Next year’s Cook County board president race will include Democratic incumbent Todd Stroger who recently announced he would seek a second term.
In 2006, Cook County Democratic leaders placed Stroger on the ballot after his father, John H. Stroger Jr., suffered a stroke. The elder Stroger had been county president since 1996. He died in 2008.
Supporters of the elder Stroger say the Black community heavily supported him during his tenure as county board president but doubts if the younger Stroger will enjoy the same support in 2010.
But Todd Stroger, a former 8th Ward alderman, state representative and investment banker, is quick to point out that he did not get where he is today solely because of his father.
“I am my father’s son. There’s no doubt about it. But I did have a pretty good political life prior to becoming president,” he told the Defender.
Stroger said if the Black community has ill feelings toward him, it is because of bad information they are receiving from the media.
“Some people have been hoodwinked by the press,” he said. “They don’t really know what’s going on with county government. All they know is what the newspapers are reporting. That’s why I am speaking at churches and other events to let people know the truth.”
The county board president said he is ready for a second term, and all the challenges facing the county, including rising health care costs and maintaining quality service at its three hospitals and 12 health clinics.
“I get stopped on the street all the time by people who tell me how great the services are at Stroger Hospital,” Stroger said.
Standing on his record, Stroger said his biggest accomplishment during his first term was making the county, with its $3 billion budget, more fiscally responsible.
“We cut 17 percent from the budget, which is no easy task,” he said. “Holding the line on expenses is something I plan to continue during my second term.”
Stroger came under fire when the county’s sales tax was raised one penny from .75 percent to 1.75 percent. The jump helped push Chicago’s sales tax to 10.25 percent, the highest in the nation.
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