Stroger's no-show doesn't go over wellResidents unload on county president during budget hearing in SkokieWednesday, October 31, 2007 Daily Herald by Rob Olmstead | Daily Herald Staff Furious suburbanites berated an absent Todd Stroger at county budget hearings Tuesday night in Skokie, criticizing him almost as much for not having the courage to face them as for planning to raise their sales taxes 266 percent. "I tried contacting President Stroger many times. They put me through (to his office on the phone), but they never picked up," Carl Mitsakopoulos said. "He's not here tonight; he's hiding. That's disgusting and sad." "In honor of Halloween, someone should be wearing a Stroger mask, because all he does is hide from the public," Mark Sulkin said. "I think it's a slap in the face that Mr. Stroger could not show up here this evening." Caroline Dick said. In retrospect, Stroger may have done the wise thing staying away from the Cook County courthouse in Skokie. It was clear the natives were restless from the moment the meeting started when county board secretary Matt DeLeon was interrupted mid-sentence as he introduced the commissioners present. "Where's Mr Stroger, please!" barked an elderly man in a yellow jacket. DeLeon said he would try to find out. A representative told a reporter Stroger was planning to attend. But by the end of the meeting, the president still had not shown up -- although commissioners from districts far from Skokie, such as Jerry Butler and Robert Steele, managed to make it. Stroger did show up to a budget hearing in the South suburbs last week at Oak Forest Hospital. Spokeswoman Ibis Antongiorgi said the president was not forum shopping, attending hearings only in areas that largely support his proposed tax increase. "That's not it at all," said Antongiorgi, who did not say exactly where the president was Tuesday night. "I know he had a lot of different meetings going on," she said. "He wants to make it to all of (the budget hearings)." Frustrated they could not vent to the president directly, many of those in attendance unloaded on county commissioners, many of whom don't support Stroger's proposed increase. Richard Auer owns Prospect Citgo at 1500 N. River Road in Mount Prospect. He bemoaned the planned doubling of the county gas tax from $.06 per gallon to $.12. "Go over on Lake-Cook Road and just see what (business) comes into Lake County" from people escaping Cook County taxes, Auer said. "You don't think people will drive a mile to save 16, 18 cents? I'm out of here. I'm done. I don't want to live in this county any more. … New York (gas prices are) cheaper than us. … What are you guys doing with all this money?" Barbara Van Slambrouck, president of Chromatech Printing in Des Plaines, pleaded with commissioners not to raise the county sales tax. Already, she pointed out, DuPage offers sales taxes 1.75 percentage points lower, which encourages some of her customers to get their printing done there. "It's very difficult for us to compete against some of the collar county printers. … If you add 2 percent on to our taxes, customers will be more apt to go to DuPage," she said. "Actually, I do that myself," confessed Van Slambrouck, who said she buys some of her business supplies in DuPage County to save money. "I don't want to do it, but our margins are low." Not everyone was hostile to Stroger's tax increases. At least half the speakers approved of them and pointed out the need for continued county health services. But many of those speaking in favor the tax increase were county employees or were patients of Provident Hospital on Chicago's South Side. By and large, the speakers who identified themselves as being from the North and Northwest suburbs opposed the tax hike. Business owner Brian Burkross of Des Plaines said he understood and supported funding public health care. Burkross noted he recently had to let his own health insurance lapse. Stroger Hospital, he said, "has to stay around." But, he added, he believed county officials could keep health care going and cut elsewhere. Nobody likes cuts, he noted, but it was something he had to do as a business owner. "If I ran my corporation like you people run Cook County, I'd be bankrupt a long time ago," Burkross said.
|
 |
Recent Headlines
Challenge to filing fee has some worth Monday, April 16, 2018 Chicago Daily law BulletinTougher SNAP rules worry providers Friday, April 13, 2018 Modern HealthcareCook County tax officials take excess campaign donations from appeals firms, ethics panel says Friday, April 13, 2018 Chicago TribuneCook County’s 'Next Century' Plan To Maintain Forest Preserves Wednesday, April 11, 2018 WBEZ What happens when a hospital sells its debt? Tuesday, April 10, 2018 WWNO New Orleans Public RadioFederal funds to bolster election security may fall short in Chicago, Cook Monday, April 09, 2018 Chicago Sun-TimesNew autopsy rulings bring Cook County cold death total to 31 this season Thursday, March 29, 2018 Chicago Sun-TimesForest Preserves of Cook County Summer Day Camp Registration Opens April 2 Thursday, March 29, 2018 Special to suffredin.orgCook County sues Facebook, Cambridge Analytica after alleged misuse of millions of Illinoisans' data Monday, March 26, 2018 Chicago TribuneUnsung Heroine Award to Emily Guthrie Wednesday, March 21, 2018 Evanston RoundtableEditorial: In four letters, why people leave Cook County: J-O-B-S Wednesday, March 21, 2018 Chicago TribuneIn a twist, Cook County wins $9 million verdict tied to jail strip-search settlement Tuesday, March 20, 2018 Chicago Tribune15 got promotions from Court Clerk Dorothy Brown within 6 months of donations Friday, March 16, 2018 Chicago Sun-TimesAssessor Berrios loses court fight to overturn Cook County's limits on campaign donations Wednesday, March 14, 2018 Chicago Tribune$70 million and counting? Cook County taxpayers face massive tab for sheriff board firings Wednesday, March 14, 2018 Chicago TribuneCommentary: Dart's misguided approach to jail reform Monday, March 12, 2018 Chicago TribuneEditorial: Commissioners: Shelve this Cook County job killer Monday, March 12, 2018 Chicago TribuneCook County alerting investors, delinquent property taxpayers of coming tax sale Friday, March 09, 2018 Chicago Sun-TimesAgnes Lattimer, who became Cook County Hospital medical director and campaigned against lead poisoning, dies Thursday, March 01, 2018 Chicago TribuneEmily Williams Guthrie Honored as 2018 Unsung Heroine Thursday, March 01, 2018 Special to suffredin.org
all news items
|