Stroger's office tops lists of new hires, higher salaries

The office of President Todd Stroger led all Cook County departments in recent new hires and raises offered to current employees, according to lists compiled and submitted to the county board Wednesday.

Included on the lists were the already publicized names of Carla Oglesby, Stroger's campaign spokeswoman, hired as deputy chief of staff two weeks after his defeat in February's Democratic primary at a salary of $120,000, Chief Financial Officer Jaye Williams, who received a $53,000 raise, and Director of Communications Eugene Mullins, who received a $10,000 raise - all after Stroger became a lame duck.

Stroger's Office of the President has made seven hires this year, five of them after the primary and six at salaries above $100,000. Only the health and hospitals system came close, with six hires since the fiscal year began in December.

Stroger also increased the salaries of 10 staffers, with heath and hospitals again the only department approaching that with eight. Williams' $53,000 hike brought her salary to $230,000, and Mullins was hiked to $115,000. Director of Planning and Development William Moore got a $33,000 raise to $127,500, and Deputy Inspector General Joseph Norris got a $20,000 increase to $105,000.

"It doesn't surprise me. Obviously, he's ignored the will of the board," said Bartlett Republican Commissioner Timothy Schneider, citing a December resolution calling for all such personnel matters to be submitted for approval. "If there was any trust left in county government, this begins to erode it."

By contrast, the 17 commissioners registered no new hires and just four raises, including the promotion of Democratic Chicago Commissioner Forrest Claypool's new chief of staff.

Commissioners requested the lists while imposing stringent new oversight guidelines on hiring, raises and promotions at the county board meeting last week. Stroger subsequently vetoed a hiring freeze, but that figures to come up again at the next board meeting Tuesday - along with the hiring and salary-increase lists. Commissioners approved the hiring measure 16-1, so Stroger's veto appears unlikely to hold up.

"I think it's going to be a pretty heated meeting," Schneider said.

The lists were compiled by the comptroller and department of human resources. The lists were briefly pulled back after their initial release because officials forgot to redact personal information, like Social Security numbers, according to a spokeswoman for Chicago Democratic Commissioner John Daley, chairman of the finance committee, who led the call for the lists. He's already placed discussion of the lists on the committee's agenda for Tuesday.

There were also concerns the lists may yet be augmented. "This may not be a complete list," Schneider said. "There may be more names forthcoming."

Stroger's office did not reply to a request for comment.