Preckwinkle Takes Office As County Board President
UPDATED 12/06/10 4:24 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) - Upon being sworn in as president of the Cook County Board Monday, Toni Preckwinkle called for deep cuts to the county budget, and said she plans to cut her own salary by 10 percent.
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Preckwinkle took the oath of office before a standing-room only crowd packed several people deep in the Cook County Board Room Monday morning. The room filled to the point where some people had to watch the ceremony on closed-circuit television in the fifth-floor elevator bank at the County Building.
She was sworn in by Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Evans – the man who, ironically, she unseated as alderman back in 1991.
Gov. Pat Quinn spoke during the swearing-in ceremony, and each county commissioner was given an opportunity to welcome Preckwinkle.
The longtime alderman of the South Side's 4th Ward who easily captured the seat in the largely Democratic county.
Preckwinkle laid out her plan to get Cook County government back on track.
Moments after taking her oath of office, Preckwinkle set the tone for what's to come under her administration.
"My plan is pretty clear: a leaner, more efficient and more transparent government," she said.
One of the biggest challenges facing Preckwinkle, an estimated $487 million budget deficit.
"That challenge means that each of us as countywide elected officials must find 21 percent savings in our offices," said Preckwinkle.
She said she has already told county department heads that "shared sacrifice" will be necessary and inevitable.
Preckwinkle also plans to keep her campaign promise of rolling back what remains of Stroger's unpopular 2008 1 percent sales tax hike.
"This tax increase was a band-aid solution that enabled the continued inefficiency of county government," she said.
But she says it can't be accomplished all at once.
She said she plans to "ask the Cook County Board of Commissioners to approve a one-quarter percent decrease starting in 2012, and another quarter of a percent in 2013."
She said she must secure the cooperation of all county departments and constitutional officers before any tax rollback can be implemented.
President Todd Stroger raised the sales tax by 1 percent to balance the 2008 budget. After Stroger vetoed two attempts to roll back the tax hike, the board succeeded in rolling it back to 0.5 percent last year.
Also on Preckwinkle's radar: underperforming, overpaid and unnecessary county workers. A planned audit will streamline county jobs and salaries.
"This lack of accountability has eroded the legitimacy of Cook County government," she said.
Preckwinkle said she will be accepting the resignation of about three dozen people from the previous administration before the end of the day Monday.
"There are a number of people whose resignations we will accept today, and over the course of the next few weeks, we'll be accepting new folks," she said.
Another priority for Preckwinkle is health care reform.
"We've got to work with safety net hospitals and the community clinics to provide a comprehensive health care system for all of our residents," she said.
Reducing Cook County's prison population is also on Preckwinkle's to-do list.
"Cook County's chronically overcrowded criminal justice system is a drain on the budget and a threat to public safety," she said.
Preckwinkle said she also expects to cut the number of Shakman-exempt positions under the direct control of the County Board president. Shakman-exempt positions are not subject to the laws that forbid patronage hiring.
As to the cooperation of the County Board, Preckwinkle said she hopes for civility and polite disagreement when conflict arises.
"It is my hope that as a body, we will have more collegiate sessions than we have in the past," she said.
At a reception at the Chicago Cultural Center following her swearing-in, Preckwinkle added that she would cut her own salary by 10 percent, and planned 60 ways in total to reduce spending at the County Board president's office.
Among these are consolidating service and eliminating non-essential procurement, she said.
Given that by state law, the county needs to pass a balanced budget by the end of February, the board president's office shall lead by example in making cuts, Preckwinkle said.
"When I announced my candidacy two years ago, the conventional wisdom was that it was a long shot," Preckwinkle said. But, she said, in learning about the needs of the county, she discovered that the "single theme" was "the need for change."
The 63-year-old Preckwinkle replaces Todd Stroger, who came in last among four candidates in February's primary.
The U.S. Census bureau's 2009 estimate of Cook County population is 5,287,037 persons. That makes the county is larger than many of the world's countries.
It's about on par with the population of Finland and larger than the populations of Ireland, Singapore, Norway the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and Jamaica, according to CIA's World Factbook.
CBS 2 Web Producer Adam Harrington contributed to this report.
(TM and © Copyright 2010 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS Radio and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
