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He’s the county commissioner who last summer tried to get his colleagues to pass a vote of no confidence in the “failed” administration of county board president Todd Stroger. When he came up short, he ripped the commissioners who opposed him. “By voicing confidence in Stroger, they are saying loud and clear they support the rampant corruption in County government, the hiring of Stroger’s political cronies, the utilization of the County budget as a political payback tool, the continued third-world conditions at Stroger Hospital, and Stroger’s support for a property tax increase,” said the press release he issued.
And of course he’s the guy who lost to Stroger after a bitter, tightly contested campaign in the fall of 2006, then led supporters on a bizarre election night march on the county elections office.
Claypool countered that Stroger’s last budget had eviscerated the county’s system of neighborhood clinics even as he hired cronies for administrative jobs. “You view this system as a patronage dumping ground.”
That’s when Peraica asked for the chance to speak and surprised most of the room by calling for an end to the rancor. “We need to stop the partisanship—it’s not going to get us anywhere,” he said.
