Tax Relief? Repeal the Entire Stroger Sales Tax Hike
The Chicago Tribune reports about how some on the county board are trumpeting the “tax relief” provided when they (spurred by Commissioner Peraica) shaved half a percentage point off the massive sales tax increase pushed by Todd Stroger in 2008.
Calling that minute, half-percentage point reduction “tax relief” is an insult to the taxpayers of Cook County — who deserve nothign less than a full repeal of the Stroger tax hike.
Commissioner Peraica is quoted in the Tribune:
“In my mind, it was just a partial rollback of an ill-advised tax increase,” said Commissioner Tony Peraica, R-Riverside, who voted against the original increase. “I wanted the whole increase rolled back.”
Todd’s $6.7 Million ‘Human Error’
It’s not that Todd doesn’t know the rules. Apparently he just doesn’t care about them.
Why else — after being reprimanded by both the Chicago media and the County Board — would he go ahead and approve yet another questionable taxpayer-funded contract to a crony?
The Daily Herald reports:
Cook County Board President Todd Stroger’s administration acknowledged Wednesday that 25 checks worth more than $6.7 million were paid out before receiving the required board approval.
Stroger attributed the “mistake” to “human error,” calling it “more of an issue of you pressed a button when you shouldn’t have done it.” He asked for tolerance, saying, “This is not time to pull someone over the rails.”
Yet, Riverside Republican Commissioner Tony Peraica said some of the checks were as large as $700,000 and pointed to it as a dramatic escalation of the so-called 24-9 contracts - payments just under the $25,000 figure requiring board approval - that Stroger handed out as a lame duck after losing in the Democratic Primary earlier this year. “The ship is not being steered,” Peraica said. “The management is not managing.”
$6.7 million worth of “human error.” Commissioner Peraica is right that the ship isn’t being steered. In fact, it hit the iceberg a long time ago.
And county taxpayers are left treading water.
Todd’s Missing Campaign Cash
Fox Chicago News is reporting that Todd Stroger’s campaign is “missing” $43,000 from the campaign bank account:
But something tells us Todd (or someone in the campaign) knows exactly where that cash went.
On primary election day, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger cashed two big campaign checks to provide money for getting out the vote. Now the campaign can’t explain exactly where the cash went.
Stroger himself went to Seaway Bank that morning and cashed checks for $18,000 and $25,000. The checks were made out to Stroger. Campaign officials tell us the $43,000 in cash was given to campaign workers as “walking around money” — petty cash used to pay campaign workers.
Walking around money?
Sounds little bit fishy to us. And, as Fox Chicago News reports, the way this money was handled violates campaign finance laws.
As Commissioner Peraica is quoted in the story:
“There’s a pattern of misreporting, false inaccurate incomplete information, that is done either intentionally or gross (negligence) by his finance campaign director,” said Peraica.
Is it just us, or has this been the longest, most troubled “lame duck” period for any politician in history?
Todd, we can’t wait to see you retire.
VIDEO: County Board Update
In Case You Missed It: Tribune Whacks Endorsers of Stroger, Berrios
Filed under: Blagojevich, Budget, Corruption, Elections, Mayor Daley, Reform, Taxes, Todd Stroger
We meant to post this earlier today, because it’s just a wonderful editorial by the Chicago Tribune.
Not only does the Tribune take a nice whack at all those Democrat politicians who endorsed Todd Stroger for County Board President in 2006 — they whack many of those same politicians for endorsing Cook County Board of Review Commissioner/Cook Democratic Party Chair Joe Berrios in 2010:
The list of pols who endorsed Stroger survives online, and for that we’re supremely grateful. His endorsers remain stakeholders in his broken promises, his patronage-larded budgets, and his notorious Friends and Family Hiring Plan.
Much as they might wish voters would forget their Stroger legacy, he’s all theirs:
Mayor Richard M. Daley is on the list, as are Durbin and now-President Obama. So are U.S. Reps. Bobby Rush, Jesse Jackson Jr., Dan Lipinski, Danny Davis, Jan Schakowsky and current White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
Five statewide officeholders — Rod Blagojevich, Pat Quinn, Lisa Madigan, Dan Hynes and Jesse White — also urged the rest of us to elect Todd Stroger.
And here’s the piece about Berrios:
What’s especially galling is that many of those who endorsed Stroger now have endorsed his crony Joe Berrios, a lobbyist, member of the county tax appeal board and candidate for the influential office of county assessor. When not in Springfield lobbying Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (a Stroger endorser) and Senate President John Cullerton (a Berrios endorser), Berrios passes judgment on … tax appeals for clients of Madigan’s and Cullerton’s law firms. That conflict is grotesque.
Good for the Chicago Tribune.
We’re somewhat surprised they didn’t mention the fact that their competitor, the Sun-Times, also endorsed Todd in 2006.
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.
Sunlight Disinfects: Stroger Axes Appointment of Crony
Last week, we put a spotlight on Todd Stroger’s plans to appoint a crony to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
It appears our efforts have worked, as Todd has decided to succumb to the pressure and “pull” his planned appointment.
A small, yet important, victory for the Cook County taxpayers.
Peraica: Stroger Appointment of Crony ‘Highly Objectionable’
Commissioner Peraica is quoted in this morning’s Sun-Times about Todd Stroger’s intended appointment of his former campaign manager to the Zoning Board of Appeals:
“I think it would be highly inappropriate . . . now that there’s some evidence that Mr. Stroger has been rewarding campaign workers with contracts, jobs and other taxpayer paid-for gifts which I find highly objectionable,” said Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica, a west suburban Republican.
Stroger wants to appoint Vincent Williams, his former campaign manager and a current government lobbyist, to the $38k-per-year position.
Apparently, Williams is no stranger to profiting at the hands of county taxpayers:
Last month, the Sun-Times reported Williams was among the top clout-heavy lobbyists locally, earning $182,000 in fees from City Colleges of Chicago, the Chicago Board of Education, and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority to lobby other governmental agencies.
Nice work if you can get it. Unfortunately, we’re all paying for it.
Another Week, Another Round of Questionable Stroger Contracts
It was only a matter of time.
Todd Stroger’s rein is up in November, but he’s spending his final months making sure friends and allies have their turn at the county tax till.
Today’s Chicago Sun-Times reports on more questionable Stroger contracts — including one to a firm owned by his Deputy Chief of Staff Carla Oglesby, who was at the center of a previously-reported questionable contract:
The Stroger administration now confirms the two contracts, totaling about $50,000, are among a dozen under investigation by the county’s ethics board and inspector general. The Cook County state’s attorney’s office also is investigating, law enforcement sources told the Sun-Times.
They include a public relations contract given to a company by the name of Urban Rapport for $24,975 “to build awareness of the department’s (Department of Environmental Control) energy and conservation program,” according to a letter written by Stroger’s Deputy Chief of Staff Carla Oglesby to green light the contract.
But a check of state and county records shows that Urban Rapport, run by convicted felon and hip-hop promoter Terrell “Shorty Capone” Harris, isn’t a registered businesses in Illinois — a requirement of businesses doing contract work for Cook County.
A similar contract to spread the word about the county’s green initiative was given to Arrei Management Inc., once owned by Stroger’s beleaguered chief of staff Oglesby and dissolved in 2008, state records show. Stroger already suspended Oglesby for signing off on a $24,975 contract for her private public relations firm — CGC Communications — in recent months.
It’s raining money for Todd’s friends in 2010.
Too bad that, while the rest of Cook County is suffering from rampant unemployment, Todd’s friends and allies are having no problems finding Cook County jobs in 2010.
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