alderman Toni Preckwinkle is surging ahead in the race for Cook County Board president, according to a WGN/Tribune poll released Friday. Clerk of Court Dorothy Brown slipped to second place, while Metropolitan Water Reclamation District President Terrence O’Brien moved to third place. Incumbent Todd Stroger fell to fourth place.
It’s the second poll conducted by the Tribune. An earlier poll, released in early December had Brown in first place.
The poll of 503 likely Cook County voters showed Preckwinkle with 36 percent of the vote. Brown had 24, O’Brien had 16 and Stroger had 11. Fourteen percent of those polled said they were voting for “other” or were undecided. The margin of error was 4.4 percent.
Stroger hopes to go viral with rap message
Hoping to reach young voters camped out on the Internet, Stroger’s campaign released a music vide on YouTube last week. Local rapper YG artist raps the “Stroger Anthem,” which says Stroger has been mischaracterized in the media, and touts the sales tax for keeping hospitals open.
“How can they tear down your name? They don’t know the facts,” YG raps. “He’s trying to create jobs. Did you mention that? He wanted those pennies on the dollar. Now the whole city wants to hoot and holler.”
YG’s other songs include “Drunk As a Mahf*cka” and “B*tch N—ga.”
Stroger, who trailed his opponents in fundraising at the end of 2009, has said he expects to start airing television commercials soon. We’ve not been able to confirm if any are on TV yet. Brown’s campaign unveiled her first TV ad Thursday during an online town hall meeting.
Preckwinkle grabs SEIU endorsement
Preckwinkle has been riding a wave, with a number of endorsements and cash flowing in. She got one more Friday, when the Illinois Service Employees International Union endorsed her. The union praised her independence in the City Council. The endorsement includes that of more than 500 doctors from the Cook County Health and Hospitals System.