Board President Struggles to Rally Crumbling Political Base

Todd H. Stroger, president of the Cook County Board, said he had been hurt by Mayor Richard M. Daley’s lack of support. José Moré/Chicago News Cooperative

NOTE: Click here for Mayor Daley’s response to this article

The embattled president of the Cook County Board says he can name a long list of elected officials and labor union leaders who have forsaken him. But it is the name at the top of Todd H. Stroger’s tally of defectors that stands out: Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Chicago’s mayor, Mr. Stroger said, has delivered a “slap” to his face by failing to support him in his bid for re-election when he badly needs political support. Besides withholding his endorsement — in contrast to the mayor’s early backing in Mr. Stroger’s initial campaign in 2006 — Mr. Daley also came out last May against Mr. Stroger’s sales tax increase, which nearly doubled the county levy, to 1.75 percent. On Tuesday, the County Board voted 12 to 5 to roll back the tax to 1.25 percent.

Mayor Daley José Moré/Chicago News Cooperative

Mr. Stroger, 46, held forth in an exclusive interview with the Chicago News Cooperative just minutes after losing the tax vote. At a time when the public’s attention is just turning to the County Board race, Stroger seemed intent on rallying his political base, positioning himself as the leading black candidate, and pressuring the unions and Mayor Daley to endorse him.

The black community in general has been “asleep at the switch” as African-Americans in Cook County have lost political power, he said.

Mr. Stroger said his two black opponents in the race for the County Board presidency risk splitting the black vote and losing the highest local office held by a black politician.

The two, Alderman Toni Preckwinkle (Fourth Ward) and Dorothy Brown, the circuit court clerk, are vying in February’s Democratic primary to wrest away his seat at the top of county government, with its $3 billion budget and more than 22,000 employees. The sole white candidate is Terrence O’Brien, president of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.

“If none of us win,” Mr. Stroger said of himself and Ms. Preckwinkle and Ms. Brown, “there will not be a single black executive in the state who deals with real money — you know, like a billion dollars or more.”

“If you break down our state,” he continued, “and you look at who’s the governor, who’s the speaker of the House, who’s the Senate president, who’s the mayor of the city of Chicago, who’s the water reclamation district president, who’s the chairman of finance for the city and who’s the chairman for finance for the county, you’ll find that they’re all Irish males.”

Todd Stroger, President of the Cook County Board listens to arguments to override his veto of the half cent county sales tax hike Tuesday December 1, 2009. José Moré/Chicago News Cooperative

Mr. Stroger made his remarks shortly after the County Board voted 12 to 5 on Tuesday to override his veto of the half-penny sales tax rollback. It was a bitter and embarrassing defeat for Mr. Stroger, who said poor people would suffer, and some might die, because of likely cutbacks in health care services as a result of the tax cut.

After the board meeting, Mr. Stroger retired to his office and ordered pizza for a late lunch. Sitting at his desk, he answered questions for nearly an hour in a matter-of-fact manner.

Down in the polls, dismissed by many political experts, Mr. Stroger said it was time to fight back and rally his African-American base. He said he felt he had been injured twice by the mayor’s silence: Mr. Daley failed to back him in the lengthy sales tax dispute, and he is witholding his support for Mr. Stroger’s bid for a second term.

“Mayor Daley is like most politicians — political animals,” Mr. Stroger said. “They will not put themselves in danger. When you are treated as badly as I have been treated, people are afraid to stand next to you because they fear that they might be hit by the next shot just by being too close.”

“I’m disappointed in about 60 other people,” Mr. Stroger added.

He went on to say that the county government was run well, although he did not receive enough credit for that. “There’s a lot of people who owe something to the fact that I’m here and making this run well,” he said, “and they should speak up.”

Mr. Stroger also feels neglected by the unions. “They have stated that everybody is their friend and they’re not endorsing anybody,” he said. He added that he did not think the Chicago Federation of Labor would “turn their back on someone who was an Irish-American, but they can do that to an African-American and no one’s going to say anything. And it’s a shame.”

Dennis Gannon, president of the labor federation, said his group had made no endorsement after interviewing all candidates. “I know our decision to remain neutral is not what any of the candidates would prefer,” Mr. Gannon said, “but it’s the result of our process.”

Jackie Heard, the mayor’s spokeswoman, said Mr. Daley was too busy running city government to get involved in County Board issues.