Big Democratic guns turnout for Forys in 17th Democratic race

It's not the highest profile political battle in the news media but it is the one with most twist, turns and political pedigree issues. People are lining up in the 17th Cook County Board District, a seat held by Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman who over the past few years has risen to become one of the county's most aggressive champions of taxpayer rights.

Gorman, a Republican, is being challenge by two Democrats who will duke it out in the February 2 Democratic Primary before facing the Gorman juggernaut. They are Pat Maher and Dr. Victor Forys. Maher and Gorman are local rivals from Orland Township. Gorman is the Orland Township Republican Committeewoman and Maher is the President of the Orland Fire Protection District (OFPD). He is also the son of Orland Village Clerk Dave Maher, who is a $75,000-a-year employee of the Cook County Court system, under Stroger's watchful political patronage (Administrative Assistant Level V for the county courts). Forys comes from the northern part of the 17th District.

Forys, who raised large sums of money in the congressional race to succeed Rahm Emanuel in the 5th District, lost to former Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley. But next week, Quigley will join Gov. Pat Quinn and County Commissioner Larry Suffredin, who has worked closely with Gorman to fight Todd Stroger's repressive 1 percent sales tax, will come out swinging to endorse Forys, not Maher, in the Democratic Primary. What happens after that primary is anyone's guess.

FIGHTING FOR TAXPAYERS

There are a lot of big issues in the 17th District. Gorman has been on the right side of most during her two terms in the office. She has distinguished herself as a persistent champion of taxpayer rights, winning three major battles for taxpayers.

The first was last year when Gorman was the only county commissioner to challenge a $190,000 county loan to controversial Regional Schools Superintendent Charles Flowers. Flowers budget has since come under scrutiny. A report by the auditor general shows that Flowers has since mismanaged millions of dollars in funds. His office has an annual budget of about $1 million and is reportedly more than $1 million in debt. The audit shows that Flowers has borrowed money to pay for all kinds of expenses, without proper records, but he insisted he has repaid everything.

Gorman was the only voice to challenge Flowers' poor leadership. But this past June, the entire County board joined Gorman to repudiate Flowers and reject the loan and acknowledge Gorman's leadership.

Gorman also has been a key leader in the fight to repeal Stroger's repressive 1 percent sales tax that is chasing Cook County businesses into neighboring counties. Although Stroger prevailed when Deborah "The Hack" Sims flip-flopped supporting the repeal and then denying the repeal the 14 votes needed to override Stroger's anti-taxpayer veto, the fight has become a voter mantra that is expected to drum Todd Stroger out of office in February when he faces off with Congressman Danny K. Davis, Ald. Toni Preckwinkle and Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown among many others.

Normally, so many challengers benefit the incumbent, but a recent Chicago Tribune poll shows that Stroger has an approval rating of only 10 percent, lower than the 13 percent for impeached former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

But Gorman's determination to set the county right for taxpayers doesn't end with that high profile sales tax fight. This week, the county board approved an ethics ordinance hailed by the Arlington Heights Daily Herald that forces lobbyists (and candidates for public office who lobby) to disclose the jobs of their relatives on government payrolls to help shine light on insider sweetheart deals that are often the heart of the county's government practices.

19th WARD TIES CAUSE TURMOIL

Stroger's plight and the race for governor are impacting this race directly. Stroger is the son for former Cook County Board President John H. Stroger, who often received huge campaign donations from the nation's top bond counsel, Chapman and Cutler. It so happens that Tom Hynes, the patriarch of 19th Ward politics, is of counsel to the firm, one strong link between the 19th Ward and Stroger, and a reason for the Hynes' family to dislike Gorman, who also has some strong ties to the 19th Ward.

Tom Hynes is a close relative of Patrick Maher through his father, Dave. And, of course, Tom Hynes is the father of  Dan Hynes, the Illinois Comptroller who threw his hat in fast to challenge beleaguered Gov. Pat Quinn.

It's the 19th Ward Hynes honchos who have been working hard over the past several years to install Pat Maher at the OFPD and to take control of Orland Park, which is distinguishing itself as one of the southwest suburbs more monied and affluent communities. They back another Democrat, Paul O'Grady, who took over as Orland Township Supervisor. O'Grady relied heavily on his 19th Ward ties and had 19th ward precinct captains working the election polls this past Spring.

