Monday, March 17, 2008
Northwest Herald
by STEVE PATTERSON

More than a year ago, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger vowed to reduce a bloated payroll to just 22,000 employees.

Today, there are 23,851 county employees -- 145 more than were budgeted just last year -- and 1,100 more are on the way.

During budget hearings, the Stroger administration denied that many of those jobs have already been filled -- through "temporary positions" -- and also denied a scathing federal court report that political patronage continues to thrive.

Sources say the county started receiving resumes for the new jobs even before they were publicly posted.

Among the dozens of new people added to the county payroll in recent months, the Chicago Sun-Times found a new administrator of health clinics who has no health care experience and a state Senate candidate who applied for a job years ago but didn't get an offer until a week before the February primary.

Stroger spokeswoman Ibis Antongiorgi said 311 people have left the payroll since Dec. 1, while the county hasn't added any new positions to the budget -- simply filling existing, open positions. "We are eager to fill all vacant positions, particularly at the Bureau of Health so that we may continue to provide quality services," she said.

Yet only 13 of the 64 full-time employees hired since Dec. 1 are at the hospitals, and none was hired to collect bills, records show.

But the county did hire former city employee Ronald Burleson as a $99,000-a-year administrator for health clinics. Antongiorgi said he has "general operations experience" that led to his hiring.

Nurses in the health system say Burleson has been limited to clerical duties. Burleson did not return calls.

"President Stroger will be judged on his record of accomplishments -- not on who he hires or fires," Antongiorgi said.

Stroger's loudest critic disagreed.

"Perceptions matter," Commissioner Forrest Claypool said. "[Stroger has] loaded the payroll with family, friends and cronies, all at big salaries. And when people at home see that, it smacks of arrogance."

Also among the recent hires is Jonathan Bedi, who challenged state Sen. Rickey Hendon in the Feb. 5 Democratic primary. Though county records show Bedi was hired Jan. 28, Bedi said he didn't start until "about two weeks ago."

Bedi said he was interviewed in 2005 but didn't get an offer until January.