'It's just war'

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Chicago Tribune Editorial
July 31, 2008

On the radio Sunday morning, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger went after his critics, including this paper.

"At the Tribune editorial board when I go in, it's just war. Before we even start we both know we're going to be on different sides and they're going to write something that's probably pretty bad and probably try to cut my throat."

The beat reporters when he became board president—he said they had it out for him. His opponents on the Cook County Board—he singled out Commissioners Forrest Claypool and Tony Peraica—he said they don't understand county government.

"If they can't really tell where the abuse and the waste is, then they must not be doing a good job," Stroger said during an interview on WBBM-AM's "At Issue" program.

Oh, they know where it is.

Claypool, Peraica and Commissioner Michael Quigley have been talking for years about exactly where the County Board can save money and run more efficiently.

Last year, we challenged them to come up with specific savings to balance the county budget. They did just that.

Cut the overtime. Cut the consultants. Cut the new hires Stroger demanded.

Sell surplus land. Restructure the county's debt.

We wrote about all that. The editorial ran on Dec. 11. In case Stroger wants to look it up, here's the headline: "How to avoid Stroger's taxes."

We came so close to avoiding Stroger's taxes. But he still got a whopping hike in the county sales tax and as a result, Chicago has the highest sales tax rate in the nation. That's why we're running the sales tax calendar on this page each day. So people remember what happened and know when they can do something about it.

Where's the abuse and waste? In just about every facet of county government. The latest evidence: The Sun-Times reported a few days ago that the Stroger administration spent $24,999 to launch something called Cook County magazine. It's purpose: to puff up the Stroger administration.

The deal was for $24,999 because if it had been one dollar higher, the County Board would have had to approve it. And that would have invited questions. Stroger doesn't want questions.

So he spent $24,999 to produce a magazine that put him on the cover of the first issue. It was so riddled with misspellings and other errors that even the Stroger administration was embarrassed. Five thousand copies sit in an office somewhere. A Stroger aide says they won't be distributed.

Stroger says he can't get a fair shake from his critics.

Here's a suggestion: Cut the 1,100 jobs you added in the last budget. Get more efficient. Hire pros instead of your friends and family. Repeal the sales tax increase.

Cut your throat? Do all that, and we'll blow you a big kiss.