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For the next "Groundhog Day" movie, cast Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley as Bill Murray's character. He knows the part well. For several years, Quigley has made known his frustration with the slow pace of substantive change in county government. He often says the Cook County Board resembles the movie where Murray relives the same day over and over. On Wednesday, as board members griped about the lack of a budget proposal from board President John Stroger — and as commissioners for the second year leaned on Stroger to improve efficiency rather than increase taxes — Quigley pulled from his desk drawer two studies. One, Quigley compiled last year. The other, Stroger's office compiled in 2001. Both identify ways to streamline government and cut costs. While some of the suggestions have been implemented, the most sweeping changes have not. "I've been here for six years now," said Quigley, a Northwest Side Democrat who is weighing a bid for board president in 2006. "Structurally, we've done nothing." The county's fiscal year began Dec. 1, though Stroger has not yet introduced a budget. He and his staff narrowed a $252 million budget shortfall to about $100 million, but little consensus exists on how to fill the remaining gap. Some board members have grown impatient. Commissioner Larry Suffredin (D-Evanston) announced he would vote down any requests for new contracts, from hospital equipment to consultants, until a budget is on the table and board members know how the items will be paid. He tried to convince his colleagues to join him in restraining spending from now until January. But Stroger, in a politicking effort rarely seen, got up from behind the dais and quietly worked the room to thwart Suffredin's resolution. "Until we know the revenue streams, I think it's irresponsible to approve new spending," said Suffredin, who mentioned he, too, just might run for board president. "I'll beat you like I beat the others," Stroger said, smiling. Stroger has not decided whether he'll seek a third term. Since January 2003 when five new members were elected, the county board has moved smoothly through housekeeping duties. But it has been unable to enact sweeping change, such as consolidating the county's tax collection departments or auditing county staffing levels. Tension between the reform group and Stroger has grown so contentious, Stroger's own aides suggested he play "the race card" to fight back at them. Stroger is black; most of his critics are white. "My staff wanted me to call you guys racists," Stroger said. "They wanted me to talk racially." The reform-minded board members say the change is healthy. The administration is being questioned about its spending habits for the first time in years. Workers compensation claims, pay scales, consultants and staffing levels are getting a closer look. Others say the goal of certain board members is to make headlines, not to shape good policy. "I think a lot of it is posturing," Commissioner Patricia Joan Murphy (D-Crestwood) said of the budget strife. "To go from a $250 million budget hole to $100 million is phenomenal, but they won't even give (Stroger) that. "Can you even imagine the negotiations that have gone on in all the departments just to get us there?" Four board members — Suffredin, Quigley, Anthony Peraica (R-Riverside) and Forrest Claypool (D-Chicago) — hosted a news conference this week, signaling their opposition to any tax increases that Stroger might be considering. Communicating through the media is one tactic that makes Stroger hiss. But it was one Stroger used Wednesday, publicly questioning Cook County Clerk David Orr's absence at a hastily called news conference Stroger staged last week. The board president invited department heads and constitutional officers to stand with him as he discussed the budget. Not everyone could attend. "I was disappointed in Dave," Stroger said. Stroger's comments perplexed Orr, who when contacted later, said there was no clarity about the news conference, and that there is no budget proposal on the table yet to support or oppose. "We got a call that there might be a press conference, but I already had a commitment," said Orr, listing all the revenue his office has returned to the county's bank account. "I know that no one except Stroger talked. I'm still not quite clear on why people were asked to go." The board on Wednesday did agree to shift about $2.9 million in the sheriff's department budget to supplement his corrections department. The sheriff and the county board face a court order to increase the number of guards at Cook County Jail. "This is not a solution to the (jail understaffing) problem, but it's a start," Suffredin said. Quigley said he will wait until the budget process is over to decide whether he'll run for county board president. One thing, he said, is clear: Without real consensus and leadership, the board will continue to be "Groundhog Day." "You can't restructure government through the budget process," he said. "It's like moving an oak tree one leaf at a time."