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Viewer Comments On Todd Stroger

We asked you how you think Todd Stroger is performing as president of the Cook County Board. Here is what you had to say.


I think he is doing poorly as a public servant. Laying off public defenders as a means to 'balance the budget'when he began his term and then hiring friends/family with 6 figure salaries and increasing the sales tax, I think he is not serving the people of Cook County who elected him as their Board president. – Marie

Terrible - worst Cook County President – R. Airdo

ABYSMAL!!!!! – bobbydigital

Terrible. I am furious about our sales tax here in the city of Chicago. I think we should know every city employee's salary and qualifications. He should not be allowed to hire his family and friends. He is ripping off cook county. – Christine

PATHETIC he should have never been put in office. He wasn't elected in the primary and shouldn't have been allowed to be placed on on the ballot due to his father. There were better more qualified people already running. – Lee

I feel that Todd Stroger is the worst thing to happen to Cook county! He is a hypocrite! How can he actually justify cutting jobs of the "everyday" person to save money, and then turn around and hire so many people at such high salaries? Some of those positions he recently filled sat empty for years, even as far back as when J. Stroger was in office...If the county didnt fall apart with the positions empty then, why fill them now?! – Julie K

very bad job – sherri darnall

i'm infuriated by folks who actually voted for him. daley should be held just as accountable for his backing of this tool! daley can call out all other folks for doing something wrong but he doesn't have balls to do it for this fool. weak is all i can say. – Michael olson

Stroger is a complete boob. He leaves County Board meetings for the day about 2 pm and falls asleep when he's there. How Daley and Obama can support this incompetent is inexplicable. – john bitner

Todd is a bigger crook than his father ever was, and that is really saying a lot. – Harry Shaw

Obscenely. He is arrogant, ignorant and moving along because he can - for the time being. The powers behind the puppet must be worried because he cannot maintain any semblance of intellignece. – Diane Gazda

Excellent- He is chasing a great deal of businesses to Will County (where I live)! Way to go Todd!!! – Roy Hard

TERRIBLE! How is it that someone with Zero experience at running county government land that job? His only qualification was his father. To bad the Mayor wont intervene – Mac

He is a diaster to Cook County and the State of Illinois. He is the old system again, we have enough problems with Daley and Rob, now we have three stubborn male egos to live with in Illinois. He cannot really think the people of this county would elect him in office again. – Annette Jones-Williams

The guy is totally out of his depth. He's a schill for the Democratic Machine. He seems totally out of touch with the reality of his own policies. Other than that, he's doing a heckuva job – Jay

Horribly! I hope my fellow Democrats do not bow to the pressure of the machine and vote this useless, self-serving person into office again! – Gerri

Another guy with power, but no experience. On scale 1-10 I vote 0! – B Mucha

Horrible, corrupt. Much worse than Ryan. Cook county hospital, a Canadian style Socialist healthcare system, does not belong in Chicago! – John Stoltenberg

Why is it a surprise that Todd Stroger is hiring unqualified friends and family? Remember, the Cook County voters hired him when he was unqualified (and still is) because he was John Stroger's son. Uninformed voters are getting what they deserve and stick the rest of us with the bill. – keith

He is a terrible leader. He wastes money and costs taxpayers$$$$$$$. I can't wait to vote for Perica!!!! – Susan

He is horrendous, an embarrassment, a political hack with sinister motives and we need to vote him out at the next opportunity. – Sonya Hene

I think that he is responsible for the state cutting my food stamps from me and my 2 daughters. For no reason, I make 13k a year, pay all utilities and rent and IL can afford to give me $90 a month?!!!!!! WHAT A JOKE! – Terri

Most corrupt politician I ever seen. – Wan

Todd Stroger should be ousted from his position as President of the Cook County Board. The patronage has to end. – Ed

Todd Stroger is a disgrace to Chicago and Cook County. We have the highest sales tax in the country, and what do we have to show for it? We support Todd's $100,000 club! – Michael Smith

I think his performance is deplorable. He sets an extremely bad example for Chicago to the world. It is Chicago at it's worst. – Carolyn Boyle

I'm a democratic judge in Chicago and the last thing I would do is vote for Tod Stroger he looks out only for himself and his family and is not concerned at all with thepeople he should be concerned about the people of Chicago – Hugh Gallagher

He is a crook who is stealing from all of the residents of Cook County. He should be roommates of Ex Governor Ryan. – Joe Daly

I think he is stealing from the county by giving so many of his friends high paying jobs and is not open enough with the media and public. It is a shame that your cameras were or are not allowed to see his new offices. This is what we are paying for. – LeRoy Krizka

Looking forward to that scumbag's eventual indictment. – J.D.

