Marathon Pundit: Cook County sues Cook County

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Cook County sues Cook County

The dysfunctional mess known as Cook County government reached a new level of ridiculousness today, as the Cook County public defender filed suit, in Cook County court, against Todd Stroger, the president of the Cook County Board of Supervisors.

The cash grabbing, ineffective body of government has been ruled by one party--the Democrats--for almost forty years.

Stroger, a complete political hack, replaced his father on the general ballot last year after his father had no choice but to withdraw from the race after suffering a massive stroke a week before winning the Democratic primary in a very close race. He's not been seen in public since being stricken.

And forgive me if I'm repeating myself, but Sen. Barack Obama gave Stroger II a ringing, yet audacious endorsement last fall after it appeared that Republican Tony Peraica might break the Democratic lock on the board presidency.

Here's what Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn said at the time:

Obama's staff released a profoundly disheartening letter to voters this week in which Obama, joined by Sen. Dick Durbin, endorsed Cook County Board presidential candidate Todd Stroger.

The letter, which puffs lots of hot air into the saggy balloon of Stroger's legislative resume, refers to him as "a good progressive Democrat" who will "lead us into a new era of Cook County government."

Todd Stroger was a "strong voice" in Springfield, the letter says. He has "worked assiduously" for the poor as an alderman. Yet, of course, the record reveals that Stroger is an unimaginative legislative drone whose reform credentials are wholly imaginary--an unlikely trailblazer to a new era.