Cook Co. considers $3.2 million hiring settlement

Cook County Board members are considering awarding $3.2 million to settle claims of more than 100 people who say they were denied jobs because of political patronage.

The board is expected to vote on the settlements Wednesday.

Patronage is the practice of giving jobs to the politically connected. A court decree banning it has been in effect for decades but has been largely ignored.

In 2006, retired Cook County Judge Julia Nowicki was appointed to investigate the county's compliance with the ban. That came months after federal agents raided county offices in a hiring practices investigation.

In a report filed in federal court last year, Nowicki said 119 former and current county employees had filed claims alleging they were politically discriminated against.