Legislators want to limit Cook County board's power

Using Todd Stroger's new budget as a rallying cry, Republican lawmakers are calling on Springfield to restrict Cook County's ability to raise taxes and add workers.

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger two weeks ago pushed through a budget that more than doubles the county sales tax and adds more than 1,000 workers to the payroll.

On Monday, GOP state Reps. Suzie Bassi, Angelo "Skip" Saviano and Michael McAuliffe denounced the higher sales tax as an unnecessary burden on residents facing higher costs of living on all fronts.

"Instead of tightening the county's financial belt, Todd Stroger chose to double the sales tax on people who are already struggling," McAuliffe said.

Each of the three Republicans has filed a bill aimed at restricting the Cook County Board's budgeting authority.

All three proposals figure to face rough sledding in the General Assembly, where both chambers are led by Cook County Democrats. Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, said narrowly written restrictions will be not get far.

"Now, if they plan to make these measures applicable to all home-rule units of government, then there might be some discussion," Brown said.

The Republican lawmakers said they are open to talks on applying the limits to other home-rule units of government. As introduced, though, the bills apply only to Cook County.

The idea from McAuliffe, of Chicago, would require a three-fifths, super-majority vote for any tax or fee increase by the Cook board. Under that provision, Stroger would have needed 11 of 17 commissioners' votes instead of the nine that sealed the budget Feb. 29.

Stroger spokeswoman Ibis Antongiorgi said a super-majority requirement would be "essentially a vote to shut down county government."

A measure from Saviano, of Elmwood Park, would install in Cook County an independent personnel director -- the goal, he said, being to halt politically connected hiring and promoting.

Bassi, of Palatine, filed a bill calling for details of any proposed tax increase and the annual budget to be Web posted at least a week in advance of a board vote.

Saviano said these restrictions should appeal to Democrats as well as Republicans.

"I'm hearing from constituents who tell me they feel disenfranchised by their Democratic officials over this sales tax," Saviano said.

Bassi said the sales tax is particularly damaging to businesses in her district -- the county's far northwest corner -- because residents can easily shop in nearby Lake County to avoid the higher sales tax.

The county's portion of the sales tax will increase by a full percentage point -- from .75 to 1.75 percent -- and will give Chicago the nation's highest big-city sales tax, at 10.25 percent. The sales tax will raise an estimated $426 million annually, more than enough to cover a $230 million budget deficit.

On Monday, Antongiorgi called the budget vote an act of political courage, adding that "President Stroger is proud of those commissioners who were willing to take a stand to place our residents above narrow political concerns."

For their part, the GOP legislators drew support from Jerry Roper, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce president, who said the tax increase will result in job losses and reduced business investment in the county.