Chicago Sun-Times Editorial - Stroger can blame his own mismanagement
Chicago Sun-Times Editorial - Stroger can blame his own mismanagement
Copyright by the Chicago Sun-Times
May 29, 2007
Cook County President Todd Stroger doesn't want the members of the County Board to read this. It seems working through all the bad press he's been getting is the biggest challenge he faces, and if the commissioners couldn't read, well, then they would sit down with him and discuss the issues, and presumably not bring up all those perfectly innocuous things he's done that yellow journalists are blowing out of proportion.
Why just last week, the Sun-Times reported that Stroger hired attorney Richard Velazquez for $108,000 a year. What could be wrong with that? Could it be that he's being paid out money allocated to the Public Defender's office -- which has been wracked by budget cuts? Could it be that his mission is not to defend the poor, but to give legal advice to Todd Stroger?
Also reported in the Sun-Times last week is that Stroger has hired his umpteenth PR person, Sean Howard, who will get $85,000 a year to be spokesman for the county hospital system. What's the problem? Could it be that Howard was dismissed from Stroger's campaign last year after he was arrested for allegedly stalking a girlfriend? (The case was dropped after the victim declined to pursue charges.) Could it be that the hospital system has been closing clinics and firing nurses, again thanks to budget cuts? Forgive us for asking such sensational questions.
Where do we start to point out the flaws in Stroger's argument? Let's start with his contention that bad press is his biggest problem. One would think getting the county finances in order would be a greater task. Or perhaps correcting the problems found in a recent surprise inspection at Stroger Hospital, which, if not fixed, could threaten the facility's accreditation, not to mention millions of dollars in federal funds.
And then there's the idea that commissioners wouldn't gripe if they didn't read the papers. Disproving that notion is the recent actions of Commissioners Forrest Claypool, Larry Suffredin and Mike Quigley, who, without prodding by any media, complained that Stroger ignored the will of the board by making about $20 million in changes to the board-approved budget without authorization.
Stroger's real problem isn't bad press. It's his imperial style, out-of-whack priorities and his mismanagement, which have all led to the bad press. The media, after all, didn't decide to rope off an elevator at the County Building for Stroger's exclusive use. We didn't hire his cronies for six-figure salaries at the same time the county was cutting nurses and prosecutors and other frontline service workers. Stroger did those things and more, and he apparently thinks the answer is not for him to stop doing them, but for us to stop writing about it.
Copyright by the Chicago Sun-Times
May 29, 2007
Cook County President Todd Stroger doesn't want the members of the County Board to read this. It seems working through all the bad press he's been getting is the biggest challenge he faces, and if the commissioners couldn't read, well, then they would sit down with him and discuss the issues, and presumably not bring up all those perfectly innocuous things he's done that yellow journalists are blowing out of proportion.
Why just last week, the Sun-Times reported that Stroger hired attorney Richard Velazquez for $108,000 a year. What could be wrong with that? Could it be that he's being paid out money allocated to the Public Defender's office -- which has been wracked by budget cuts? Could it be that his mission is not to defend the poor, but to give legal advice to Todd Stroger?
Also reported in the Sun-Times last week is that Stroger has hired his umpteenth PR person, Sean Howard, who will get $85,000 a year to be spokesman for the county hospital system. What's the problem? Could it be that Howard was dismissed from Stroger's campaign last year after he was arrested for allegedly stalking a girlfriend? (The case was dropped after the victim declined to pursue charges.) Could it be that the hospital system has been closing clinics and firing nurses, again thanks to budget cuts? Forgive us for asking such sensational questions.
Where do we start to point out the flaws in Stroger's argument? Let's start with his contention that bad press is his biggest problem. One would think getting the county finances in order would be a greater task. Or perhaps correcting the problems found in a recent surprise inspection at Stroger Hospital, which, if not fixed, could threaten the facility's accreditation, not to mention millions of dollars in federal funds.
And then there's the idea that commissioners wouldn't gripe if they didn't read the papers. Disproving that notion is the recent actions of Commissioners Forrest Claypool, Larry Suffredin and Mike Quigley, who, without prodding by any media, complained that Stroger ignored the will of the board by making about $20 million in changes to the board-approved budget without authorization.
Stroger's real problem isn't bad press. It's his imperial style, out-of-whack priorities and his mismanagement, which have all led to the bad press. The media, after all, didn't decide to rope off an elevator at the County Building for Stroger's exclusive use. We didn't hire his cronies for six-figure salaries at the same time the county was cutting nurses and prosecutors and other frontline service workers. Stroger did those things and more, and he apparently thinks the answer is not for him to stop doing them, but for us to stop writing about it.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 8:21 AM
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