When you're ruining running your county, and journalists and residents are not always kind to you (say, because you imposed an outsized sales tax of 10.25% on merchants and buyers), what should you do?
Throw more public money away, of course. At least that's what Cook County (IL) board president Todd Stroger did when he grew tired of "getting pummeled" by the local press. Last November, the Stroger administration paid $24,999 to a publisher for the launch of a positive magazine about Cook County. A round $25,000 would have required the official nod from the full Cook County board. By subtracting a buck, the initiative could fly more or less under the radar until the magazine was a fait accompli.
And now — huzzah! — the 32-page publication is here. Guess who's the cover boy? Why, Todd Stroger! The cover interview starts with the ever-hard-hitting question "How are you feeling these days?"
The Sun-Times reports that
There's also a short obituary for Stroger's late father and predecessor as county board president, John H. Stroger Jr., who died in January. It misspells his name.
But it gets better (or worse?): Apparently, now the Stroger administration has decided to bin the magazine altogether.
"I was asked to review it and decided not to distribute it — not because of content, but errors and omissions in the article" about John Stroger, [press aide] Mullins said. "Judging on grammatical stuff — something misspelled or that's not a complete sentence — falls back on the president. And this is a Cook County magazine. I have to find a way to get rid of them. I'm not distributing them."
It's safe to say that the moribund publication wouldn't have run articles like this one from the Sun Times:
[Stroger] runs a government that spits in the eye of the taxpayers who support it. It is an 8th Ward fiefdom in which friends, relatives and precinct workers get high-paying, often six-figure jobs whether they have credentials to do the work or not.
Need evidence of the cronyism? Below is a partial list of Michael Brown-esque jobs awarded to Stroger friends and supporters. But first consider this: Cook County being the heart of the Daley empire, Todd Stroger inherited his county-official job from his dad, John Stroger. Every political step forward, he owes, by most reliable accounts, not to his leadership talents, but to naked patronage.
And he proudly continues that tradition. Behold:
• Bruce Washington (primary campaign manager for Todd's dad) — director of capital planning policy — $133,424.
• Donna Dunnings (John Stroger's niece, Todd's cousin) — remains budget director at a salary of $142,820.
• Carmen Triche Colvin (wife of Todd's best friend, state Rep. Marlo Colvin) — promoted from the Forest Preserve to County Purchasing Agent. Former salary, a tidy $95,000. New salary, a tidier $126,670.
• Monique Martin (Todd's sister-in-law) — becomes his personal secretary at $64,983.
• Kim Gilmore (close pal of Todd's) — promoted in human resources from a mere $112,670 to $141,725.
• Dwight Welch (mayor of Country Club Hills who recently got a pay raise as mayor) — also works for Stroger cousin Donna Dunnings in the Budget Office. Nice salary there too: $104,030.
• Marlo Kemp (former assistant to John Stroger) — now deputy CFO jumping from $90,228 to $127,423.
With all that money being thrown around while local politicians continue telling voters to bend over and lube up, blowing $25K — excuse me, $24,999 — on a poorly executed feelgood magazine about the wondrous accomplishments of the Stroger administration — well, that's peanuts. I'd rather see Cook County ditch the political parasites on its payroll than attempting to turn back the clock on the measly mag.
Then again, in an ideal world, Cook County voters would do both, by ballot or (preferably) by pitchfork.
[thanks, Erik!]
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