Todd Stroger at a glance
June 27, 2012 9:28PM
Updated: July 29, 2012 5:18PM
From the moment he became a candidate for County Board President, Todd Stroger — a former state lawmaker and Chicago alderman in the South Side’s 8th Ward, where he resides with his family — has been a lightning rod for controversy. He landed on the ballot in 2006 — with the help of powerful Democratic committeemen — after his father John H. Stroger, the sitting board president, suffered a stroke and was unable to seek re-election.
During his four years in office, Todd Stroger:
■ Championed a penny-on-the dollar county sales tax that became so unpopular as the economy tanked that he lost his bid for re-election in the 2010 Democratic primary.
■ Faced personal financial problems, including the IRS putting a nearly $12,000 lien on his property.
■ Hired a steakhouse busboy and troubled former University of Georgia basketball player Tony Cole as a $61,000 patronage worker in the highway department. Cole was fired after the Chicago Sun-Times inquired about his criminal record.
■ Hired former campaign spokeswoman Carla Oglesby to serve as his deputy chief of staff during his final months in office. Oglesby is awaiting trial on charges she steered no-bid, no work county contracts to her firm and those of her friends during her short stint with Cook County.
