The Cook County Board has the authority to remove ailing President John Stroger from office by declaring that he has vacated the position, according to legal advice Monday from the state’s attorney’s office.
The board would be required to allow Stroger an opportunity to object and he could still challenge the action in court, according to the legal memo obtained by the Tribune.
The legal advice was issued on the eve of the County Board’s seventh meeting since Stroger had a serious stroke and went into seclusion. County commissioners grappling with a lack of information about Stroger’s condition have introduced three separate proposals to deal with his absence, but it was not clear they would act on any of them at the meeting.
Still, one of the commissioners who sought the advice said it could help spur action.
“The board has the ability to determine that a vacancy exists,” Commissioner Mike Quigley (D-Chicago) said. “That’s the fundamental question.”
“I’m surprised at how much authority it gives us,” Quigley added. “I think that the family and the board have to take this information into consideration as they make their decisions soon.”
The county’s lawyers also found that the board has subpoena power if it chooses to seek information about Stroger’s ability to serve and the authority to draft an ordinance for a temporary replacement.
Stroger, 77, has not made a public appearance since the stroke one week before the March 21 Democratic primary, in which he was nominated for a fourth term.
Stroger’s family has said a decision will be made about his future in July, without specifying a date.
Stroger remains the party’s nominee for the November election, and county officials insist he continues to run the government through his staff.
Concerns about Stroger’s health were heightened June 8 when complications sent him back to a hospital for a second time since being released from rehabilitation.
Ald. William Beavers (7th), the family’s spokesman, said Monday that he had no new information about Stroger, including whether he remained hospitalized. County spokeswoman Chinta Strausberg would not comment on whether Stroger’s chief of staff, James Whigham, had visited with Stroger since June 8.
The proposals on tap for Tuesday’s meeting range from holding a fitness hearing on Stroger’s condition to expanding the definition of the board’s president pro tem, allowing that position to fill the void.
Another proposal would permit Stroger to temporarily transfer his powers to another commissioner without losing his pay and benefits.
The 19-page legal memo from State’s Atty. Richard Devine’s office was signed by Patrick Driscoll and Elizabeth Reidy, the chief and deputy chief, respectively, of the office’s civil actions bureau.
In terms of a temporary replacement, the lawyers said no commissioner is authorized to act on behalf of the president, except for the president pro tem, who may do so only to preside over meetings. However, the board could adopt an ordinance authorizing a temporary replacement.
State law allows the board to make a permanent replacement in the event of death, resignation or “inability to act.” However, since the phrase is not legally defined, the lawyers said “it is reasonable to apply a common sense analysis.”
The lawyers concluded that “absent a court adjudication, the Board, sitting as a whole, may determine whether the facts occasioning a vacancy exist, even where those facts are disputed. In this instance, the Board must afford the President reasonable notice of the grounds for the allegations that he or she is unable to act. The Board must also give the President an appropriate opportunity to object.”
———-
mciokajlo@tribune.com
