Jury deliberates in Stroger patronage figure's DuPage trial

A jury began deliberating late Thursday afternoon in the trial of a key figure in the Cook County patronage hiring scandal, who is fighting charges for an unrelated Wheaton courthouse scuffle.

Tony E. Cole was accused March 13, 2008 of striking his ex-girlfriend in the face during a dispute in Elmhurst. Nearly six months later, while free on bond, Cole found himself in more legal trouble when he showed up in court for his trial.

Cole argued with the woman and temporarily blocked her from entering the courtroom during a Sept. 10, 2008 appearance despite a judge's order barring further contact, said prosecutors Fred Flather and Bethany Jackson.

Cole, 30, also is accused of slapping the hand of a male DuPage County sheriff's deputy who tried to investigate the heated exchange, which prosecutors said occurred in a small vestibule area just outside the courtroom.

Cole, whose last known address is listed in Mt. Carmel, faces up to one year in jail if the jury convicts him of battery, resisting or obstructing a police officer and violating his bail bond - all misdemeanors.

In his nearly 30-minute testimony, Cole denied Thursday having physical contact with the deputy. Cole also said he did not confront his ex-girlfriend, whom he said was the one who bonded him out of jail months earlier.

"I was there to proclaim my innocence," Cole testified. "As long as I was there, that's the only thing I cared about."

His attorneys, Jill Eckhaus and Christopher Holland, both assistant public defenders, said the incident was blown out of proportion. They noted the ex-girlfriend did not testify and prosecutors lacked audio or video recordings to prove their case even though both typically operate in a courtroom.

"This was a situation that went too far," Eckhaus said. "It was jumping to conclusions and over exaggerating."

But, if nothing had happened, as Cole said, why did another deputy in the courtroom call in her colleague for backup, Jackson asked jurors.

"Something was going on," the prosecutor said. "The defendant was not truthful. We can prove this case without (the ex-girlfriend). Don't blame (her) for being scared and not being the courtroom today."

In an earlier plea deal, Cole admitted battering his ex-girlfriend and was ordered to pay fines, serve 12 months of a less restrictive form of probation, and get counseling if deemed appropriate. He later was rejected from a domestic violence treatment program for refusing to admit any abusive behavior.

Cole also had faced similar domestic violence charges involving the same woman in Cook County, but those allegations were dropped after she failed to appear in court. Prosecutors in the DuPage County case notified her she is on their witness list, but she did not testify.

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger hired the former restaurant busboy, who has a criminal record, in October 2008 as an aide to Stroger's cousin, Donna Dunnings, the office's chief financial officer. Cole was twice promoted and saw his salary rise to $61,000 before Stroger fired him in April amid a patronage hiring scandal.

Stroger also fired Dunnings, who at least twice bailed Cole out of jail in the domestic violence cases, saying Cole had "explosive" allegations about her. Stroger declined to comment further. But, in a tearful June news conference, Cole portrayed himself as a hardworking college student who had been destroyed and left for homeless in an ongoing political feud between his higher-ups.

Stroger's name did not come up in the DuPage County trial. DuPage Associate Judge William Ferguson sent the jury of seven men and five women out to deliberate just before 5 p.m.