Stroger puts union employees on notice;
9 commissioners named for opposing 'new revenue' plan
Chicago Tribune
January 8, 2008
By Mickey Ciokajlo
In an unusual move, the Stroger administration has sent notices to Cook
County's employee unions warning that layoffs are coming and casting
the blame on commissioners who reject the tax increases in his stalled
budget.
Some of the nine board members singled out by name for opposing "new
revenues" called the notices a scare tactic and said they are counterproductive
to working out a budget deal with Board President Todd Stroger, who has
failed to win passage of a 2-percentage-point increase in the sales tax.
The notice does not say how many employees would be laid off. Stroger's
chief of staff, Lance Tyson, said the notices are the first step and
that it will take two to three weeks for the administration to evaluate
where the cuts would fall.
Anders Lindall, a union spokesman, called the letter "factually
inaccurate," noting some of the nine commissioners have supported
new revenue although they oppose Stroger's sales-tax increase.
"We have never seen a layoff letter like this one that attempts
to pin the blame for potential job cuts on specific commissioners," said
Lindall, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County & Municipal
Employees Council 31.
The Stroger administration should stop the "false pressure tactics" and
work constructively with the board to reach a compromise, Lindall said.
The board has until the end of February to pass a budget.
County Commissioner Forrest Claypool (D-Chicago), one of the board members
cited in the letter, said Stroger is "clearly playing politics with
the budget" and trying to "use fear and misinformation to gain
advantage."
County Commissioner Mike Quigley (D-Chicago), who also opposes Stroger's
sales tax, called the notice letter "brinksmanship" designed
to pressure board members.
"They have run out of ideas," Quigley said.
"They can't come up with a plan. They can't get more than six votes
to do anything right now and this budget process runs the risk of running
to the last minute without any solution."
Copyright 2008, Chicago Tribune
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