Berrios Puts 2 Family Members On Payroll
UPDATED 12/09/10 9:17 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- In his first days as Cook County Assessor, Joe Berrios is already putting his family members on the payroll.
Berrios has hired his son, Joseph "Joey" Berrios, and his sister, Carmen Berrios, to work for him in the Assessor's office. They also worked for him when he served previously on the Cook County Board of Tax Review.
Carmen Berrios Cruz is making $86,000 a year as director of taxpayer services. Joey Berrios is making $48,000 a year as a residential property analyst.
Their pay is the same as it was when they worked for the Board of Review.
"They've got experience, and I'm hiring people with experience,'' Berrios told the Chicago Sun-Times Wednesday.
Both hold positions exempt from the Shakman decree against political hiring.
Berrios' daughter, Vanessa Berrios, has already worked in the Assessor's office for more than a decade, having been hired by former assessor Jim Houlihan. She is an analyst making $58,000 a year.
Berrios took hit after hit on the campaign trail — largely for accepting donations from tax attorneys who appealed cases before the tax appeals review board — but also for keeping family on the county payroll.
Asked whether the hirings confirm the past criticism, Berrios said: "I still won the election.''
He beat former Democratic County Commissioner Forrest Claypool, who ran as an independent and tried to peg Berrios as a "business-as-usual'' machine Democrat. Claypool couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.
But Cindi Canary with the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform immediately ripped the hirings.
"Obviously, he doesn't give a damn, does he?'' said Canary. "Yes, he won the election, but it's been abundantly clear that the voters in Cook County are getting wary of this nepotism.''
Like Toni Preckwinkle, the new Cook County Board president who took office this week, Berrios also has cleaned house, firing 13 staffers who worked for Houlihan, who had been a staunch supporter of Claypool.
Those staffers were "at-will'' employees — meaning they serve at the pleasure of their boss — and are typically part of a revolving door of staffers when one elected official leaves and another takes over.
The Chicago Sun-Times contributed to this report, via the Sun-Times Media Wire
