Cook County Board votes to defend taxpayers and push Stroger towards the exit

The Cook County Board has voted to override President Todd Stroger's veto of the motion introduced last week by Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman and an array of progressive commissioners to roll back the 1 percent sales tax by half.


It's a huge victory for the taxpayers and the beginning of the end for Stroger who has turned Cook County into a personal patronage haven for his cronies. Instead of leading by example, Stroger chose to lead by shortcuts, addressing budget shortfalls not with cutbacks in his administration or forcing the county's eight executive office holders to cut back their budgets, but rather by placing the burden of his failed leadership on the backs of the taxpayers of Cook County.


Several commissioners deserve recognition for standing up to the Stroger tax tyranny including Gorman, John Daley, Peter Sylvestri, Gregg Goslin and Timothy Schneider. All of the 12 commissioners who voted to override Stroger's veto of the half percent sales tax rollback deserve praise and they are listed below.


Among those who must be remembered at election time, though, include Commissioner Joan Patricia Murphy, a friend of Stroger's legal eagle Burton S. Odelson, and Commissioner Deborah "Flip Flop" Simms. Murphy is being challenged by Nick Valadez who has vowed to represent the best interests of the taxpayers while Simms is being challenged by Sheila Chalmer Currin. (Click here to listen to the podcast of Valadez and Currin discussing their candidacies.)


VOTE TO CUT SALES TAX: 

Elizabeth Gorman, R-Orland Park

Peter Silvestri, R-Elmwood Park

Gregg Goslin, R-Glenview

John Daley, D-Chicago

Timothy Schneider, R-Streamwood

Earlean Collins, D-Chicago

Forrest Claypool, D-Chicago
Bridget Gainer, D-Chicago
Tony Peraica, R-Riverside
Edwin Reyes, D-Chicago
Robert Steele, D-Chicago
Larry Suffredin, D-Evanston

VOTE TO PRESERVE SALES TAX: 

Joan Murphy, D-Crestwood

Deborah Sims, D-Chicago
William Beavers, D-Chicago
Jerry Butler, D-Chicago
Joseph Mario Moreno, D-Chicago

County board approves Gorman sales tax repeal motion

County board approves Gorman sales tax repeal motion

By Ray Hanania

The Cook County Board voted 12 to 5 Tuesday to roll back half of County Board President Todd Stroger’s 1 percent sales tax which has heaped economic hardship on county residents already hammered by the recession.

Although the motion was sponsored by several commissioners, clearly the heart and spirit of the rollback drive is County Commissioner Elizabeth “Liz” Doody Gorman from the 17^th District which represents one of the largest cross-sections of the county’s suburban communities, 51 square miles from northwest to southwest. Gorman initiated the first effort to repeal the sales tax on May 5 and refused to back down, introducing and sponsoring several more motions including the one passed Tuesday.

“I am excited that we have once again represented the best interested of the people of Cook County and rolled backed half of Stroger’s 1 percent sales tax hike,” Gorman said after the meeting.

“Instead of increasing the sales tax, which is considered the most repressive form of taxation because it undermines the economy, Stroger should have proposed cuts in his administration and pushed office holders to embrace economic belt tightening. Every citizen of Cook County has been forced by the economy to cut back. We need to consolidate offices, restructure and reform Cook County before going to the business community to bailout mismanagement of county government out.”

Stroger is again expected to veto the ordinance. He may even challenge it saying it is redundant arguing that the rollback is not a substantive change from the measure he defeated with his veto to protect the sales tax increase.

Gorman said she is hopeful that all 12 members who supported the rollback will stand firm for all of the taxpayers in Cook County and send Stroger a strong message that his tax and spend policies will not be tolerated.

Gorman was instrumental in insisting that the board not give up fighting for taxpayers after the first effort she introduced on May 5 to roll back and repeal the Stroger sales tax failed. Several more motions were made and failed.

During the last vote, the board voted 14 to 3 to rollback the sales tax, but Stroger vetoed the motion and one member, Commissioner Deborah Simms, who supported the roll back, surrendered to Stroger’s political pressure and supported his veto.

Gorman’s persistence on refusing to give up and her repeated attempts to repeal and rollback the tax paid off when leaders of the Illinois General Assembly voted to reduce the number of votes required to override Stroger’s veto from 14 to only 11. Legislative leaders said they were prompted to act by Gorman’s and the board’s refusal to give up.

On Tuesday, Gorman tried again to first repeal the entire sales tax. The measure was also sponsored by Commissioners Gregg Goslin and Timothy Schneider. Commissioner Tony Peraica tried to introduce a similar bill but complained when no one would second his motion. Critics charge it reflects his increased isolation on the county board.

Anti-suburban Commissioner Bridget Gainer, whose family hails from the powerful Chicago 19th Ward but whose district represents the north side of Chicago, led the vote to defend Stroger’s sales tax. The full rollback received only five votes.

And Stroger found another ally in Southwest suburban Commissioner Joan Patricia Murphy. Murphy voted against both the repeal and the rollback measures Tuesday, a slap in the face of district activists seeking to relieve excessive taxation.

