In the quasi-mythical realm of Cook County government, “up” is sometimes “down” and “yes” can mean “no.” It’s a curious, almost entertaining, spectacle except it’s all underwritten with billions of taxpayer dollars.
At a July 1 meeting of the County Board of Commissioners, a string of 52 routine business items were voted through en masse–except for item 46. That one involved the county offering its roughly 34,000 employees optional cancer insurance policies sold by AFLAC Insurance Corp. of Columbus, Ga.
Such insurance is a seemingly superfluous perk since the county’s medical insurance already covers 100 percent of costs involved in the detection and treatment of cancer.
In fact, several consumer protection groups, including the Coalition for Consumer Rights of Illinois, caution that in most cases buying such insurance is a waste of money. The individual premium for the cancer coverage is estimated at $350 a year per employee.
County Board member Carl Hansen moved to pluck item 46 from the “master agenda” and forward it to the Finance Committee for additional study. Forrest Claypool, another board member, asked to be recognized.
But before Claypool had a chance to speak, Stroger called for a voice vote on referring item 46 to committee. The vote–recorded on video– was an audible and overwhelming majority in favor of the motion, followed by one dissenting vote, and then Stroger’s own “nay.”
Anywhere else the motion would have passed, but not in Strogerland, where nay is yea and vice versa. Without even pausing, Stroger announced the motion had failed.
After a brief stunned silence Claypool asked, “What did just happen here?”
Stroger simply ignored the clear majority of the board and rammed through a no-bid contract to sell insurance to county employees.
It may bother Stroger that some board members are showing independence. It may bother him that they got elected by promising to change Stroger-business-as-usual. But he will have to get used to that. And he will have to understand that the majority rules and he is not a majority of one. What he did is outrageous.
Claypool and Commissioner Anthony Peraica have filed suit against Stroger to declare the vote invalid. A word of advice to Stroger: A rush to implement the AFLAC deal will be a serious mistake. He must wait until the courts act, lest he compound one irresponsible act with another.
Sad thing is that Stroger’s imperious behavior was anything but exceptional.
Historically the 17 county board members have played along like a finely tuned ensemble, with Maestro Stroger waving the baton. At the last election, though, voters fired five of the commissioners and installed replacements who are not afraid to challenge Stroger, as Claypool and Peraica have done.
Slow to take a hint, at a board meeting earlier this year Stroger lashed out at commissioners for asking too many questions of county department heads and yakking to the press. He instructed commissioners to clear all information requests directly through him.
You don’t like it? “So sue me,” he said. Now two commissioners have taken him up on that.
