CROOK - OOPS COOK COUNTY BOARD PRESIDENT SAYS, "DO AS I SAY AND NOT AS I DO!"

Do As I Say And Not As I Do. That seems to be the current acknowledged and unacknowledged philosophy of our politicians. The recent revelation that Cook County Board President Todd Stroger owes over $11,000 in past due taxes and penalties is a classic example of that philosophy.

One would assume that with President Todd Stroger making over $175,000 a year and his wife making nearly $50,000 a year, that it would be a piece of cake for them to make the $11,000 payment. All they need to do is hunker down for a couple of weeks and voilà! Money saved and tax bill paid off.

Of course that is the logic our politicians readily use whenever they use their willy-nilly logic process of deciding that we the overtaxed and overburdened residents of Crook – oops I mean Cook County can do. As they vote to make us pay more, they always claim that a few extra pennies paid here and there is easy for us to make. No regards is given to how we must all adjust our “quality of life” as we are nickel and dimed out of every possible amount.

Strangely, even though President Todd Stroger owes what amounts to a two week paycheck, he needed a payment plan to pay the money. What’s up with that?

Another interesting assertion being made by some is that the current emphasis on President Todd Stroger’s situation is just “racism” over “politics”. Now I can never deny the role race plays in anything. Race is always the hidden agenda in everything that goes on.

But the importance of race must always be tempered with the reality that stupidity trumpets over both race and politics. And in my opinion, President Stroger is representing stupidity at its basic core.

Here’s a question that we all should be asking. If you can’t run your household budget, how in the heck can you run the county’s budget? Now I know that many feel that we shouldn’t criticize President Todd Stroger. But I am offended that he used his own version of “racial politics” by claiming that without the increase, hospitals and clinics would be closed down and implied that black people by default would be the ones to bear the brunt of a reduced county healthcare system.

Even more offensive was a recent news conference that had about twenty black ministers protesting against the County Board’s decision to hold a vote to override President Stroger’s veto. This column by the way was written before the final outcome.

Where is the “rainbow” coalition to support President Todd Stroger? Closing of hospitals and clinics wouldn’t just affect poor black people. So where were all the other ethnic groups when those black ministers stood protesting against the county board? Why is it that everyone else benefits and only blacks protest? And when blacks protests, whey are we so comfortable to always include those who don’t even show up to the table?


Now not all in the black community are so gullible as to be persuaded to not look into what is going on with the President Stroger and ask the hard questions. Like how come Tony Cole; the ex-felon, ex-busboy, ex-basketball star who got a $61,000 a year job with the county really got the job. And how come he did so after lying on his job application about his criminal background?

Or asking why President Todd Stroger fired his cousin Donna Dunning who bailed Tony Cole out of jail several times. What is her real relationship to Tony Cole? How is it that Tony Cole had the ability to call President Stroger directly every time he needed bailing out of jail.

And what exactly is the relationship between Tony Cole and Todd Stroger?

And even more curious is that several years ago when rumors were flying that the FBI wanted to talk with him, Orlando Jones a “godson” to Ex-President John Stroger allegedly took his own life on a beach in Michigan. What is really going on at that county board?

Rumors are flying and swirling that certain black politicians are clamoring for Todd Stroger’s job. Those individuals are not unknown aldermen who would need to elevate their profile because of the name recognition factor. Rather there are some bigger fish in the sea and they are circling around jostling for position.

Pay attention Chicago. That County Board which used to be the area of government that no one paid attention to is now the hottest event in town. And to keep it hot, all we have to do is pay attention to what they are up to.

The pennies in our pockets will glow even redder as they heat up from the politicians fighting to decide if we should get to spend those pennies or if the politicians will just take the pennies from us.