Time-honored political tradition or not, Cook County Sheriff Richard Elrod should resist the temptation to pass out a batch of farewell promotions before he leaves office.
That Mr. Elrod is tempted seems obvious; the executive director of the Sheriff`s Merit Board says the board is being stampeded to interview and certify a list of candidates for elevation in the Department of Corrections
–the last steps before Mr. Elrod can anoint the chosen.
At stake could be as many as 5 openings for captain, 7 for lieutenant and 12 for sergeant. That`s a lot of anointing, and pressing on with it would be not at all fair to incoming sheriff James O`Grady, who did win the right to have some say in these matters.
What`s the rush? Mr. Elrod leaves office at the end of the month. It`s not as if delaying these promotions will put the Department of Corrections in a shambles; given the rash of escapes from Cook County Jail, it has upheld that reputation pretty well. And it`s not as if Mr. Elrod needs to pass out any more favors; he`s had 16 years to reward the loyal.
Break with tradition, Mr. Elrod. Leave this last order of business as the first for Mr. O`Grady, and give him a chance to succeed or flop on his own.
