Democrats running for county board president blasted incumbent Todd Stroger for failing to show up last night at a forum sponsored by the 43rd Ward Democrats at DePaul University.
In addition to choice words from his opponents, Stroger was also criticized by the event's moderator, Better Government Association chief Andy Shaw.
“I find it an insult to the audience and the 43rd Ward to say that you’re coming and not show up,” Shaw said.
During, the event, Stroger's opponents jockeyed to position themselves as reformers, and vowed to appeal the unpopular sales tax increase he instituted last year.
“It’s just tax, tax, tax. It seems to be the only solution of our way out of a problem is to tax the people who can least afford it, and that’s you, the constituents of this particular county,” said Metropolitan Water Reclamation District President Terrence O’Brien.
O'Brien said he would move to get rid of the sales tax on his first day of office if elected.
Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (D-4) said she would repeal the 1 percent sales tax incrementally, but called it “devastating for working families and businesses” in Cook County.
Clerk of Court Dorothy Brown said the sales tax should be lowered. But she emphasized that the county needs new sources of revenue. She proposed instituting a grant research team to find untapped monetary sources, and seeking payment from other counties that send patients to Cook County hospitals.
All three candidates voiced their support for the independent board overseeing the Cook County Health and Hospitals System. Stroger has said the board should be brought back under the control of county commissioners.
Preckwinkle said the independent board should be made permanent. O'Brien said the situation should be reviewed at the end of the board's three-year term in 2011, then contracted to oversee the health system thereafter. Brown praised the board’s independent oversight, and pledged to continue it “in some way, form or fashion.”
Shaw asked the candidates to address controversies swirling around their campaigns.
Brown's campaign has been accused of forcing government workers to get petition signatures. She called the stories lies, and said her ethics records stands for itself.
“I would stack my record of ethics and reform against anybody,” she said. “People are dropping lies, Andy, and I’m dealing with those lies.”
Mayor Richard M. Daley has appeared at fundraisers for Preckwinkle. Shaw asked if that endangered her position as a progressive reformer. She said it makes political sense to cast as wide a net as possible, especially as Stroger won the backing of black ministers.
“This is not an African-American primary, this is a Democratic primary,” she said.
O’Brien discounted recent stories that the MWRD gives favorable treatment to clients of his environmental company, K-Plus. He told the audience of more than 100 that the stories were irresponsible and inflammatory. He also promised to divest his interest in K-Plus if elected.
All the candidates tackled the prominent issue of corruption, pledging tighter hiring standards and a close evaluation of county government.
“It takes hard work and time to be successful when it’s not handed to you,” O’Brien said.
The most direct words of the day were reserved for the man who wasn’t there to defend himself. The three candidates painted him as out of touch and lacking integrity for being absent. Stroger’s spokespeople could not be reached for comment.
“I think it’s a blatant disrespect to the citizens of Cook County,” Brown said. “I believe it goes to honesty and integrity. I believe your word is your bond.”
“As a candidate, I try to take every opportunity to meet with potential voters, particularly voters who are interested enough to show up to an event like this on a Sunday afternoon,” Preckwinkle said. “It’s your job to be the spinmeister, if you want to call it that. You’ve got to get out there and sell what you’re doing and persuade people that what you’re doing is … necessary, important (and) critical.”
O’Brien conceded Stroger has a busy schedule, but chided him for not communicating with commissioners and the public.
“I think part of what has transpired under his leadership is a lack of communication,” he said.
The Democrats meet again Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at D’Estee, 4525 S. King Dr., in an event hosted by the Chicago alumni chapter of Sigma Delta Theta sorority. Republican candidate Roger Keats is expected to be present, as well.
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