What's behind door No. 1 for Stroger? Extra $740 million

Sun-Times:

It took some backroom negotiations for Cook County President Todd Stroger to score enough votes to give his cousin, chief financial officer Donna Dunnings, blanket authority to refinance about $3 billion in existing debt and borrow an additional $740 million.

A coalition of self-described reformers led by Commissioner Forrest Claypool nearly derailed the proposal at Wednesday's County Board meeting, calling it bad fiscal management to allow the Stroger administration to borrow that much money without board approval on specifics.

But Stroger, whose board allies stalled debate twice to win over objectors before calling for a vote, convinced a bloc of suburban Republicans and Democrat Earlean Collins to back an amended version of the plan, which passed in a 12-4 vote.

Hammered out behind closed doors, the last-minute changes eliminated a provision that would have allowed the county to borrow money for a "working cash fund" that Claypool called a "slush fund used to push expenses into the next fiscal year." Another change was requiring board approval to hire a team of financial advisers before borrowing any money.

Dunnings will still be able to sell bonds to pay for previously approved building projects, to make a $104 million pension fund payment and to replenish the county's self-insurance fund with more than $260 million in borrowed money.

On a related note take a look at the antics of Tony Peraica courtesy of Clout City.