Cook prez candidate Preckwinkle outlines 'compact for change'

Chicago Hyde Park Democratic Alderman Toni Preckwinkle presented what she called a "compact for change" with voters Thursday in her campaign for president of the Cook County Board.

"People are frustrated and angry with the current administration of Cook County Board President Todd Stroger," Preckwinkle said in a news conference in Chicago. "People want change. And they are hopeful change will occur."

She outlined a progressive agenda in line with the policies of Democratic Commissioners Larry Suffredin of Evanston and Forrest Claypool of Chicago as well as Chicago's Mike Quigley, who earlier this year moved on from the county board to replace Rahm Emanuel in Congress.

"My compact for change is first and foremost about accountability and transparency," Preckwinkle said, promising to fight corruption through an independent committee assigned to root out waste and through open hiring. She struck at the "haughty indifference" of the Stroger administration.

She also promised to completely roll back the 1 percent increase in the sales tax imposed last year and to revitalize the government and local economy through long-range planning and development.

Preckwinkle outlined plans to rebuild the county health care system and fight violent crime while liberalizing sentencing on nonviolent criminals to ease overcrowding at county jails.

With the decision of Danny Davis to return to Congress, Preckwinkle is trying to sew up the progressive wing in February's Democratic Primary against Stroger, Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District President Terrence O'Brien, in hopes that will be good enough to prevail in the four-person race.