Marathon Pundit

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Cook County corruption update: Dunnings bailed her busboy out of jail four times

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, the man who Barack Obama enthusiastically endorsed in 2006, hired his first cousin, Donna Dunnings, to serve as the county's chief financial officer.

Two weeks ago, Stroger fired "Cuz" after it was discovered that Dunnings twice bailed out a former busboy, Tony Cole, who was serving as her assistant. Stroger hired Cole after meeting him at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse--where Cole was working.

CBS 2 Chicago has more:

Cole was fired from his $61,000-a-year county job after County Board President Todd Stroger found out that Cole had failed to report a past felony conviction for writing bad checks.

Stroger forced Dunnings, who is his first cousin, out of her post after revelations about Cole, including that she bailed him out of jail twice.

But court documents Wednesday showed that Dunnings actually bailed Cole out four times, at a cost of $4,000 in aggregate. The bonds were $250, $1,750, $750 and $1,250, according to court documents.

Cole was in court Thursday on a charge that he violated an order of protection filed by a woman he allegedly attacked.

It's believed that Stroger knew about Cole's criminal past in December when he received a criminal background check, but the former University of Georgia basketball player wasn't fired until April--when Dunnings was unable to post a high bond for Cole.

It's stories like this that compels me to call Cook County government the worst in the nation.

Related posts:

Hack that Obama endorsed bringing Illinois politics to new low
More on Stroger's cousin and her busboy
Todd "Corruption Tax" Stroger dragged into municipal election
Hey Obama! Speak out on proposal to impose nation's highest sales tax in your hometown: UDPATED
More Cook County waste
Todd Stroger: More Chicago Democratic sleaze
Another update on America's worst government--Cook County
Rita Rezko's contribution to America's worst government, Cook County
The latest from America's worst governmental body, Cook County
Bid to rescind Cook County corruption tax fails: UPDATED
Revolt at the polls against the Cook County corruption tax called by Democratic reformer
T-Day in Obama's hometown: Highest sales tax of any big city in America
Patronage hiring still thrives in Cook County
Another thing for Obama to be silent on: Cook County summer jobs going to pols' kids
Update on America's worst governmental body, Cook County
Palatine wants to secede from Cook County
Something else for Obama to be silent on: Chicago will have the nation's highest sales tax
Say no to higher Cook County taxes
No fat in Cook County budget?
Beavers leaves it to the race card as America's worst governmental body gets worse
Your Cook County tax dollars at work
Stop the proposed Cook County phone tax
"Is anyone watching out for Chicago taxpayers?"
Time for me to shop...outside Cook County?
Marathon Pundit Chicago River dumping follow up
Obama and Chicago's "We Don't Want Nobody Nobody Sent" culture
Cook County sues Cook County
My day as a Cook County juror

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How much is UFCW spending on its Wal-Mart worker airlift?

A few years ago, around the time Wal-Mart was made an issue by unions and the Democrats, National Review wrote that the United Food and Commercial Workers had an entire department focused on the world's largest retailer. I bet it still does.

UFCW has an anti-Wal-Mart web site, WakeUpWal-Mart.

Hot Air asks some questions about "an airlift" of Wal-Mart workers to Washington:

At 10 am ET, 100 Wal-Mart workers from around the country will demonstrate in Washington DC to demonstrate for Card Check. They will complain about working conditions and wages, which should prompt reporters covering the protest to ask a basic question:

Washington, DC – Nearly 100 Wal-Mart workers from 17 states will come to Washington, DC this week for a national organizing committee meeting, and to brief Congressional staff on working conditions at America's number one private employer and why they need a union voice in the workplace.

Workers from Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, will be available to speak to reporters following the briefing with Congressional staff:

WHAT: Briefing for Congressional Staff and Press by Wal-Mart Workers

WHEN: Thursday, April 30 at 10 AM

WHERE: Agriculture Committee Room, #328 Russell Senate Office Building

Despite Wal-Mart's long and well-documented history of anti-worker activities, associates say they are emboldened by the election of Barack Obama and the introduction of the Employee Free Choice Act in Congress. Ten of these workers shared their stories in a new video, released last week.

Wal-Mart Workers for Change is a new campaign made up of thousands of Wal-Mart workers joining together to form a union and negotiate better benefits, higher wages, and more opportunity for a better future.

The campaign is a project of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), America’s neighborhood union. The UFCW represents 1.3 million workers nationwide, with nearly one million working in the supermarket industry. Many of UFCW members also work at national retail stores such as Bloomingdales, Macys, H&M, Modell's Sporting Goods, Saks Fifth Avenue, RiteAid, CVS, and Syms.

But not Chicago's Treasure Island. That's because workers at the European-style grocery chain decertified UFCW in 2007.

I believe that in this Barack Obama-declared era of "transparency," now is the time for unions to disclose how much they spend on these quasi-political campaigns.

As I blogged last week, the Service Employees International Union was working to remove the Bank of America CEO from his job. SEIU has not said how much it is spending on this effort.

Related posts:

The good life of working for the UFCW
SEIU wants Bank of America CEO fired
Wal-Mart: Undercover journalist likes what he sees, and fighting "food deserts"
Wal-Mart ups charity donations
Wal-Mart America's most generous company, B of A second
Wake Up Wal-Mart has two empty bunks
My book report: The Wal-Mart Revolution: How Big Box Stores Benefit Consumers, Workers, and the Economy

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Biden gaffe alert: He tells family to stay off planes, subways

With the exception of washing my hands a bit more, I haven't changed the way I've been going about my life.

Leave it to Vice President Joe Biden to shoot his mouth off and sow the seeds of panic:

Biden said Thursday he advised his family to stay off airplanes and subways because of the new swine flu, a remark that forced the vice president's office to backtrack and prompted one airline official to complain about "fear-mongering."

"I would tell members of my family — and I have — that I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now," Biden said on NBC's "Today" show.

Biden, who has a reputation for off-the-cuff remarks, went beyond any precautions recommended by the federal government. In discussing his personal advice to his family, he said simply, "That's me."

Within two hours, Biden's office issued a statement backing off the remarks and suggesting he was talking about travel to Mexico.

It's not if, but when, the vice president's mouth ignites an international incident.

Mexico has subways?

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Gov. Rendell: Specter won't change his mind on card check

Newly-minted Democrat Arlen Specter won't change his mind on the so-called Employee Free Choice Act, better known as card check, so says Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell.

When card check came up for a cloture vote in 2007, Specter voted for it. But earlier this year, Specter said he was now opposed card check.

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Brothel interested in Blago for reality TV show

Disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich won't be a contestant on an NBC reality show--he's not allowed to leave the country--but a Nevada brothel is interested in having the hair-brained Democrat appear on different reality show.

You can't make this stuff up.

From the Daily Herald:

The Moonlight BunnyRanch, a legal brothel located outside Reno, Nev., has offered the impeached, ousted and indicted former Illinois governor an apprenticeship, where Blagojevich "would assist with hiring ladies in addition to facilitating with training and proper disciplinary action," Dennis Hof, owner of the brothel, said in a written statement.

The Moonlight BunnyRanch is featured in the HBO program "Cathouse."

But a spokesman for the former governor said this was just one of many offers he's received for Blagojevich and it's unlikely Blagojevich will take the apprenticeship.

"They did offer it to him but we're not taking it seriously," said spokesman Glenn Selig.

If he did, however, his willpower would be challenged daily by the women as they tried to bribe him to acquire finer rooms or better working hours and days off, according to the statement. Blagojevich would be paid "a handsome amount of money" for his work during the apprenticeship, Hof said.

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