Stroger to ask officials to put his son on November ballot

Associated Press

June 28, 2006

By Deanna Bellandi

Amid allegations of political nepotism, Cook County Board President John Stroger wants his son to replace him on the November ballot as he recovers from a stroke that has kept him in seclusion for three months, officials said Wednesday.

Stroger's son, Chicago Alderman Todd Stroger, said his father would withdraw from the ballot and that he hopes to convince Democratic Party committeemen to slate him in his father's place. He said a letter from his father to that effect would be sent this week to party officials.

Republican County Commissioner Tony Peraica, John Stroger's opponent in November, decried the move but said his campaign would benefit from it.

"He is handing the office over to his son as if it was part of his estate," Peraica said. "The voters of Cook County are going to look at this and be repulsed by it."

The younger Stroger turned aside such suggestions.

"This is America and in America we have elections, so I am hoping that I will be able to run for the office," Todd Stroger said.

John Stroger suffered a stroke a week before he won the March primary and has not appeared publicly since then. His family has provided little information on the condition of the powerful 77-year-old Democrat.

Todd Stroger said his father continues rehabilitation therapy and remains in good spirits but that complications, including his age and diabetes, are "slowing down his progress."

Chicago Alderman William Beavers, who has been acting as John Stroger's spokesman, said the county board president would finish out his term, which ends in December.

"President Stroger is not resigning from his position as president of the county board," Beavers said.

Todd Stroger said that if his father "thinks he can finish his term, then so be it."

Chinta Strausberg, a spokeswoman for John Stroger's office, has said Stroger's chief of staff is running the county "on behalf of the president, who is talking to him."

Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley said the board should move to replace John Stroger for the balance of his term. The board had deferred taking any action on the matter while they waited to hear from Stroger's family about his political future.

Quigley also said Stroger's plan to try to pass the torch to his son could upset voters.

"They voted for one person and then they have no input on who is actually going to be on the ballot," he said.

A group of Democratic committeemen will decide whether to put Todd Stroger or another candidate on the ballot.

Cady Gibbons, executive director of the Cook County Democratic Party, said the process would be "fair and equitable."

"Anyone that wants to appear for the process is completely welcome," she said.

But Jay Stewart, executive director of the Better Government Association, said it's unlikely anyone would oppose Todd Stroger's candidacy.

"They've cut the political deal as to who goes on the ballot and we still don't know who is running the county," Stewart said. "It just strikes me as politics come first and government a mere concern of the taxpayers comes second."

The passing down of political power within a family is not new.

Two years ago, U.S. Rep. William Lipinski withdrew his name from the ballot three months before the election, announced his retirement after 11 terms and then urged Democratic party leaders to slate his son.

Daniel Lipinski, who was teaching at the University of Tennessee at the time, was the only person to apply for the vacancy. He beat an unknown Republican candidate and is now up for re-election.

Beavers suggested Wednesday that critics of Stroger, a major political figure in Chicago's black community, are applying a double standard because he wants to put his son on the ballot and "when white folks do it, it's alright."

But Stewart of the BGA said it's not a racial issue.

"I thought it was a mistake when the white politicians did that," Stewart said. "Repeating the mistakes of your predecessors doesn't strike me as a great improvement."

Stroger, a three-term incumbent, first was elected county board president in 1994, overseeing a county budget of $3 billion. Chicago is in Cook County, which has a population bigger than 30 states and 80 countries.

--Associated Press Writer Nathaniel Hernandez contributed to this report.

Copyright 2006, Associated Press

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