Marathon Pundit: ILL-inois: Crook County pol gives six-figure job to niece

For starters, in any place else other than Cook County, the office of Recorder of Deeds would be an appointed position, not an elected office. But it's been used as a stepping stone to higher office for Chicago area Democrats, most-notably the inept Carol Moseley Braun, who sorta-represented Illinois in the US Senate in the 1990s.

The current recorder of deeds is stepping on the wallets of Crook County taxpayers.

From Fox Chicago:

Just when you thought Cook County was ready for reform, FOX 32 News and the Better Government Association have learned newly-elected Cook County Recorder of Deeds Karen Yarbrough has given a plum six-figure job to her niece.

A smiling photo of Karen Yarbrough is as close as we came to the recorder of deeds at her office Tuesday. Yarbrough let her spokesman try to explain a hire that's landed her in hot water.

"This person in question is very highly qualified, puts in a lot of hours each week and the taxpayers of Cook County are lucky to have someone like this person," John Mirkovic says, speaking on her behalf.

"This person" is Chloe G. Pedersen, who also just happens to be Karen Yarbrough's niece. Yarbrough gave Pedersen a $114,000 job as legal counsel just one day after taking over the recorder of deeds office in December.

The Cook County inspector general has asked Yarbrough to fire her niece, but she imperiously refused, claiming that the anti-nepotism rule in the county doesn't apply to her.

Fox Chicago also reports that a top Yarbrough aide resigned after it was revealed that she was felon--she took part in an armored car robbery.

Vote them all out.

Related posts:

Cook County Dem Party boss has 15 members of his family on gov't payroll

ILL-inois: Two Democratic patronage stories in one day reveal the rot

Technorati tags: