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In 10 years as Cook County Board President, John Stroger has never wielded the veto pen, but he plans to do that today, killing budget amendments that would limit pay for top county employees and require county officials to explain why some positions remain vacant.

"The stated intent of this amendment, to speed up the hiring process, reflects an intent of the legislative branch to interfere with the discretion of the executive branch to administer personnel needs," Stroger said, referring to Commissioner Earlean Collins' amendment to require an accounting for unfilled vacancies.

Commissioner Forrest Claypool countered, "What the president seems to be saying is that the elected commissioners and the tax-paying public have no right to know what's going in inside his government -- it's sort of 'The public be damned.' "

For the first eight or nine years of his presidency, Stroger enjoyed lopsided support and never needed the veto. Now that half the commissioners are willing to vote against him on issues such as the two budget amendments, he's finding out just how powerful his veto authority is.

The County Board requires a four-fifths vote to override a veto. That means Stroger needs only four votes on the 17-member board -- including his own -- to uphold his veto.

"He's got the right to veto, but the degree to which he has veto power is unconscionable," said Commissioner Carl Hansen. "He's got all the votes he needs anyway, normally, and even if it was just two-thirds, he could marshal that any day of the week."

At least four commissioners said Monday they would vote with Stroger to uphold his veto.

Board member Mike Quigley's amendment prohibited county employees making more than $65,000 from receiving both step increases and cost-of-living raises in the same year.

"I'm not talking about cutting pay, I'm talking about cutting increase in pay, and we seem to have a problem with that," Quigley said.

Stroger said a study of executive pay in the county will better address that issue.

Collins' amendment requiring lists and explanations every six months of unfilled positions would put an unrealistic burden on county staff, Stroger said.

Stroger is expected to announce today that Inspector General James Whigham, a former U.S. Marshal, will replace retiring chief of staff Pat Shymanski.

Also, Stroger's niece Donna Dunnings, who holds a master's degree in business administration, will be elevated from deputy chief financial officer to budget director