Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Tony Peraica takes on Todd Stroger: On TV and Streaming

Jeff Berkowitz: ...Alderman Beavers said, essentially--

Look. It was okay for all those other people we talked about, for Madigan to Madigan, Daley to Daley, Lipinski to Lipinski, Hynes to Hynes. Now you’ve got a black guy.

Well, he [Beavers] forgot Reverend Jesse Jackson. He wasn’t quite elected, but he was a [big political] name. Rev. Jackson begat Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. So this is now the second black [pol pairing- John Stroger to Todd Stroger] who I guess is going through this bible study program
. And I guess Alderman Beavers would say two more blacks and then it’s all even. Four whites, four blacks. Now we can start over.

Tony Peraica: That’s not the way democracy is supposed to work. And, after two hundred and thirty years of democracy here, it is rather ironic that we have more democracy in Mongolia than we have in Cook County. It
doesn’t make it right in Lipinski’s case or anyone else’s case.
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"Public Affairs," is featuring Tony Peraica, Cook County Commissioner and Republican nominee for County Board President, tonight in 35 Chicago Metro suburbs [See, below, end of this post, for a detailed suburban airing schedule] on Comcast Cable; this coming Monday night [July 17] through-out the City of Chicago on CANTV, Cable Ch. 21 at 8:30 pm; And, anytime on the "Public Affairs," podcast page on your computer [See here]. Among other topics and issues, Peraica discusses and debates nepotism and begetting in the Illinois Democratic Party, Patronage, Contracts and Waste and how best to provide juvenile detention services, adult jail services and health care services to low income individuals -- with show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz.
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The "Public Affairs," podcast page gives you a choice of more than twenty-five different and recent episodes of “Public Affairs," in addition to this week's suburban edition of Public Affairs with Tony Peraica, Cook County Commissioner and Republican Nominee for County Board President and last week's suburban show with Deputy Governor Bradley Tusk. The choice also includes our show with Ald. Ricardo Munoz- which also airs next week in the suburbs, our very recent shows with McSweeney, Giuliani and Gov. Thompson--and State Rep. John Fritchey [D-Chicago] on our video and audio podcast page[See here]. The podcast page also includes a one on one interview with 8th Cong. Dist. Republican Nominee David McSweeney [Barrington Hills], press conferences held recently with Governor Rod Blagojevich and his Republican Challenger, State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, a press conference with U.S. Senator Barack Obama and Cong. Bean and much, much more. [See here].
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Current and Coming attractions on Public Affairs in the suburbs:

This week: Tony Peraica, Cook County Commissioner and Republican nominee for County Board President

Next Week: Ald. Ricardo Munoz [Chicago, 22nd Ward], possible 4th CD Democratic Primary candidate to replace Cong. Gutierrez in 2008.
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A partial transcript of our show with Commissioner Peraica is included, below.
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Jeff Berkowitz: If you want to understand politics and you want to understand what is going on in the week of [July] 17th, [you have to] turn to our bible studies portion of the program, which is a section of the show that we don’t usually have…and we thank Carlos Hernandez-Gomez [CLTV], from whom we got some of this begetting language. It is all a matter of begetting or who begat who and you read about that in the bible. Mayor Richard J. Daley in 1955, fifty years ago, was elected Mayor then, and over time, he begat Mayor Richard M. Daley. Speaker Mike Madigan in the early ‘80s became the Speaker of the [Illinois] House. He has been there forever…And in 2002, Speaker Mike begat Attorney General Lisa Madigan. So Daley to Daley, Madigan to Madigan.

Berkowitz [cont.]: Cook County assessor—first senate president and then Cook County Assessor—Tom Hynes-- he begat Dan Hynes, state Comptroller [in 1998]. Congressman Bill Lipinski [D-Chicago, 3rd Cong. Dist.]-- he [Cong. Bill] begat Congressman Dan Lipinski [in 2004]. So there’s a pattern here, and Cook County Board president John Stroger—and we mean none of this as disrespect to Cook County Board President John Stroger, who had a stroke a week before his primary election but it’s time to discuss reality, and they way things really are. He would like his son, Todd Stroger-- in a letter John Stroger says that he’s resigning his space on the ballot—in March of 2006, he ran in the Democratic primary, John Stroger did, for re-election. He ran against Forrest Claypool, a reformer, in a close race.