Gorman is seeking to hold down taxes in the 17th District and she blasted Patrick Maher, one of four Democrats seeking to challenge her next fall. Maher is president of the controversy-plagued Orland Fire Protection District Board, which takes the largest chunk of taxes from Orland Township’s tax bill outside of the school districts.

The OFPD collects 12.51 percent from residents within the Village of Orland Park, and 13.9% in the unincorporated areas of the Village of Orland Township's entire property tax bill. Its budget is the largest Fire Districts in the state, Gorman said.

Meanwhile, Cook County GOP Chairman Lee Roupas praised the board and its GOP members and called it a “rare day” in the county.

“On behalf of taxpayers across Cook County, I want to thank the Republican Commissioners for their relentless work and attention to this issue,” said Cook County GOP Chairman Lee Roupas. “Not only is it a tangible tax reduction, but also a moral victory for taxpayers – finally.  The entire one-percent rollback would have been ideal, but I guess the Democrats’ rhetoric on taxes is more symbolic than substantive.  I urge the Republicans on the Board to continue the fight to lower taxes in Cook County.”

HOW THEY VOTED:

Yes (12 votes) to reduce the Stroger sales tax by half:

Lawrence Suffredin (D-Evanston)

Elizabeth “Liz” Doody Gorman (R-Orland Park)

Timothy Schneider (R-Streamwood)

Gregg Goslin (R-Glenview)

Edwin Reyes (D-Chicago)

John Daley (D-Chicago)

Peter Silvestri (R-Elmwood Park)

Tony Peraica (R-Riverside)

Robert Steele (D-Chicago)

Earlean Collins (D-Chicago)

Forrest Claypool (D-Chicago)

Bridget Gainer (D-Chicago), 

No (5 votes) to retain the full sales tax:

William Beavers (D-Chicago)

Deborah Sims (D-Chicago)

Jerry Butler (D-Chicago)

Joan Patricia Murphy (D-Crestwood)

Joseph Mario Moreno (D-Chicago).

end

Maher's Orland Fire Protection District jacks up taxes a whopping 12.51 percent of the total bill

I have to say when I first met Patrick Maher, the president of the Orland Fire Protection District, I thought he was a pretty decent and honest person. Of course back then, the meeting I had with him was to simply put to rest many of the issues that plague the Orland Fire Protection District that he heads.


Since then, Maher only answered one issue, arguing that he's not going to make senior citizens pay for ambulance service by the OFPD. He just wanted the seniors who have insurance to submit the ambulance service costs to their insurance companies to see if the OFPD could recover money.


I wasn't sure why any Fire Protection District would have to worry about money but over the past year, I have seen why. Maher's OFPD spends like there is no tomorrow. And he has not been accountable on the major issues I have asked him about.


I am not sure why. He seemed like a good guy. A father with kids who takes them to sports games the way I take my son to participate in sports leagues too. But I do think it has a lot to do with the people he has chosen to associate himself with. Of course, for some, there was no choice.


But first, let's talk about the issues I have concerns with that Maher just can't seem to answer no matter how many times I ask him. Which makes me believe there are no real answers.


First, Maher has a battalion chief whose big-assed SUV is seen all over the place by a lot of people outside of the Orland Fire Protection District. This battalion chief drives his gas-guzzler everywhere like its his personal limousine doing personal things like taking his kids to sports activities outside of the district in places like Lemont.


Maher promised to look in to it, but apparently he doesn't want to do anything about it. The only vague response I got was that somehow Lemont and Orland have some kind of deal. I think it has to do with the fact that Maher's brother, David B. Maher, ran and lost in a bid to become a trustee out in Lemont this past April.


Maher did absolutely nothing about it.


Next, Maher decided to run against Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman for the office of Cook County Commissioner from the 17th District. Originally, I wasn't a big fan of Gorman's and my criticism has been published -- mostly dealing with minor political issues. But since then, Gorman, on her own, has done some amazing things fighting for the rights of taxpayers not just in the 17th District but in the entire Cook County. I have gotten to know her and recognize that she has the chutzpah to take on Cook County Board President Todd Stroger's government-as-usual, tax-hike driven antics.


If it wasn't for Gorman, the fight to repeal Stroger's 1 percent sales tax would have been forgotten long ago. The board would have made one effort and then turned their backs on the issue. But Gorman wouldn't let them do that. She persisted. Gorman made the fight against Stroger's Sales Tax a key focus of the county and she was the spirit behind the repeated efforts to repeal the tax. She just wouldn't give up. That fight helped give taxpayers hope that the repressive 1 percent sales tax will be repealed.


And, if it wasn't for Gorman making this tax fight the high profile battle that she did, the Illinois legislature would never have taken notice and finally, after many attempts, decided to roll back the number of votes it takes on the Cook County board to override a veto by the board president. It was 14 votes before and thanks to the legislature, and Gorman, it is only 11 (of 17 commissioner) today. That means that the county board commissioners -- who had 14 votes to repeal the Stroger tax, (betrayed only by the shameful conduct of Deborah "Do Nothing" Simms who voted for the repeal and then flip-flopped to support Stroger's veto)  -- can override Stroger's veto and put him in his place until he is replaced in office next year.


