She still has to win an election, but Alderman Toni Preckwinkle is already preparing to take over as Cook County Board president.
In remarks today to the City Club of Chicago, Preckwinkle said she has been forming teams to prepare for her coronation as leader of the County Board.
"We’re not taking anything for granted, knock on wood, but we’re starting now to address some of the tough issues that the county faces," she said. "We definitely have our work cut out for us."
Speaking a week before her Republican opponent, former state Sen. Roger Keats, addresses the City Club, Preckwinkle said her top priorities as president would be to make the independent health board permanent, hire a chief operating officer for the county and make the county a hub of green jobs and high-speed rail.
Preckwinkle targeted County Board President Todd Stroger immediately. She said his downfall wasn’t caused by allegations of corruption or widespread patronage.
“It’s rather the current administration’s cynical disregard for the wishes, concerns and fears of the citizens of Cook County, exemplified by the stubborn defense of the Cook County sales-tax increase,” she said.
She pledged to be a better steward of the county, and said she would immediately hire a chief operating officer to ensure that the county is putting its best foot forward for taxpayers and employees.
“The lack of accountability and efficiency not only saps resources from critical programs and services. It also erodes taxpayer confidence that Cook County government can effectively represent their interests,” she said.
The COO would coordinate technology improvements and upgrades to the county’s Web site to make it easier for residents to access the government, Preckwinkle said.
“Quite simply, it should be easier for our citizens to interact with the government that represents them, and our Web site should be one resource that facilitates that interaction,” she said.
The Stroger administration has made the county’s Web site a central focus in recent months, launching a transparency portal that includes the county's check registry.
Preckwinkle praised her former Hyde Park ally, President Barack Obama, for his commitment to environmental sustainability and high-speed rail, and said that by investing in both, Cook County could become the Midwest’s green-jobs leader and the region’s central economic powerhouse.
She said officials should implement more cost-saving initiatives at Cook County Jail, including enrolling non-violent offenders in day-reporting programs, rather than incarcerating them.
And as Mayor Richard M. Daley prepares to appoint two new aldermen, Preckwinkle said she wasn’t thinking about who might take over her 4th Ward spot, should she be elected.
“I’ve got to make it through an election in November, so I think we’ll take it one step at a time,” she said.
Windy Citizen 