Paul Vallas is ready to run again. "Cook County is broken, and I like fixing things that are broken."
The speed-talking, reform-minded maverick who was CEO of Chicago Public Schools under Mayor Daley, then lost the 2002 gubernatorial primary to Rod Blagojevich by just 25,000 votes, went on to make a national name rescuing school districts in Philadelphia and New Orleans.
After serving as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, Paul Vallas went on to Philadelphia and New Orleans. Now he plans to return here at the end of the year to run for president of the Cook County Board in 2010.
Now, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, he is coming home for good at the end of the year to run for president of the Cook County Board in 2010.
The current president is Democrat Todd Stroger, who took over after his father -- longtime board President John Stroger -- suffered a stroke in 2006. John Stroger died in 2008.
Vallas lost the 2002 Democratic gubernatorial primary to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich by about 25,000 votes. He then moved to Philadelphia to head that city's schools.
Illinois House Republican leader Tom Cross says Vallas' credentials, substance and integrity would be great for the GOP.
Read the full story in the Chicago Sun-Times.