Liz Gorman's name is synonymous with the fight against rising taxes. And she has promised to try AGAIN to repeal and rollback the sales tax.


Yet this is what Maher wrote on his slick web site about the whole issue:

Patrick Maher supports legislation proposed by Illinois Sen. Dan Kotowski to lower the threshold for overriding a veto by the Cook County Board President. On two recent occasions, Todd Stroger used his veto to block the will of the voters to rollback his wildly unpopular tax increase. The proposed legislation would allow a 3/5th majority, rather than a 4/5ths majority, to override a veto. Currently 14 of the 17 members must agree for an override to pass.

Patrick Maher has reached out to local legislators to encourage them to support the measure. The incumbent Cook County Board Member from the 17th District has turned a blind eye to this important issue.

Gorman has "turned a blind eye to this important issue?" What planet are you on Maher? Why would you say something so stupid on your web site? 


But I don't think Maher is really running the show. When I first met Maher, the political enabler for the meeting was Tom Dubelbeis, the former Orland Park trustee whom I never had any real contacts with. He told Maher he could arrange the meeting. Turns out Dubelbeis not only is helping to run Maher's campaign, he is on the Orland Fire Protection District payroll.


Maher has to make it through the Democratic primary February 2 where he faces a tough challenges from independent Democrat Dr. Victor Forys. Forys has gotten all the big Democratic endorsements and most Democrats view the Maher race as a case of clout: a father (Orland Park Village Clerk and Cook County government patronage employee David Maher) using his clout to help his son get on a better more lucrative public payroll.


BUT TAXES IS THE ISSUE THAT CONCERNS ME MOST


I'm most concerned about taxes. Maher says he is going to fight taxes and he cites the great job he has been doing heading the Orland Fire Protection District.


Yikes! Maher's Orland Fire Protection District spends more money than most other Fire Protection Districts, it seems.


And when it comes to fighting taxes? Well, like all of you, I got my tax bill this weekend and I am pissed off!


Outside of the taxes for schools, which ALWAYS go up, Patrick Maher's Orland Fire Protection District had the highest tax increase in the county for Orland Park. The taxes for Maher's Orland Fire Protection District claimed 12.51 percent of the pot, which drove up taxes as much as 30 percent in some cases.


The Orland Fire Protection District is taking more money from your taxes than any other government agency on the list, with the exception of the school districts. The village is taking 7.4 percent. The Library is taking 3.01 percent. The OFPD District is taking twice as much as the county, which is taking only 6.86 percent for all county agencies.


What the hell are you spending all this money on Mr. Maher?


For the life of me I don't understand why a major city like Orland Park doesn't just have it's own Fire Department. Why do we have this overlapping tax-spending government called the Orland Fire Protection District taking more money out of our pockets?


Under Maher, the costs of politically connected attorneys hired by the district have skyrocketed. Some insist that the spending is politically motivated and that the legal work should be done in-house. And there is a big messy lawsuit out there, too.


But 12.51 percent? That is absolutely outrageous.


And yet, this is what Patrick Maher has to say about taxation and his promise to protect the interests of the taxpayers:

As President of the Orland Fire Protection District, taxpayers in Orland Township have seen the reforms initiated by Patrick Maher.

Patrick Maher and the fire protection board inherited a multi-million dollar deficit and, with a responsible spending, the district eliminated its deficit, balanced the budget, improved fire and emergency services AND saved taxpayers over $1.3 million.

Was that before or after you hammered the taxpayers with an increase this past year (12.51 percent of the county's total tax bill) in new taxes Mr. Maher?


Pat Maher was first elected to the Orland Fire Protection District in 2003. He was then fast-tracked as OFPD President in 2006 after being anointed with his father's clout.


So, Maher above says he "inherited" a multi-million deficit. Who did he "inherit" the deficit from? Himself? He was on the board for three years before becoming el Presidente!


And, if he turned the table on the so-called "deficit" -- every politically connected child put in office by their father always insists they had a "deficit" that they "inherited" -- but never from their parent, of course -- when and how did that table turn?


Did it turn in 2006 when he "inherited" the deficit from himself on the board? Or, is he using this windfall tax increase to cover the excessive spending in the OFPD?


Patrick Maher is a huge disappointment for me personally. I really liked him. I just don't like the bull-s--- that seems to be written all over his phony PR claims and campaign boasts and I am cautious about some of the political people he has chosen to surround himself with.


I am not convinced that Maher's Orland Fire Protection District's really cares about the  taxpayers at all. I have a nagging suspicion that his administration is all about the same old political patronage and insider clout that plagues the very Cook County Board he's trying to get elected to; a county board where Maher's 19th Ward relatives have had a longstanding and cozy political relationship with the Stroger's.


-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com