Todd Stroger could not care less about the citizens of Chicago. He has been ineffective, unpopular and unscrupulous. He is completely out of touch with his constituents and I will be personally be out in the next election to encourage voters to vote against him. – Andrea

Definately think he is an out and out CROOK! – w.scharlow

terrible hires cronies at high salaries and increased sales taxes most in the country – ei

The entire political system in Cook county is a joke. First of all, why is no one upset that Todd Stroger was appointed as president of the Cook County Board, rather than elected? Why was there no vote when John Stroger was found to be unable to perform his duties? Second, explain to me why so many thousands of dollars are spent polishing the bean in millenium park, yet the health care system is seeing cut backs, schools are being closed, and gang violence is increasing in the city? Third, what is with all of the politicians jumping ahead and giving themselves raises beyond a cost-of-living raise while the rest of the residents live paycheck to paycheck and try to figure out how they can afford to get to their jobs (a result of increasing gas prices, increasing public transportation fees, and decrease in public transportation service)? The entire political hierarchy in cook county needs to be replaced and actually voted in. The first place they should start looking for extra money is from their fat pockets rather than raising sales and property taxes. Stop with the private elevators and free parking for politicians and start helping the people that you are supposed to be representing. It seems to me that the entire notion of democracy is a joke in Cook County. I am so glad I have moved out of that county. – Colleen Kennedy

A continuation of "old boy" politics and ghost payroll jobs. Todd, has taken it to a new level with his friends and relatives appointments. Either he doesn't have a clue or he feels that the taxpayers will accept his actions, as politics as usual in Chicago. He needs to be recalled and sent on his way with some political consultant job, which I am sure will be created for him in that event. – John Howard

HORRIBLE!!! Just the fact that he was 'placed' into the ticket, running after his father became ill was too fishy to me. Not very fair to the other candidate IMHO. The whole thing was a train wreck waiting to happen. WooWoo! – L. Ehorn

i think he is doing a desent job he has alot on his plate from previous Cook County Board president's. – dude

Short of being retaliated against since I live in the 8th Ward, Todd Stroger's performance is horrible, arrogant and surrounded by these old-school guys (Beavers) who are trying to keep "business as usual", i.e, the political clout as Todd's Dad operated it. Why can't we recall that pompous hypocrite? – Gloria Swanson

I think Mr. Stroger is doing a horrible job. He spends entirely toooooo much time on his "friends and family" plan creating jobs for those close to him and not nearly enough time working on improving this county. – CLM

Todd Stroger is an inclusive politican. His staff is diverse and includes whites, Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians, Women, gays and people of many faiths and creeds.
-- Brien Comerford

He's doing a TERRIBLE job. Worst ever! How he can raise the sales tax to the highest in the country and then hire his friends and family for outrageous salaries? Within a few weeks of raising the tax he gives his cousin a $17k raise?! He promises to come to a meeting with the board of Palatine, and then chickens out citing some VERY lame excuse? Never mind demanding answers, everyone I know wants him out of office. The economy is too tough right now for all of us to pay his families salaries. I'm not a racist, but why is EVERY SINGLE PERSON he hires black??? Every one!! He is an embarassment to Chicago.
-- Randy

It's politics and nepotism as usual at the county. Go out and do your grass roots political work for someone connected to the county and you're hired at an inflated salary even if woefully unqualified. I know people who work at County who do maybe two hours of work a day while spending the rest of their time on personal business. And they complain about those who are paid more than they are who are even more unqualified than they are. The whole thing is a joke. It's a rigged system set up to help those in power remain in power. And it's your tax dollars that are paying for the whole thing.
--Anonymous

While people are barely able to pay the bills, he raises taxes that hurt the least able to pay. He has the let them eat cake mentality. Someone should remind Junior what happened to the person that said that. Filling positions and pay raises are totally iresponsible. If he keeps up with this Cook County will become a ghost town. Then who will pay the bills.
--M. Kelly

The job was given to him by people who felt bad about his father and Forrest Claypool having too much respect to campaign against a man who was a vegetable. He has lied at every turn and continues to. His relatives better cash in now because if this person is not a one-term president of the county board we are doomed by his lies. Between his taxes and nepotism I don't know how long I can afford to live in Cook County.
--Tom Johnston

Todd Stroger's performance, if you can call it that, is simply terrible. I am so sorry I voted for him. Everyday it seems like he finds a way to mismanage County business. He is a poltical hack, who uses the County as his own personal, private hiring firm, with all his relatives being hired at will. I do not want hear that Mayor Daley hires his relatives too, that does not make it right.
--Belinda Jackson

Lousy, he is taking orders from (Cook County Commissioner William) Beavers, who really wants to be the president. Now is the time for a tax revolt in the county. How many people can say the make as much money as county employees and do as little work for it.
--Peter Ciura

He is the worst Cook County President, in history. His goal in life is to employ hacks, relatives and incompetents and to cause economic havoc in order to stuff the pockets of his support system of "yes" people. The waste is bearable; the incompetence is not.
--R.D. Korpak

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