Quinn, Quigley and Suffredin will make their endorsement of Forys at a Forys fundraiser Sept. 29 at White Eagles in Chicago, 6839 N. Milwaukee Ave. Maher just had his own fundraiser at O'Callaghan's, at 29 West Hubbard Street in downtown Chicago, too. The keynote celebrity there was, of course, Tom Hynes. 

I reached out to Maher, who was surprised when I informed him his colleague on the OFPD James Hickey is circulating petitions to challenge State Rep. Kevin McCarthy in the 37th House District. McCarthy is a staunch ally of House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, who is backing Quinn. Hickey told me he'll discuss his candidacy with me when he gets all his signatures. (Maher says he's supporting McCarthy and he's not supporting Hickey, though many say they are very close.) 

When asked if  Tom Hynes was his "keynote speaker," Maher emailed me back, saying: "Tom Hynes was not my keynote speaker.  He did show up and it was greatly appreciated.  I don’t have all the details but I am quite sure that the guy Liz had go spy on my event (which we all saw) could concur that I had about 70 to 75 coming in and out, not counting staff. Not too bad for something I put together about two or three [weeks] ago downtown where I don’t live or work.  I did not collect the money so I really have no idea how much was collected plus some was mailed in which I did not see either."

(I asked Liz Gorman and she said she had no idea and didn't care.)

Gorman will host her fundraiser this week Thursday (Sept. 17) at Sam McGuire's, which is in the 17th District. Maher has another fundraiser planned for Oct. 9 at Fox's in Orland Park. he's expected to have the backing of Orland Park Mayor Dan McLaughlin, the Orland Township Democratic Committeeman.

Gorman is already leading the pack with donations. Maher's campaign disclosures include many contractors who do business with Orland Park and the OFPD, friends of his father and the mayor, no doubt. Forys has funds from his professional contacts and past election supporters. I'll have a detailed analysis of everyone's recent disclosures in an upcoming post.

                                                      

In the meantime, the cross-dynamics of this battle reflect the complex lines that crisscross some of the biggest races in the news, for county board president and for Illinois governor, and intersect with some big family and Chicago political names.

-- Ray Hanania

County Commissioner Liz Gorman does the heavy lifting on the Sales Tax Repeal

While others were grabbing the spotlight, credit Cook County Commissioner Liz Gorman with doing the "heavy lifting" to put together the campaign to repeal the abhorent Todd Stroger 1 Percent Sales Tax. Gorman came up with the original proposal and got strong help from fellow commissioner Larry Suffredin. The original plan was to repeal it in stages, .25 percent each of four years. Gorman then pushed to have the repeal expedited, with Suffredin's backing and the backing of others, and she went around and rounded up the vote for today's meeting.

In the end, the board decided why waste their time playing piecemeal rollbacks and they went full steam -- after finding their courage with Gorman and Suffredin's help -- and rolled the Todd Stroger 1 Percent Sales Tax completely as of Jan. 1, 2010.

Stroger's flak, Christien Geovanis, was on Chicago Tonight blathering about how the sales tax has been raised in years and it was costing county government money. Are you kidding me? The sales tax is a built-in tax generator that Geovanis either ignored or is just to blinded by her exhorbitant taxpayer salary. As the cost of products rises, so too does the revenues from the originals ales tax of .75 percent.

Geovanis also tried to argue that Stroger does not fear the public's wrath. Great. She said he will veto the repeal Wednesday (May 6, 2009), the next day of the vote. When he does that, he will seal his fate as one of the shortest serving and most despised Cook County Board Presidents in Cook County History.

But, he still has time to hang out at his favorite exclusive clubs and restaurants to hire the wait staff when one of his lackies expresses some favor for them.

Gorman stepped back to let the talking heads grab the spotlight, but she is working hard to bring that sales tax down. Even if Stroger vetoes the repeal -- he only needs four lackies to do it and he has three (who voted against the bill already -- losers Commissioners William Beavers, Robert Steele, and Jerry Butler. Pathetic. Uncaring. Bureaucrats who are enjoying their clout at the expense of the public trough. Gorman's drive may well have put the first of many nails on Stroger's Political Coffin.

Hopefully, he'll be out on the street where he'll be forced to enjoy his clout on his own dime instead of at the expense of the taxpayers. I wonder how many of the consultants will bail on Stroger and suck up to the successor once Stroger finds himself trying to recover from his political illness. Tragic.

-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com

I interviewed Gorman and Suffredin on WJJG 1530 AM Radio Tuesday afternoon when I subbed for Judy Baar Topinka. Click here to listen to the Podcast Audio of the 60 minute interview.

