Stroger says county wouldn't block secession

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger said he wouldn't stand in the way of towns looking to secede from the county, though he warned the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

Stroger appeared on Fox's "Good Day Chicago" Friday and said people who voted in favor of seceding from Cook County don't fully understand the amount of work the county performs in their townships.

"The reality is that the county has been beaten up on by the papers for years ... so people have that perception that they are paying all this money to the county when it actually isn't true," he said. "Because it says Cook County on the top and we collect the taxes, people think we are unfairly taxing them, but it's not true."

He said people from Barrington, Hanover and Palatine townships have the false belief they pay more taxes and receive fewer services.

"People who live in those areas have long felt they are paying more than everyone else because of the size of the houses, but that's not true, either," he said. "Everyone pays into our till and we do what is mandated by the state."

Voters from those three townships overwhelmingly said Tuesday they should split off from Cook County to create the state's 103rd county. The results came as no surprise to Palatine council members who advocated for the referendum question.

"The results mirrored a growing national frustration with government that's too big, costs too much and delivers too little," Palatine Councilman Dan Varroney said.

Tuesday's vote carries no legal weight, though; it was just an advisory referendum.

Establishing a new county would require state lawmakers to put the question to everyone in Cook County.

Stroger said having the townships secede would be a monetary wash for Cook County overall because the county may lose property tax revenue, but it wouldn't have to provide services to those areas.

"If they want to go, I'm not going to try to hold them back. That's their local prerogative," he said. "But what they do need to know is when they do that, they will have to have their own jail, they'll have to have their own elected officials, clerk, sheriff and all that. It's not going to save them money. It's going to cost them more money."

Varroney said a cost-benefit analysis and feasibility study need to be done to understand the implications. But he disagrees with Stroger's assertion that Northwest suburban residents aren't shortchanged county services.

"We pay a disproportionate burden because of the county's mismanagement. That can't be disputed," Varroney said. "They're ineffective and inefficient."

Stroger also addressed criticism for not hosting town-hall meetings in those townships to address concerns. "I have to space these out in a fashion so everyone can get there," he said. "So I didn't feel the need to run up there just to get them to vote no."

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