Stroger's cousin resigns after bailing favored employee out of jail

Cook County Chief Financial Officer Donna Dunnings, the cousin of President Todd Stroger, resigned abruptly this week after it was learned she had bailed an employee with a criminal record out of jail several times, a county spokesman said Friday.

The employee, Tony Cole, was hired by Stroger upon the recommendation of Louisiana State University basketball coach Dale Brown, said county spokesman Sean Howard.

"I hired a young man who I thought was very bright and he told me he just needed a chance and he could do a lot," said Stroger Friday on WLS-AM radio. "And I thought we'd give him that chance."

The county knew of a 2002 charge of aggravated assault with intent to rape in Georgia when it hired Cole, according to a media report. The charge eventually was dropped, but it resulted in Cole being kicked off the University of Georgia basketball team. Cole, however, had not told the county of a Georgia conviction for writing bad checks. Because he didn't disclose that, he was fired last week from his $61,000 a year human resources job in the highway department. Before that, Cole had worked as an administrative assistant to Dunnings.

"He had some personal problems that developed while he was on the job," Stroger said. "An investigation was done and determined that he had not been quite truthful on his application, so he had to be terminated. So I fired him. Now it seems he as if he is making allegations against Ms. Dunnings, all of which she tells me are not true. But being in the position she is, it will become a bit of a media circus and I don't think she will be able to perform her duties while trying to fight off not only just the (news) papers - but even the politicians on the board who love to make political hay of anything that happens."

Stroger said he asked for Dunnings resignation, and she agreed.

Stroger did not elaborate on what claims Cole is making against Dunnings, but asked about her bailing Cole out of jail, Stroger told WLS, "I believe that she wanted to see him do well and she was trying to mentor him."

What exactly led to the 2008 charges requiring the bail was not immediately clear, but court records indicate they were related to orders of protection issued against Cole in DuPage County.

Cole, Dunnings and Stroger could not be reached for comment Friday.

Dunnings had long been a controversial figure in Cook County, if only for her familial relationship to the president. Several county officials privately refer to her as the power behind the throne and had been at odds with Stroger's former chief of staff, Lance Tyson, and a source in Cook County government said she was currently warring with the head of Stroger's public relations staff, Gene Mullins.

Stroger's current chief of staff, Joseph Fratto, has been named to temporarily fill the CFO job until a replacement can be found.