Three-term incumbent Cook County Board President John Stroger finally relinquished his position two weeks ago, months after a severe stroke left him infirm and in hiding. With Stroger now officially out of the game, the mad dash for his seat was finally underway.
Yet, perhaps the race was over before it really began. There have been several ideas concerning who should replace John Stroger both in the long and short term. A selection for an interim Board President is expected soon, but the more coveted (and controversial) decision is in choosing who will replace Stroger on the November ballot. Certainly the most publicized choice is Stroger's son, Alderman Todd Stroger. While other recommendations have been made and candidacies begun—Rep. Danny Davis and County Commissioner Bobbie Steele having claimed marginal support among ward bosses who will decide on a replacement—Alderman William Beavers reasserted on Monday that the younger Stroger already enjoys the lion's share of votes as the Board President's successor.
"I've got the votes....I haven't counted them up, but I've got the majority," Beavers said on Monday referring to the young Stroger's certain win. The alderman openly admits that the votes come as a return on an investment: the loyalty John Stroger has shown key committeemen.
"It's time for payback," said Beavers.
Alderman Beavers has acted as John Stroger's spokesman throughout his convalescence, working to convey the wishes of an ill colleague. Exercising considerable clout from among those responsible for choosing a replacement, Beavers has been instrumental in carrying out John Stroger's desire to see his son become County Board President.
Also in line with the decisions sought by Stroger the elder, Beavers announced on Monday that he will step down from a choice position as chairman of the City Council's Budget Committee, and instead take a seat on the county board. Stroger's plan sees Beavers continuing to work on behalf of his son, quelling budget skirmishes on the council floor.
Promises, Promises
In May, members of the county board applied significant pressure to disclose the true state of Stroger's health and ability to govern. Calling that pressure an invasion of the Stroger family's privacy—coupled with weeks of misleading information asserting that John Stroger was still ably running the county from his hospital bed—Beavers and Todd Stroger maintained that a statement would be made by July as to whether John Stroger would continue his post.
"When I said John Stroger was not going to say anything until July, I was talking as John Stroger's son, said Todd Stroger at a press conference "I respect my father to give him every opportunity to come back and do the job that he loved doing. When it became evident that he couldn't, that is when we decided that he would have to resign."
However, Cook County Clerk David Orr, County Commissioner Forrest Claypool (Stroger's closely contested rival in the March primary) and others suggest the possibility of a calculated strategy. By waiting to announce Stroger's resignation, they argue, those interested in securing power in Cook County government and in keeping the status quo, effectively destroyed the possibility of a third party candidate—too much time had lapsed for independent challengers to enter the race.
When weighed against what is now known, reports given over the last few months by Ald. Stroger, John Stroger's Chief of Staff James Whigham, and Ald. Beavers—among the very few who had any contact with John Stroger—suggest that there was significant manipulation of information about a man, who some argue, was unable to speak for himself.
"I think the entire voting population of Cook County was deceived by the pronouncements of the Stroger team," said County Commissioner and Republican nominee for Board President, Tony Peraica. "The four month delay period and various pieces of misinformation that were put out into the public domain were designed to obtain maximum political advantage in order to put Ald. Todd Stroger in as a replacement for his father."
If there indeed were such a scheme, it has cost the county dearly. As months passed with no leader, serious problems that had plagued the county continued to grow ever worse— problems that include an impending nurses' strike, the overdue renegotiation of several union contracts, and most troubling—a rapidly growing deficit. Last week, an ordinance delivered to commissioners reported that the county needed to apply for a $200 million loan, despite earlier assurances from Stroger's Chief of Staff Whigham that the county's dire financial situation would not require outside assistance.
By Appointment Only
Pointing to a lack of experience, many question whether Ald. Todd Stroger can head such an important post. Yet to those who label the power grab a nepotistic appointment, Beavers and others need only mention a long list of generational advantages in Illinois politics: Madigan, Hynes, Daley and others.
"Everybody wants to make things look like a deal. Was it a deal when Lipinski made his son? Was it a deal when Madigan made his son? Was it a deal when Hynes made his son? Well, if it was a deal then, it's a deal now," Beavers told reporters.
Besides, in the end it's the voters who decide, right? "I think that this is America and in America we have elections. So I am hoping that I will be able to run for the office," Ald Todd Stroger said in a press conference on June 30.
Cook County Board President—a key position that oversees a $3 billion dollar budget is supposed to be decided by voters: a broad range of people interested in the best government available to them. However, stalling for weeks in divulging the true picture of John Stroger's ability to govern, Beavers and Ald. Stroger managed to close the door on the competition, leaving the decision in the hands of a group of committeemen influenced with conserving their own power.
Even the county board itself has had little say in the matter.
"We have no input, we have no say and no one is going to ask us anything," says Peraica who claims that a majority of commissioners do not favor Ald. Todd Stroger as a replacement.
Some say it's clear that Ald. Stroger's rise to power is not merely a gift passed from father to son, but rather an assurance to stave off the reform that those like Commissioners Claypool and Peraica have argued is so desperately needed in Cook County.
A group of Democratic committeemen will meet on Tuesday, July 18th at the Allegro Hotel in the Loop to decide who will officially replace the ailing John Stroger in the November election.
Let's see if they fulfill Beavers' early boast of victory for the young Stroger.
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