Overlooked Cook County stench

You know, the garbage heap that is Cook County politics is so immense that it's hard to take it in with just one viewing.

From the same Chicago Tribune article I excerpted this morning:You're looking at Draconian cuts, which equals significant layoffs," said Donna Dunnings, the county's chief financial officer appointed by Stroger. The borrowing, she added, is needed to cover unavoidable costs, most of which already won board approval.

From Marathon Pundit commenter Betty:

Donna Dunnings is Todd's cousin. Nice how that works in Cook County. I'm so glad that I moved out a while ago. Now I get to see my neighbors when they make shopping excursions to my town.

The reason Betty's former neighbors come to her town is because the sales tax in suburban Cook County is 10 percent, with Chicagoans handing over 10.25 percent. Stroger's "corruption tax" was supposed to pay county bills.

Cook County has 5 million residents--that's more than most states. And Stroger, who succeeded his father as Cook County Board president, could find no one else besides his cousin to serve as CFO.


Technorati tags: Obama politics Barack Obama Election Democrats Illinois Politics Cook County Stroger cronyism