Berkowitz [cont.]: A week before the election, John Stroger had a stroke. Team Claypool says that they had polls showing [reformer Forrest, see Sep. 11 show] Claypool was ahead a week before the election. [There was] an enormous outpouring of sympathy for John Stroger. Stroger won the race, fifty three [to] forty seven, and John Stroger can’t run now, because of his condition, because of his stroke. So, he would like his son, Todd Stroger, to be the Democratic nominee for President of the Cook County Board. Tony Peraica is the Republican nominee. And, there’s this uproar, because all of a sudden it is being said it’s wrong for President John Stroger to begat Todd Stroger…

Tony Peraica, Cook County Commissioner [R-Riverside] and Republican nominee for Cook County Board President: It’s absolutely wrong. It’s absolutely wrong, and two wrongs do not make a right. And, no matter what Alderman Beavers says about, “We are in control, we have the votes, we control the process and we’ll do whatever we want to do, when we want to do it, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” speaking of the voters of Cook County. I am convinced that the voters, for the first time in forty years, since [Republican Cook County Board President] Richard Oglivie, are going to have a chance to bring about substantive change and reform to Cook County government by defeating whomever the Democratic Central Committee puts forth as a replacement, as a Democratic nominee replacement on the ballot for Cook County Board President and vote for me, Tony Peraica, to bring about a continuation of the reforms that five of us started in 2002, when five new Commissioners were elected to the County Board, where we defeated three hundred and fifty million dollars in proposed tax increases; where we revamped the entire forest preserve district operation, and reduced the number of employees by 100 percent.

Tony Peraica [cont.] We went from eleven hundred—fifty percent, rather—to four hundred and sixty, where the budget was reduced by some forty million dollars, from one hundred and ninety five million to about a hundred and fifty million. Where we have brought in brand new toilets and done all kinds of substantive changes that the public that uses the facilities actually gets the benefit of. These are the kinds of things that we need to do in the public safety sector, in the public health sector, most importantly. And, most of all, we need to bring about a reduction in taxes, particularly real estate taxes in Cook County, which are driving businesses and residents away from Cook County.

Jeff Berkowitz: What’s really at stake here? Why is it important for John Stroger to put his son, Todd Stroger, there? Look, this thing is going to be decided on—by my information of what is on the street, it will be decided on Tuesday, July 18. The Democratic Cook County Central Committee, the ward bosses, the township bosses, from fifty wards in the city of Chicago, from thirty townships in the suburbs—they’ll get in a room. They’ll decide who the Democratic nominee should be.

Tony Peraica: That’s correct. The voters will not have a say.

Jeff Berkowitz: But that’s the law. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Tony Peraica: That’s the law.

Jeff Berkowitz: You know, voters had their chance, but …John Stroger had this stroke. Unfortunately, that happened, and now you have to come up with a substitute [for John Stroger].

Tony Peraica: Right.

Jeff Berkowitz: And, are these eighty people, these eighty committeemen, these eighty party bosses, are they going to do the wrong thing? You’re saying they’re doing the wrong thing if they pick Todd Stroger. Alderman Beavers said, essentially:

Look. It was okay for all those other people we talked about, for Madigan to Madigan, Daley to Daley, Lipinski to Lipinski, Hynes to Hynes. Now you’ve got a black guy.

Berkowitz [cont.]: Well, he forgot Reverend Jesse Jackson. He wasn’t quite elected, but he was a [big political] name. Rev. Jackson begat Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. So this is now the second black [pol pairing] who I guess is going through this bible study program
. And I guess Alderman Beavers would say two more blacks and then it’s all even. Four whites, four blacks. Now we can start over.

