Preckwinkle vows to clean house

Should Democratic candidate Toni Preckwinkle prevail in the Nov. 2 race for Cook County Board president, she vows to do some housecleaning.

Immediately.

“This is clean-sweep time, said the 19-year Chicago Hyde Park alderman, who's running against Republican Roger Keats and Green Party candidate Tom Tresser to succeed outgoing President Todd Stroger, whose term has been marked by contention and allegations of corruption.

“County government has been the preserve of a few organizations and a few well-connected people and that can't be the case, said Preckwinkle during an endorsement interview at the Daily Herald in which she acknowledged that many residents view county government “as a patronage dumping ground.

To that end, Preckwinkle says she will conduct personnel audits, described in her position paper as “independent agency-by-agency ‘desk' audits to determine the productivity, cost and benefit of each employee.

That means expanding the number of auditors from the current six or seven person staff, Preckwinkle says, adding that she expects “the work force will be reduced significantly as a result.

She says cutting and consolidating positions would help reduce costs and has pledged to cut her own pay 10 percent upon assuming the office. “It's important for leaders to model good behavior, she said.

Preckwinkle's opponents have attacked her for supporting Cook County Democratic Party Chairman and Cook Board of Review Commissioner Joseph Berrios, who's running for county assessor. Berrios has been criticized for accepting campaign contributions from lawyers arguing assessment appeals before him and for lobbying Democratic Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan on behalf of his clients who favor video gambling.

Preckwinkle said she supports her fellow Democrat who she said has promoted diversity within the party in his appointment of African Americans, Latinos and women to committee leadership positions.

However, she disagrees with dual-career public servants, saying it inevitably leads to conflicts.

“If you're a public servant, you ought to be a full-time public servant, she said, not sell insurance or practice law.

Responding to questions that she appears to have backed off calling for the repeal of 2008's 1-percentage-point increase in the sales tax, Preckwinkle insisted she has not.

The county's $450 million to $500 million deficit makes an immediate repeal impossible, she said. But she insisted “it will be done by the end of my first term at the latest.