NOTE: This is an update to Friday’s article on Todd Stroger
Mayor Richard Daley today fired back at Cook County Board President Todd Stroger’s allegation that the mayor had let him down, saying if Stroger took offense “that’s his problem.”
In an exclusive interview this week with the Chicago News Cooperative, Stroger said Daley delivered a “slap” to him by withholding his support for his re-election bid in the February primary. (Listen to excerpts from the interview)
“I never slapped anybody in the face. Even symbolically, I haven’t,” Daley said today. “When is the last time you heard me criticize him? How does he know he doesn’t have my support?”
But asked if he did indeed support Stroger after all, Daley replied, “No, I didn’t say that.”
Daley has not yet issued an endorsement in the four-way Democratic primary race, and when asked today if he planned to pick his favorite at any point, he said, “Well, we’ll see.”
Daley’s comments came a day after a story about the Chicago News Cooperative’s interview with Stroger appeared in the Chicago pages of the New York Times.
In the interview, Stroger also complained about long-time Daley allies who are helping his opponents, and the embattled county leader added that he was miffed by the mayor’s refusal to back his controversial sales tax increase. Half of the 1 percentage point increase was rolled back this week by the county board, over Stroger’s objections.
The county approved the increase last year, but in May the mayor said he supported the repeal of the tax hike, joining his brother and County Board Finance Committee Chairman John Daley against Stroger’s stand. Daley said at the time the increase has been “very detrimental” to business in the county, but Stroger pointed out the city also has raised its sales tax as well as hiking the property tax and many other taxes, fines and fees in recent years.