The Red Light District, Extortion Edition
Thanks to Publius Forum for shining a spotlight on this latest slap in the face of taxpayers by the Stroger Administration.
This one deals with the Stroger Administrations’ response to suburban Cook County municipalities who have chosen to opt-out of the wrongheaded, troubling Red Light Traffic Camera program:
To mollify the suburban cities the board included an opt out clause in its red-light camera rules. If the cities didn’t want them, they could opt out and keep them out of their areas. Stroger and his extortionist buddies were shocked, though, when “nearly every Northwest Cook County town proceeded to opt out” of his grab for suburban driver’s wallets.
What to do, what to do? Stroger was losing his new revenue stream. How could they stop it?
Eureka! Toddie had an idea…
He could illicitly hold back all maintenance fees for the roads in the offending opting out suburbs until they decide to let him put his red-light leeches in their cities.
So, according to Cook County’s criminal boss, if the suburbs don’t let him have his red-light cameras to bleed the citizens for one more drop of tax blood, why he’ll refuse to fix the country roads in their area.
Please click here to read our previous post about the profiteers and lobbyists behind the Red Light Camera scam.
Let’s Keep That Spotlight Shining
by Tony Peraica
It shouldn’t take a media spotlight to force the county’s patronage czars to stop breaking the law.
A week ago, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger’s administration was poised to hire three politically connected job candidates, including the finance chair of Stroger’s election campaign and the wife of a Chicago alderman.
But when county hiring watchdog Mary Robinson started asking questions about the job candidates, the Stroger administration nixed hiring all three, including Ebonie Taylor-Brookins, wife of Ald. Howard Brookins (21st). The alderman backed Stroger in his losing bid for re-election this year, even as many other African-American politicians stood with the eventual winner of the Democratic primary, Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th).
Some people criticize me for my vigilance in publicly calling out instances of corruption and pushing for the media to cover the breaches of trust and tax dollars within county government.
This particular instance shows why — spotlight is the best disinfectant.
That’s why I’m running for re-election to the county board … to continue our efforts to bring about reform by keeping that light on the corrupt and the inept who abuse your tax dollars.
Tribune: Stroger “Sullying” His Own Name
In our previous post, we wrote that Todd Stroger was acting in defiance of the county board and the taxpayers.
But the Chicago Tribune editorial board has gone even further, writing that Todd “seems intent on sullying” his own name “and that of his Democratic cronies.”
We wholeheartedly agree. That same Trib editorial continues:
How else to explain that Stroger has hired six top-level employees at high salaries since his defeat in the February primary? How else to explain Stroger’s awarding of pay raises without board approval — including a $54,000 bump, to $230,000, for Chief Financial Officer Jaye Williams? How else to explain Stroger’s reinstatement of Carla Oglesby, his deputy chief of staff — after telling reporters just last week that she would be suspended without pay pending an investigation of how she was hired and why her communications firm then received a county contract? (No, that county inspector general’s probe isn’t yet concluded.) How else to explain Stroger’s veto Monday of a proposed ordinance to place a freeze on most hirings and raises — an ordinance the board passed 16-1 because of Stroger’s reckless stunts at taxpayer expense?
Again, we agree, and will work to override Todd’s veto of the hiring freeze to end his rampant disregard for your hard-earned tax dollars.
Another bad week for Todd…
His February Primary Election loss hasn’t saved Todd Stroger from continued scrutiny of questionable deals at the county.
- Last week, we learned about his taxpayer-funded furniture shopping spree.
- Then we learned of a Stroger aide at Cook County who allegedly steered a $24,995 contract to her company.
- Over the weekend, the Sun-Times reported that Todd’s government-issued credit card was used personal expenses.
Tonight, Fox Chicago has this story about another questionable county check going to an out-of-state Stroger political ally:
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:
Crime doesn’t pay, except…
The Sun-Times’ Steve Warmbir today reports that former Melrose Park Police Chief Vito Scavo is still collecting more than $7,000 a month from the taxpayers — even after being sentenced to prison on fraud and racketeering charges.
Writes Warmbir:
Vito Scavo — the crooked former Melrose Park police chief — muscled a Catholic church, a movie theater, a children’s amusement park and other businesses in the west suburb to hire his private security firm, which he staffed with on-duty cops.
He also ordered his employees — while on the clock — to drive his car from Illinois to his Florida vacation home.
Scavo, who retired in 2006, was convicted of racketeering and extortion and sentenced in February to six years in prison.
But he’s still getting his Melrose Park government pension — $7,737.88 a month.
Michael Manzo, who ran for Melrose Park village president in 2001 on a platform of replacing Scavo and is now Commissioner Peraica’s Chief of Staff, put it best:
“It’s a disgrace to all the honest cops who are putting into the pension that Vito Scavo is still getting paid.”
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.
County Corruption Even Affects our Drinking Water
How prevalent is corruption in Cook County?
As this CBS 2 Chicago report shows, it even affects our drinking water.
He says he just couldn’t look the other way. Drinking water that was supposed to be tested — wasn’t. He complained about it, demanded they play by the rules, and was fired … Anthony Sacco is now out of work, out of money and out of insurance. But the 30-year west suburban Broadview Public Works veteran is not backing down.
Click here to watch the full video.
Part 4 of My Interview with Chicago News Bench
Filed under: Mayor Daley, Reform, Spending, Taxes, Todd Stroger
Following is Part Four of the series of interviews I completed with Chicago News Bench. In this video, we discuss Cook County corruption, Tony Rezko, Mayor Daley, and the county’s oppressive sales tax. Please watch this interview here:
Sister States: New Jersey and Illinois
The Wall Street Journal has this piece today about the link between “Big Government” and corruption.
The piece is right on — and it aptly describes the problems not only in the Garden State, but the Prairie State (and Cook County), as well.
Take, for instance, this excerpt:
Sandy McClure, co-author of the book “The Soprano State: New Jersey’s Culture of Corruption,” agrees that big government is a big reason behind the state’s corruption problem. “You have all these little authorities that everyone has to go to for permission,” she says. “Too much government means too many opportunities for officials looking to cash in. And there’s no way that the press can keep track of it all.”
New Jersey and Illinois. Two peas in a pod.
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