Tony Peraica: That’s not the way democracy is supposed to work. And, after two hundred and thirty years of democracy here, it is rather ironic that we have more democracy in Mongolia than we have in Cook County. It
doesn’t make it right in Lipinski’s case or anyone else’s case.

Jeff Berkowitz: It was wrong? It was wrong?

Tony Peraica: Absolutely. It’s wrong. And why should that be-

Jeff Berkowitz: Was it wrong for Daley? Was it wrong for Daley and wrong for Madigan?

Tony Peraica: Yes. It was.

Jeff Berkowitz: Wrong for Hynes?

Tony Peraica: It was wrong for all of them. I don’t believe one should be able to launch someone as an office-holder unless they have the ability, the skill, the fortitude, the educational background, and experience with the office that they want to occupy. And it’s not a matter of who’s the daughter or the son of whom. It’s a matter of who’s best able to handle the responsibility of that office.

Jeff Berkowitz: Well, Todd Stroger—he’s been a State Rep. He’s an alderman. He’s learned at the—he’s studied under John Stroger.

Tony Peraica: Right.

Jeff Berkowitz: He’s learned from his dad. You don’t think he’s qualified to be President of the Cook County Board?

Tony Peraica: I don’t. I asked someone recently whether they would be satisfied or content if they had six months to live and they had to pick an executor of their estate—would they want Todd Stroger to be the executor of their estate and they said “Categorically no.”

Jeff Berkowitz: Why? What’s wrong with Todd? Why isn’t he qualified?

Tony Peraica: Todd Stroger has never had a job in the private sector. Todd Stroger is a beneficiary of his father’s largesse, always been on the government payroll. He was given a seat in the state legislature where he served for nine years in an undistinguished manner. He’s been on the City Council—now; he’s an alderman for six years. He didn’t have to run for that. He took it after the predecessor died, and has been unable to distinguish himself there. He has done nothing of substance either in the state house or in the city council to bring about reform, lower taxes [and] smaller government. And, the reason that it’s important for Todd Stroger to be there is to protect the contracts and patronage jobs for those do-nothing political appointees who take a salary and perform no services at the expense of all of us who end up paying the bill, year after year.

Jeff Berkowitz: So, this is all about patronage? The Strogers in the 8th Ward have a lot of patronage and a lot of employees in Cook County come out of the 8th Ward, Stroger’s ward, come out of the 7th Ward, Ald. Beavers ward? Is that right?

Tony Peraica: Yes, they do. They have in the area of 4000 jobs to protect.

Jeff Berkowitz: And contracts?

Tony Peraica: Hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts.
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Public Affairs, featuring guest Cook County Commissioner and Republican Nominee for County Board President Tony Peraica was recorded on July 9, 2006 and is airing on the Suburban edition of Public Affairs this week [week of July 10] and on the City of Chicago edition of Public Affairs on Monday night, July 17 at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21. See, below, for a detailed, regular suburban airing shedule for Public Affairs . The show with Commissioner Peraica is also available as a video podcast at the Public Affairs Cinema Complex, along with more than twenty five other shows, which are also airing there. [See here].
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Transcript draft prepared by Amy Allen, who also does research for “Public Affairs,” and has her own political blog [See here].
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Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com
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In twenty-five North Shore, North and Northwest suburbs, the show airs tonight in the regular weekly Public Affairs slot, 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Ch. 19 or 35, as indicated, below.

In ten North Shore suburbs, the show is also airing in its regular airing slot at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Ch. 19 this week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, as indicated, below.

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The episode of Public Affairs, featuring Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica [R-Riverside] airs tonight:

at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, parts of Inverness, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northfield, Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Wilmette

And at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 35 in Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Glenview, Golf, Des Plaines, Hanover Park, Mt. Prospect, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Schaumburg, Skokie, Streamwood and Wheeling.

and Wednesday night and Friday night at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Bannockburn, Deerfield, Ft. Sheridan, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Kenilworth, Lincolnshire, Riverwoods and Winnetka.
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Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com
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