Candidates for Cook County Board President made their cases last night during a debate hosted by ABC7 at the television station’s downtown studio.
In the first televised debate, President Todd Stroger defended the controversial sales tax hike, saying again it helped sustain the Cook County Health and Hospitals System. But his opponents, Clerk of Courts Dorothy Brown, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District President Terrence O’Brien and Alderman Toni Preckwinkle all vowed to repeal it. O’Brien says he’d move to cut the tax on his first day of office.
News reports of the debate make mention of a few new campaign points, including the possibility of giving more Cook County Jail prisoners diversion sentences.
"I think it's really important that we find a way to concentrate our resources on the violent criminals who are really a danger to all of us and find alternatives for nonviolent offenders," Preckwinkle said. "We need to look at alternate sentencing and diversion programs to save money and focus resources on the violent."
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The jail, run by Sheriff Tom Dart, does have some programs that focus on rehabilitation of drug abusers to reduce repeat crimes. But efforts to release nonviolent defendants on electronic home monitoring have been stymied in recent years because of disagreements between Dart and Chief Judge Timothy Evans over how to decide who is placed on that program. If that program were fully implemented, the county would save more than $20 million a year.
Stroger has said in recent months he's making headway in breaking the stalemate between Dart and Evans. During the debate, Stroger cited diversion as one way the county could improve.
Brown declared victory in the debate on Twitter and Facebook, though Scott Cisek, Preckwinkle’s campaign manager, agreed with a pair of committeemen who gave the nod to the alderman.
O'Brien's campaign released a statement today claiming the debate for him. He chided Brown and Preckwinkle for being late in adopting a position to eliminate the sales tax. But they've both held that position for quite a while. However, both women propose a piecemeal reduction, while O'Brien, saying the county would rely too much on the funds, says it should be eliminated right away.
U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., told Fox News Chicago this morning he was impressed with Preckwinkle, but declined to go as far as endorsing her.
The candidates addressed the topic of patronage hiring, with Preckwinkle taking aim.
Chicago Alderman Toni Preckwinkle set herself apart by going off on more free-flowing answers that sometimes left the actual questions behind but hit the county's "patronage hiring" and said it has to become instead "a catalyst for economic development."
"We're not going to subject ourselves to the kind of patronage and political influence that has characterized so much of the reporting on county government in the past," Preckwinkle said.
Stroger argued during the debate at Channel 7 studios, 190 N. State, that he has abided by the Shakman decree to keep politics out of hiring.
The debate will air on Channel 7 at 10:30 a.m. Sunday.
Did you catch it on ABC7’s Web site last night? Who won?