Stroger did not try to kill Peraica
But he has tried to kill democracy


I want to make this very clear: I am in no way suggesting that Todd Stroger had anything to do with the attempted murder last Wednesday of his political rival Tony Peraica. Stroger had nothing to do with the drive-by shooting that hit Peraica's neighbor's house in upscale Riverside. That would be libel. Yes, the shooting was probably planned by one of the many countless residents of Cook County that enjoy paying the highest sales tax in the United States, especially during this economic downturn.

Stroger could not have planned such a brazen and orchestrated crime. He is, after all, out of his mind. If you need evidence, note his veto today of the legislation passed through the county board to cut the sales tax 1%. The tax cut passed the board on a 12 to 3 vote. This cut would eliminate Stroger's tax hike, causing him and the Board to find ways to trim the bloated county budget and create a streamlined and more efficient county government.

The people of Cook County were behind the tax cut. 94% of people polled recently by the Chicago Tribune supported the tax cut. The people have seen drastic reductions in the value of their homes. Nearly ten percent of them are unemployed. Many residents leave the county to avoid the sales tax. The poorest people in the county, those with no easy way out to buy staple goods, are forced to pay the 10% sales tax and bear the heaviest burden. Stroger failed to hear the people's clamoring. He failed to consider the will of the people because his constituents are not the tax-payers of Cook. He does not represent them. Stroger represents the family members he puts in high-paying non-essential county posts. He represents do-nothing government employees and he represents waste and fraud, nepotism and all that is disgusting in Chicago politics.


Some members of the Board, many who originally voted for the tax but changed their mind, DO, in fact, represent the will of over-taxed county residents. Many board members have heard the people, have opened their mail, and have seen the writing on the wall. Instead of cow-towing to political hacks, they have decided to do their job. Tony Peraica, painted as insane and a nutcase by opponents during the last couple elections, it turns out was reflecting the will of his contituency all along. Eleven board members voted for the cut and alongside the "nutjob" who led the charge against it for the past year... Mr. Peraica. The margin of victory was a source of deep embarrassment to the county president. When several townships, inlcluding Peraica's, voted to secede from the county and to take their tax dollars with them, some began to listen.

Peraica is not wishy washy. He is among the most honest men in Illinois politics. He tells you exactly what to expect of him and always has an ear for the people he represents. He is not Larry Suffredin, a county board member, who voted for the tax hike and then decided to vote against it only when the noise against it was too much to avoid. Peraica is not like member Joan Murphy, who voted for the cut, then against it, and who is considering supporting it once again. Peraica is not like Forrest Claypool, who wears the cloak of a reformer, but remains loyal to a political party that routinely lies to the people of the county, a Democratic party with no opposition, and no pretense of democratic decision-making.

This Cook County Democratic party that has sold out the trust of its supporters by funding non-union charter schools and doling out their responsibilities to the highest bidding private companies.... this party that sold the right-of-way on the streets and the meters that regulate them to a foreign company... this party that has tried to sell off the airports and county hospitals.... this party that raises taxes to support unqualified bureaucrats in useless posts.... this Democratic party that knows better what to do with your money than you.... the party that gave rise to the impeached Governor Rod Blagojevich and his friend, and business associate (through Tony Rezko), President Barack Obama. This Cook County Democratic party that tells county residents to "eat cake" when we call for lower taxes.

When county commissioners of that party, in a split second of sanity, finally stood up for reason, Stroger called it "grand-standing."

Peraica is firm and has been firm in his position. He has been firm in the people's position. And this is why someone took shots at his house, their bullets instead ripping into the living room of his neighbor. Some people hate it when they are listened to by their representatives. By "some people," I am in no way including Todd Stroger. he had nothing to do with the attempted murder of Tony Peraica.

While Stroger is a tyrant who cares nothing for the will of the people, he is not a murderer. He did not try to kill Peraica. But when he vetoes a bill that properly reflects the will of the people, he will be guilty of taking a few shots at democracy.