Poster child for Cook Co. patronage let go

A Cook County employee who has become the poster child for patronage hiring was recently let go from a job at the county's juvenile temporary detention center -- a job critics said she was never qualified for in the first place.

But Maria Moreno-Szafarczyk -- whose brother is county Commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno -- won't spend the holidays unemployed. She immediately scored an $87,990-a-year job at the county bureau of health: the system that Cook County board President Todd Stroger said just Monday was largely free from politics when it came to hiring.

"This is yet another example of Todd Stroger's arrogance -- putting the relatives and girlfriends (of commissioners) on the county payroll even as he seeks the largest tax hike in history," said Commissioner Forrest Claypool.

Neither Moreno-Szafarczyk nor her brother could be reached for comment.

County officials have never pointed to any medical administration experience for Moreno-Szafarczyk, and spokeswoman Ibis Antongiorgi said Wednesday she did not know if Moreno-Szafarczyk had any experience in that field.

Maria Moreno-Szafarczyk was hired at the troubled juvenile facility in 2005, just about the time it faced sharp criticism from children's advocates who said the facility was unsafe because it was run by unqualified, patronage staffers. Moreno-Szafarczyk has a college degree in physical education and no experience in corrections, according to media reports.

Then county board President John H. Stroger, Todd Stroger's father, later said those descriptions undersold her, writing in a letter to the editor that Moreno-Szafarczyk has "more than three decades of experience in program evaluation, curriculum development and student support services for at-risk and multicultural youth populations."

The juvenile detention center was so beleaguered that the American Civil Liberties Union got involved, and county administrators twice pledged to adhere to a consent decree designed to shape things up. But both times, the ACLU said the county went on to ignore the agreements.

The ACLU alleged that workers at the center were encouraging children to physically fight out their disagreements, that workers were physically abusing children, that employees were stealing food and clothes and leaving the children to go without.

Most recently, the ACLU sued to ask that the center be put in other hands because the county was yet again not adhering to its agreements. It alleged that children were not being given their prescription medications, putting their lives in danger. The group also pointed out that Moreno-Szafarczyk had escaped from budget cuts unscathed while the county laid off a nationally respected juvenile detention expert.

Facing a federal judge who looked like he was finally fed up with the county and might take the facility away completely, county administrators agreed to install a temporary administrator -- Earl Dunlap -- with broad powers, including the power to dictate the budget.

One of Dunlap's first budget moves was to remove Szafarczyk from it. Szafarczyk left Monday.

Beginning as soon as next week, however, she will start as an associate administrator at the ambulatory clinics at the bureau of health. Moreno-Szafarczyk will be in charge of the clinics' pediatric referral system. The position has been vacant since March, and spokeswoman Antongiorgi could not explain why it was being filled at this particular time after remaining open almost the entire year.

But Antongiorgi said Moreno-Szafarczyk "will be an asset there" because she speaks Spanish. "She's a strong voice in child advocacy," Antongiorgi said. "A large (number) of the patients do speak Spanish."

The job is an "exempt" position, meaning Stroger is allowed by law to fill it with a political appointee. Stroger's camp has said he receives unfair criticism for exempt hires that every other politician in Illinois is allowed to enjoy without the same scrutiny.

"I suppose he is entitled to put on qualified people … but at a time the health bureau can't collect its bills, you would want (only) qualified individuals," Claypool said.

He was referring to the bureau of health's own mounting crisis, with administrators there unable to collect all the Medicare funding for which its patients are eligible. The bureau expects to be $76.2 million short on revenue by the end of this year, recent county figures show.

The bureau also is at the center of this year's budget battle, with Stroger maintaining the bureau needs a massive cash infusion to keep it going. Critics contend Stroger has larded it with patronage hires instead of qualified doctors and nurses.

Stroger says an increase of 2 percentage points in the county sales tax is necessary -- an increase of $750 million annually. Critics like Claypool say the county needs to be rid of patronage hires like Moreno-Szafarczyk before any consideration is given to raising taxes.

Like the juvenile detention center, the bureau of health is itself on the verge of a takeover as a result of the county's mismanagement. Two separate panels have recommended it be put under a separate governance board free of political hiring.

Moreno-Szafarczyk's hiring is "horrible timing," said county Commissioner Mike Quigley. "To do the things the president wants in a budget -- raise taxes -- you have to have the public's trust. This works in the opposite direction."

Stroger on Monday defended himself against Claypool's accusation that there are at least 750 employees in the bureau of health who are either Stroger campaign donors or live in Stroger's 8th Ward.

"I have no influence or sway over most jobs at the bureau of health," said Stroger. "And actually I try not to interfere in anything that (bureau chief Dr. Robert) Simon does. That is his department, he is the expert, and I ask him to run it."

Simon has gained respect with board members as someone genuinely trying to reform the bureau. But even his most ardent supporters have privately blanched at his contention that Stroger does not foist employees upon his department.

The hiring of Moreno-Szafarczyk exposes "the lie … that patronage hiring doesn't exist at the bureau of health," Claypool said.

Simon was unavailable for comment, Antongiorgi said.