Marathon Pundit: Tony Peraica at the Chicago Tea Party: UPDATED

Friday, April 17, 2009

Tony Peraica at the Chicago Tea Party: UPDATED

On my right is Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica (R-Riverside), who has been at the forefront in opposing County Board President Todd Stroger's corruption tax.

Earlier that day Peraica proposed a complete elimination of the one-percent county sales tax increase that burdened Chicagoans with the highest sales tax in the nation.

Stroger, who will run for reelection next year, is backing a 0.25 percent decrease.

Cook County's chief financial officer is Donna Dunnings, she's Stroger's first cousin.

Stuff like this just doesn't happen in other places.

Photo courtesy of the Morton Grove Voice.

UPDATE 10:40am CDT: Wow, look at the story I missed from this morning's Chicago Tribune! Dunnings resigned yesterday because of a controversy regarding a fired County patronage worker.

Stroger asked for Dunnings' resignation and she agreed because of allegations that would hurt her ability to do her job, Stroger told the Tribune this morning in a telephone interview. Dunnings could not immediately be reached this morning.

Stroger declined to elaborate on the allegations, but said they were made by a man who was given a patronage job with Stroger's administration late last year. Stroger fired the man after learning he had a felony criminal conviction, said Sean Howard, a Stroger spokesman.

The man then made "explosive" and "not flattering" allegations against Dunnings, Stroger said.

Stroger said he could not provide details of the relationship between the man and Dunnings, but said she has bailed the man out of jail several times over a monthslong span.

Hat tip to Pat Hickey of ...With Both Hands.

UPDATE 11:05am CDT: Marathon Pundit reader Mike sent me this Daily Herald account:

Cook County Chief Financial Officer Donna Dunnings, the cousin of President Todd Stroger, resigned abruptly this week after it was learned she had bailed a favored employee with a criminal record out of jail several times, a county spokesman said Friday.

The employee, Tony Cole, was hired by Stroger upon the recommendation of Louisiana State University basketball coach Dale Brown, said county spokesman Sean Howard.

"The kid appeared to be very bright, very smart," said Howard.

According to a media report, the county knew of a 2002 charge of aggravated assault with intent to rape in Georgia when it hired Cole. The charge was eventually dropped, but it resulted in Cole being kicked off the University of Georgia basketball team. Cole, however, had not told the county of a Georgia conviction for writing bad checks. Because he didn't disclose that, spokesmen told the Chicago Sun-Times, he was fired last week from his $61,000 a year human resources job in the highway department.