Cook County Commissioners call for probe of Dunnings scandal

Commissioner Lawrence "Larry" Suffredin (D-13th District) called on the U.S. Attorney to investigate the circumstances surrounding the firing of Cook County Chief Financial Officer Donna Dunnings.

Dunnings was forced to resign late Thursday night last week from her position as Cook County’s CFO by her cousin, County Board President Todd Stroger. It came in the wake of questionable dealings Dunnings had with another fired county employee, Tony Cole. A busboy working at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in River North, Cole was hired by Stroger when Stroger met him while having diner there. Cole had been arrested on domestic violence charges involving an ex-girl friend and was bailed out several times by Dunning who used undisclosed credit cards to pay the court bails.

“I am concerned about how much money might be missing. I don’t know that there is any. I have discovered over the weekend that one of these PR people Stroger hired was with Ms. Dunnings when she bailed out this individual Cole from the County Jail. She used a credit card,” said Suffredin during an interview Monday on WJJG 1530 AM’s “Radio Chicagoland.”

“We don’t know if it was a county credit card. We don’t know if it was reimbursed by the county. I am going to make a demand on the president and the state’s attorney, the U.S. Attorney and the inspector general that there is an accounting of all the funds. If this were a small corporation, and at 1:30 in the morning the CEO accepts the resignation of the CFO, there would be an emergency meeting the next day.”

Suffredin Friday called on Stroger to resign. He said new details demand careful scrutiny to insure that Dunnings had no abused her powers to come to Cole’s aid. Stroger said he expected Cole to make “explosive” charges against Dunnings.

“It’s outrageous,” Suffredin said. “This is a person who as the Chief Financial officer has access to all of the county’s money. When Stroger uses the word ‘explosive’ it moves it from a personal indiscretion to a public indiscretion.”

Suffredin said he fears “There are some real issues involving the credit cards that Dunnings may have used. … We have no transparency. We have this bizarre activity at 1:30 in the morning on Friday Todd Stroger calls the Chicago tribune City Desk to announce he has requested and received the resignation of the Chief Financial officer, who happens to be his cousin. The CFO of a government that is the 19th largest government in the United States.”

Clearly Stroger was being vindictive trying to punish the Chicago Sun-Times which was digging into the Dunnings scandal and was preparing to break details on Dunning’s relationship with Cole.

Suffredin pointed out that after announcing it in the middle of the night, and then 15 hours later informing members of the county board, he departed for a personal vacation.

“I am speaking with board members. We do have provisions for special meetings. Our next meeting is May 5th,” Suffredin said, noting the county lacks re-call provisions.

Suffredin said the bond rating companies will probably downgrade the county’s bonds increasing interest rates on the county’s massive outstanding debts, which would increase the need for more taxes.

“The citizens need to be outraged over his lack of candor on this and his refusal to answer questions,” Suffredin said.

Suffredin said there are two separate individuals involving employees who were in trouble, including Cole, who Dunnings has helped and may have used the power of her office.

Suffredin said Stroger has refused to be accountable, refused to answer questions and refuses to properly lead the county.

No one in Stroger’s office would return repeated phone calls for a comment Monday.

-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com

Hypocrisies abound on Cook County Board to silence Peraica's fight against the sales tax hike

You can listen to my podcast with Cook County Board Commissioner Anthony Tony Peraica on my audio podcast web page at www.TheMediaOasis.com/pointtopoint.htm. Peraica calls out Board President Todd Stroger who cut public discussion ont he oppressive sales tax he authored, which gives the City of Chicago the dubious honor of having the highest sales tax in the nation, 10.25 percent, and his colleagues for hypocrisy including Commissioners Larry Suffredin and Debra Sims, who said it's not the tax chasing people to buy in other counties, but public discussion about that tax that is pushing other counties to keep their taxes low to attract Cook County residents. (Commissioner Suffredin is dead wrong on this issue, although he has taken the appropriate pro-taxpayer stand on other issues. We agree with Peraica's assessment that Suffredin is being a hypocrite on the sales tax issues. Here is how one of Suffredin's supporters defended Suffredin's vote in favor of the sales tax increase, from the commissioner's web page.)

Also go to http://www.swnewsherald.com/ to read my column on the topic.

AND, view Ray Hanania's World comic strip on the fli-flopping at the Cook County Board on the Todd Stroger oppressive Sales Tax increase. Go there?

Ray Hanania
http://www.radiochicagoland.com/