Politics

Stroger's Cousin Gets A Hefty County Pay Raise

County CFO Donna Dunnings Gets 12 Percent Pay Hike

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CHICAGO (CBS) ― The cousin of Cook County Board President Todd Stroger is defending herself Monday, saying she's more than worth the $18,000 pay raise she'll be getting from the county.

Chief Financial Officer Donna Dunnings said that is not why she is getting a 12 percent raise.

CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports in the wake of that huge sales tax increase, the Chicago Sun-Times played her pay raise on the front page. But Donna says her qualifications to earn $160,000 a year go far beyond being Stroger's first cousin.

"I work 12 to 17 hour days, that the employees of Cook County see me more than I see my two children, that I do have 20 years of experience, and that I am the first African-American as well as the first female," Dunnings said of the reasons she deserves the pay raise.

Critics, though, complain that, after socking taxpayers with a new $500 million increase that makes our sales tax the highest in the U.S., it's just plain wrong to give the chief financial officer a 12 percent pay increase.

"This is absolutely the wrong time to go in and ask for a 12 percent increase, or any kind of increase," said Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica. "This is a slap in the face of every taxpayer in Cook County who is struggling not to lose their home in foreclosure."

Dunnings said, "I look to Mr. Peraica for any ideas. I've asked for any ideas to shore up the finances of Cook County."

"You're talking about giving out a double-digit raise on top of a huge six-figure salary to a member of your own family, after you've just raised taxes," Commissioner Forrest Claypool said. "That sends a horrible signal. It is the height of arrogance."

"I have a masters degree from Northwestern University," Dunnings countered. "If I wasn't Todd Stroger's cousin, would this be truly an issue? That's only one component of who I am as an individual."

Tuesday morning, Cook County residents we spoke to agreed with Claypool that the pay raise for Dunnings was wrong.

Dunnings had some bad news for Cook County taxpayers who were perhaps expecting a break for next year. 

That big sales tax increase when it's implemented for a full year will generate about $300 million more than the county now needs, but Dunnings told CBS 2 she believes all of that money will be needed next year because, among other things, the county is renegotiating pay raises for all of its 23,000 employees.

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