News Coverage: Joseph Berrios

Forrest Claypool's campaign for Cook County assessor has cleared another hurdle, as his Democratic opponent, Board of Review Commissioner Joseph Berrios, announced today his campaign would not pursue a challenge to Claypool's signatures.

Last week, Claypool submitted about 90,000 signatures to the county clerk's office, and expected a stiff challenge from the Berrios camp.

Berrios' spokesman, Manuel Galvan, said in a statement the campaign found more than 53,000 suspect signatures. But with more than 30,000 valid signatures remaining, Claypool still garnered more than the 25,000 required to get on the ballot. Read more...

Forrest Claypool, the county commissioner who left the Democratic party to run as independent candidate for Cook County assessor, says he'll file petitions today signed by more than 90,000 voters in his bid to get on the ballot in November.

Claypool is running against Democrat Joseph Berrios, a board of review commissioner and chairman of the party, Republican Sharon Strobeck-Eckersall, a former Evanston assessor, and the Green Party's Robert Grota.

Claypool announced his candidacy in early April, angering Democrats by leaving the party and running without having participated in the primary. He needed to garner 25,000 signatures to get on the ballot, and expects a tough challenge from election lawyers retained by the Berrios campaign. Read more...

Republican nominee for County Board President Roger Keats today announced he would embrace a number of reform proposals supported by anti-corruption watchdogs, and said he hopes lawmakers in Cook County and Springfield will put such reforms into law.

Keats says he has support from some county commissioners and state lawmakers to make some of the reforms outlined in a February report from the University of Illinois at Chicago law.

“What we’re trying to remind people is that as corrupt as this place is, there are some of us who are trying to do something about it,” said Keats, who is running against Democrat Toni Preckwinkle and Green Party nominee Tom Tresser. Read more...

Democratic nominee for Cook County Board president Toni Preckwinkle says she'll back party chairman and Board of Review Commissioner Joseph Berrios in his bid for assessor, according to a Sun-Times report.

It's not a huge surprise, as Preckwinkle re-nominated Berrios for the party chairmanship in March, and will rely on the party's help in her bid for office in the fall.

And as she explained to Chicago Magazine, “I am a Democrat. I work for Democrats. I believe in the Democratic Party.” Read more...

In his quest to get on the ballot as an independent candidate for assessor, Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool is leaving no stone unturned.

His campaign was at yesterday's Tea Party protest at Daley Plaza, asking the 1,000 or so people there to support his bid.

It makes sense for Claypool - disenfranchised with Machine politics - to seek support from Tea Partiers, who are disenfranchised with high taxes and the government, in general. Read more...