Keep the Roaches Scurrying
If you’ve ever had a roach problem, you know that turning the light on causes the roaches to scurry and seemingly disappear.
Turn off the lights, however, and the roaches reappear.
So it is with the corrupt and inept in Cook County. Shining a spotlight on them sometimes has a short, temporary effect (either through firings or jail time), but as soon as the spotlight is turned off, the roaches reappear….
This morning’s Sun-Times provides a great example of why we need to keep the spotlight on Cook County corruption. And it’s a prime example of why we need to keep Tony Peraica serving on the Cook County board:
The Cook County Highway Department was poised to hire six new truck drivers in recent months — without giving applicants a behind-the-wheel driving test.
When county hiring monitors raised a red flag and began to investigate, one official said, they found three of the six finalists for the snow plow jobs hadn’t provided a driving record as required.
That’s despite letters of support for each candidate — authored by highway department bosses — noting that each applicant had a “good driving record,” said Mary Robinson, the Shakman compliance administrator charged with ensuring the county adheres to a federal court-ordered ban on political hiring.
After Robinson met with county officials, the hirings were nixed.
“It appeared some of the [job] candidates had political sponsors,” Robinson told the Sun-Times.
That’s one of several examples Robinson will provide in a report this week to a federal judge overseeing the Shakman consent decree. Robinson said some progress has been made, including ongoing work on an automated job application system.
But some county employees see the Shakman decree as a hurdle, not a court order.
“There are many people in the county who still feel all they have to do is get it past us, as opposed to changing how they do the hiring.”
Imagine that: the county insiders view the law as a hurdle to be crossed, rather than a rule to be followed.
We’ve got our work cut out for us, but we’ll keep on fighting and making a difference.
The Curious Case of the Composting Rapper
Todd Stroger and his allies claim they’ve cut the budget “to the bone.”
They’ve justified their tax hikes by saying the county is in dire budget straights and they need more of your hard-earned tax dollars to keep government providing frontline services.
So then why did they provide a $24,795 contract to a rap music promoter as part of a “composting awareness” effort?
That’s right, as you can see from the Fox Chicago News segment below, a rap promoter named Terrell “Shorty Capone” Harris received his contract as part of a $10 million federal grant to promote environmental awareness. So, not only is Cook County wasting local tax dollars — taxpayers across the country can rest assured that Cook County is wasting theirs, as well.
Time to make reform a reality
by Tony Peraica
Thank you to UIC Professor Dick Simpson, who highlights our recent reform proposals in this commentary piece in Chicago Journal.
Professor Simpson writes:
In May, Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica introduced a series of amendments to help curb unethical and corrupt practices.
The amendments would prohibit Cook County government employees from serving as a lobbyist for any entity other than Cook County. The best known conflict here is Cook County Board of Appeals member Joe Berrios, who has lobbied for the video gaming industry in Springfield while hearing — and granting — tax appeals for the clients of House Speaker Mike Madigan.
Peraica’s legislation would also prohibit former Cook County elected officials or firms in which they have a financial interest from receiving business from the county for a period of two years after they leave county employment, and tighten limits on campaign contributions.
Getting these reform amendments passed will be an uphill battle due to the large number of elected and appointed officials who are lobbying Cook County government … including some of my fellow commissioners.
But uphill reform battles are nothing new to us. I urge you to click here to find and contact your county commissioner to urge him or her to support this resolution.
Corruption and waste in Cook County has reached a fever pitch. It is no longer a Republican or a Democrat issue. Let’s all join together and make reform a reality.
Todd Just Keeps On Keepin’ On
Filed under: Corruption, Reform, Spending, Taxes, Todd Stroger
The county board has repeatedly failed to override Todd Stroger’s veto of the hiring freeze passed by the commissioners — and so it looks like Todd has just kept on doing what he does best: abusing your tax dollars.
As this latest Fox News Chicago report shows, more questionable sweetheart contracts have come to light:
Video from the Chicago Tea Party
I had the pleasure of speaking with Commissioner Peraica at the Tea Party last Friday. It was great to see so many concerned citizens taking time off work to take a stand for a government that is accountable to them and responsible using our tax dollars.
A general video of the protest can be found here.
My speech can be found here.
Next tea party is on April 15th. Hope to see everyone there!
Alvarez on the ‘Reform Commission?’
Excuse us if we find it a bit comical that new Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez is serving on Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn’s “Illinois Reform Commission.” As head of the County State’s Attorney Public Integrity Unit, she did not aggressively (if at all) fight public corruption (plent of it in Cook County, no?) and the finance chair of her campaign for State’s Attorney was major Blagojevich fundraiser Bob Clifford - a trial lawyer who has made a fortune suing the county that Alvarez now represents.
So we found this snippet funny from CBS 2 Chicago’s coverage of the Commission’s first meeting yesterday:
Another touchy moment came when former state Sen. Steve Rauschenberger, R-Elgin, said “the level of corruption in Illinois is unprecedented and unmatched” and asked “why Illinois’ 100 state’s attorneys are not more engaged in uncovering it and prosecuting it.”
Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, a commission member, sat expressionless as he spoke.
Your Reform Ideas: Visit our Cook County Suggestion Box
This Web site is for you. Your actions. Your ideas for reform.
That is why we bring you the Cook County Suggestion Box.
The Suggestion Box is visible in the right column of this site - in the top menu - or by clicking here.
This feature allows you to submit your ideas - and vote on the ideas of others.
Let’s start the conversation on reform. Nothing is more important to the future of Cook County.
Visit the Cook County Suggestion Box today!
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