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County OKs big lawsuit payoutChicago TribuneOctober 6, 2005By Robert BeckerThe Cook County Board on Wednesday approved a $35 million medical malpractice payout to a woman who suffered severe brain damage after undergoing a botched procedure at a county-run hospital. By a vote of 15--1, with one commissioner voting present, the board signed off on the settlement for the 30-year-old mother of two who experienced extensive brain damage during treatment at Oak Forest Hospital in 2004. The settlement came as County Board President John Stroger hinted that tax increases may be the only way to close a $300 million hole in the county's 2006 budget. In an interview after the board meeting, Stroger said he would not rule out an increase in property or other taxes, such as those on hotel stays. "It would be crazy to say we're not going to need some new revenue," Stroger
said. The move by Stroger, who has announced that he will run for a 4th term as board president, brought a sharp response from some of his political opponents. County Commissioner Forrest Claypool, one of the Democrats planning to oppose Stroger in the March primary, said the president could start to close the funding shortfall by reducing his patronage hiring. "He doesn't want one relative to leave the payroll or one precinct captain to leave the payroll," Claypool said. "He's not willing to cut waste and bloat rather than reach in the taxpayers' pockets again." While the prospect of raising taxes invariably will divide the board, most commissioners sided with Stroger on the need to settle the malpractice case involving Neveen Morkos, a Christian who immigrated to the United States to avoid religious discrimination in Egypt. "I apologize on behalf of the county to the family," Commissioner
Mike Quigley said.
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