Tax.
As I was saying this for the past year, I was attacked of being a racist, of not knowing the facts, of grandstanding, of misleading the public, of political chicanery.
The fact is, as we now know, and, as I have been saying for the past year, there is no deficit.
Todd Stroger has LIED to the taxpayers and the public. He has engaged in gross exaggeration to justify the unjustifiable — a 135% increase in the sales tax in Cook County.
This deception of the voters and taxpayers should be punished severely on Feb. 2nd Election Day, by voting out of office Todd Stroger, Mario Moreno, Deborah Sims, Joan Murphy, Bill Beavers and Jerry Butler who have perpetrated this hoax on the taxpayers.
Honesty in government is rule number one.
Now is the time to show all of the above the door.
Sincerely,
Tony Peraica
Stroger Sales Tax Increase repeal deferred
16th District Commissioner Tony Peraica attempted to present at the Jan 12th Cook County board meeting an ordiance to repeal the second half of the Stroger Sales Tax Increase. He was forced to defer it because not one other Commissioner had the courage to second the motion.
John Daley personally told Commissioners not to second the motion beforehand.
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