Cook County's Corruption,Nepotism, and Overpay : The Democratic Machine

CBS TV Chicago reports:

Financial troubles at Cook County's Stroger Hospital and health clinics are worse than previously reported. Officials tell CBS 2 that income fell short by $21.6 million in the first four months of the fiscal year, about 24 percent less than projected.

They blame a worsening economy, adding that the number of patients without any health insurance of any kind increased about 4 percent.

It's one more headache for embattled County Board President Todd Stroger.

Some of the mess Stroger faces he inherited from his father, who long ran county government. But as CBS 2's look at Todd Stroger shows, he's done plenty to anger voters: tax increases, pay raises for top deputies, and job layoffs followed now by a big round of new hiring.

Some write him off as a one-termer, but he's planning a comeback.


CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports Stroger won warm applause at a political fundraiser, hosted by a law firm with a Cook County contract paying $110,000 a year.

Not nearly as happy are the people who foot all the bills. The 5.5 million residents of Cook County now pay the highest sales tax in America, even as officials like Cook County Public Defender Edwin Burnette complain that Stroger is putting unqualified workers on the payroll. He denies it.

"They write 'Todd is hiring friends and family.' The people I hired worked for the county long before I got here," Stroger said.

But family and friends are vital to Stroger's administration – and to his power.

Stroger critics, who asked not to be identified, gave CBS 2 a printed list of more than 1,300 top county jobs, all of them exempt from laws against patronage. Many are filled by workers with ties to key Stroger allies including House Speaker Michael Madigan; Mayor Richard M. Daley and his brother, County Board Finance Chairman John Daley; County commissioners Jerry Butler, Bill Beavers and Robert Steele; and former 19th Ward Committeeman Thomas Hynes, a longtime Stroger family friend.

And there are also those on the list who are close to Stroger himself.

Board Secretary Matt DeLeon makes $150,000 a year. He is one of more than a dozen key aides in Stroger's six-figure club.

Powerful budget boss Donna Dunnings is Stroger's first cousin. E-mail flooded cbs2chicago.com when Dunnings got a 12 percent raise.

"If her qualifications are just being related to Pres. Stroger, I don't think that's good enough," said Cook County resident Edie Hanzel.

Dunnings now makes $161,000, and defends her salary by saying she works 12- to 17-hour days.

County Commissioner Tony Peraica, a Republican, said of Dunnings: "She's the power behind the throne."

Carmen Triche-Colvin is the wife of Stroger's best friend, State Rep. Marlow Colvin. She gets a $112,000 annual salary as a purchasing agent.

"In private sector purchasing agents earn between $35,000 and $55,000 a year," said John Challenger of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an executive outplacement firm.

You'll want to read the whole article.High taxes means government workers can be overpaid in Cook County.