Todd Stroger for Cook County Board president

Todd Stroger for Cook County Board pr
October 22, 2006

Change must come to Cook County government, no matter who wins the race for county board president. The old way of doing things, personified by the honorable yet inflexible former president John Stroger, will not suffice any more. Because both parties have fielded candidates who are promising to shake things up in the $3 billion-a-year government, the question therefore becomes, who is more likely to succeed? While we believe Republican Tony Peraica is a qualified and experienced candidate who would be dedicated to reform, we fear his agenda would founder on the rocks of the county's Democratic domination, paralyzing his tenure. We therefore endorse Democrat Todd Stroger, the 8th Ward alderman and the son of the former president.

We don't like the way Stroger was put on the ballot to replace his father, who stepped down after suffering a stroke, and we wish Stroger had a stronger record on which to run. But we recognize the reality that if change is going to happen in this Democrat-dominated body, it's going to come from within the Democratic party. If there's any good that came from the questionable way the younger Stroger was placed on the ballot, it's that the party was forced by all the public attention to acknowledge the need for reform. And we take Stroger at his word that he is committed to that process.

He says he'd start his tenure by asking all employees who are exempt from civil-service protections -- most of them no doubt picked by his father -- to resign, to weed out those who are doing nothing and to send a message that he won't do things the way his dad did. He wants to give an inspector general plenty of tools to root out corruption and waste. He promises big changes at the top and in the guts of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center and the Bureau of Health. He warns county workers and other county elected officials that the budget process must change -- and budgets must be reduced -- to address the financial mess he would inherit. He admits his father was dictator but he says his style is one of accommodating and working together with people who have good ideas.

We're taking a risk in supporting Stroger, but he's saying the right things and seems genuinely committed to change. And we're going to assign extra reporters to watch him to make sure that he follows through on his promises.