There is no clout in Cook County hiring.
Sorry if you just spit out your morning coffee, but that's what Todd Stroger says.
And he oughta know; he's the county board president, after all.
So naturally he's right on top of the situation.
And you could see how he could think that. In his world you can get hired - and even promoted - into a high-paying, high-level post without knowing anyone; all you have to do is bus his table at a local steakhouse and - poof! - you're on the payroll.
Stroger's denial of the obvious came while court-appointed monitor Mary Robinson was telling the county board just the opposite.
But what does she know; her full-time job is simply to . . . monitor clout in county hiring.
Politics
As Gregory Tejeda at the Chicago Argus points out, Stroger's clout spout wasn't the only head-scratcher to tumble out the county president's mouth at yesterday's board meeting.
Stroger also tried, inartfully, to infer that had his county sales tax been repealed, poor people might not be able to get swine flu shots.
Or something like that.
"Those of us who are lucky to have insurance can just make an appointment," Stroger said. "It can be work for those low-income people to get them flu shots.”
Why? Does the county health system not work right?
Huh. Maybe Stroger just isn't hiring the right people.
Steve Rhodes is the proprietor of The Beachwood Reporter, a Chicago-centric news and culture review.
