How to liberate Cook County

How to liber
Published October 17, 2006


Years of hard work by anti-machine reformers have led to this moment: the chance for a new president of the 17-member Cook County Board--plus a majority of at least nine steady votes for slashing bloat and improving services.

Tony Peraica should be that new County Board president. And if voters make good choices in board races, his reform agenda will prevail.

Three of the board's best members--Forrest Claypool, Michael Quigley and Larry Suffredin--are running unopposed. So, though, are three of the worst enemies of fed-up county taxpayers: Roberto Maldonado, Joseph Mario Moreno and Deborah Sims.

The County Board to be elected Nov. 7 is likely to include at least eight reformers. Swinging a ninth vote away from the machine politicians who have owned Cook County would make a decisive difference. With that reform agenda driving these choices, here are the Tribune's endorsements for contested County Board races:

1st District (West Side, west suburbs): Incumbent Democrat Earlean Collins at times has bucked the county administration. Collins is endorsed over Henrietta S. Butler. The hope here is that Collins will be a reliable vote against future tax increases--and in favor of reforming the county's wasteful government.

2nd District (West, Near South and Near North Sides): In her stint as interim president of the County Board, Democrat Bobbie Steele has seen firsthand how dysfunctional and wasteful this county is. The Tribune endorses Steele and encourages her to become a vote to reform the mess over which she's briefly presided. One cautionary note: If Steele plans to retire after the election to maximize her pension, she should come clean with voters now. Republican Scott Kummer, an attorney, offers voters two interesting pledges: to limit his service to two terms and to battle entrenched Democratic families that hand power from one generation to the next.

3rd District (Near South Side): Incumbent Democrat Jerry "Iceman" Butler's voting pattern marks him a defender of the status quo. The Tribune can endorse neither Butler nor his opponent, Maurice Perkins.

4th District (South Side): The departure of incumbent John Stroger opens the seat for William Beavers, the Chicago alderman who, with other Democratic leaders, misled voters about Stroger's medical prognosis. Beavers' opponent is Ann Rochelle Hunter. No endorsement.

6th District (south suburbs): Democratic incumbent Joan Patricia Murphy spent the last four years as a reliable tool of John Stroger's regime--and as a failed steward of the business climate in her district. She gives lip service to constraining taxes and downsizing county government. Voters should replace Murphy with Republican Michael Hawkins, a real estate broker who pledges to oppose any tax increase. Hawkins has clever and provocative ideas for cleaning up the county, such as creating a program to encourage and protect whistle-blowers who report county corruption. He also proposes a county independent counsel to help the U.S. attorney's office find and prosecute corruption. Hawkins would be a refreshing presence.

9th District (west and northwest suburbs): Republican Peter Silvestri is strongly endorsed for re-election to a fourth term. Silvestri has consistently advocated cutting the county payroll and consolidating the many duplicative offices that serve as holding pens for unneeded patronage hires. His record and reform agenda elevate him over Democrat Jodi Biancalana.

11th District (South and Southwest Sides, southwest suburbs): This page has argued that incumbent Democrat John Daley has the knowledge and political skills to help engineer a radical overhaul and downsizing of county government. Daley's familiarity with county finances brings with it a responsibility to be a dynamic force for reform. He is endorsed over Republican political consultant Carl Segvich.

14th District (northwest and north suburbs): Incumbent Republican Gregg Goslin has the constructive impatience of a business owner who resents the way Cook County wastes his tax dollars--and everyone else's as well. Goslin has worked relentlessly to bring county government out of the 19th Century, and he deserves praise for still incomplete improvements to the county's long-neglected forest preserves. Put short, Goslin is among the best public servants on the County Board. The Tribune endorses him over Democrat Michelene "Mickie" Polk.

15th District (northwest suburbs): Republican Timothy Schneider defeated 32-year incumbent Carl Hansen in the March primary. Count Schneider as another business owner infuriated by the county's slipshod operations, overstaffed workforce and reluctance to privatize. Schneider already has steeped himself in the county's juvenile detention center, a hellhole that mistreats inner-city boys and girls by the hundreds.Democrat Jim Steven Dasakis, a restaurant owner, also has ideas for cutting the payroll and consolidating offices. But the Tribune's enthusiastic endorsement goes to Schneider.

16th District (western suburbs): If, as this page fervently hopes, Tony Peraica defeats Todd Stroger to become president of the board, he won't have one of its 17 votes unless he also keeps the 16th District seat. Peraica has been a relentless opponent of the county's excessive spending and culture of corruption. If Peraica wins the presidency, he should find a role in county government for his knowledgeable opponent, William Gomolinski. Peraica is endorsed.

17th District (southwest, west and northwest suburbs): Four years ago, as a candidate for the board, Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman sent voters an unorthodox mailing: a big color photo of a 1975 Little League team with 14 players: 13 boys and one determined little girl. The photo was apt: During her first term, Gorman has been a determined vote and voice for reform. The Tribune strongly endorses her over Thomas "Tommy" Kraus, the Democratic candidate. We do so hoping she'll revive her smart 2002 proposal to give county managers incentives to cut their flabby budgets.





Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune