For the second time in a month, Cook County commissioners yesterday failed to override a veto by County Board President Todd Stroger.
At the board's meeting May 18, Stroger's veto of a county-wide hiring freeze was upheld. This time, commissioners were unable to muster the 11 votes needed to force through an ordinance giving them closer supervision of personnel issues. The override attempt failed with nine yeas, six nays and two absent.
Stroger seemed pleased as he watched commissioners debate the veto override. He argued, as he did last month, that such an ordinance encroached on his power. It would have required him to notify the commission when he hired or gave raises to employees exempt from the county's patronage laws.
Yesterday's vote represents another failed attempt at curbing Stroger's powers. It comes in the wake of reports that several Shakman-exempt employees received large raises, including a $56,000 raise received by county CFO Jaye Williams.
Commissioner Larry Suffredin said the measure would ensure more transparency by creating a procedure for monitoring spending.
"Once these raises are given, they're going to be taken back in the next year's budget," he said. "We need to understand how money is being spent."
Commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno questioned the legality of the ordinance, and Commissioners Joan Patricia Murphy and Earlean Collins argued it was unnecessary.
Here's how the votes fell:
YES
Claypool
Daley
Gainer
Gorman
Peraica
Reyes
Schneider
Silvestri
Suffredin
NO
Beavers
Butler
Collins
Moreno
Murphy
Sims
ABSENT
Goslin
Steele
Windy Citizen 