Blood From A Stone

The lesser Stroger has necessitated my once again addressing the mess over at Cook County. I had originally intended to address the mess over at XM radio and the lack of a 'set' by those in charge as well as their inadequacies at comprehending that wacky freedom of speech thing we have here in the USA but young Toddy keeps continuing to prove me right.

*this article was originally submitted to a local paper a couple of weeks ago but was never published


Blood from a Stone


You’ve got to hand it to the current Cook County administration. While wrangling was no doubt being done last week to facilitate the confirmation of the friends and relatives to high ranking government positions, the non union personnel of Cook County were being informed that they were required to take 10 furlough days (10 days off without pay) before the end of fiscal year, many of which who don’t even make a half or even a third of what these officials will be making.

According to an article in the Chicago Tribune on May 3, Jerry Butler stated that the controversy surrounding these approvals is “about some folks who would do anything to bring down this administration” . Isn’t this administration doing enough to bring itself down?

I personally have been given a ‘pink slip’, had it rescinded, and am patiently waiting being informed as to when I will be permanently let go. This administration is in the process of removing patients, the innocent victims in this ploy, from the only home they have known, some for as much as twenty years. They are laying off employees on a weekly basis. They haven’t given non-union personnel raises in over three years, and they want us to take two weeks off without pay? Yes, it’s definitely someone else trying to bring this administration down.

Donna Dunnings said she would not take a pay increase because of the difficult financial situation being faced by the county right now. I guess $10,000 a year is no big shakes to someone already making $142,000. Well kudos to her! Perhaps we should give her a medal for not taking a pay raise while the administration is kicking patients out of their homes and destroying the lives of many loyal employees or perhaps we should just, to quote Ms. Dunnings, “get a life”.

Those who confirmed her selection to the post of chief financial officer must have forgotten that she has been in a position for the last eight years to make a difference in this difficult financial situation. The county is in dire circumstances due to the mismanagement of finances, and now she’s being rewarded. In the meantime, and as it always is, it’s the little guy, the folks that really make the county what it is, that are paying the price. It’s even being implied that if these folks don’t use up all of their furlough days by the time they are dismissed that they will be docked the remaining days on their final paycheck.

Well, and I know I don’t speak for all of us getting the eventual boot, I’m relatively certain that we’ve had enough of this mess we’ll be facing for three more years, not to mention the cleanup that will take place after they’re defeated in the next election. I’ve accepted the fact that my days here, after nearly 18 years, are numbered which at this point is fine because I’m not so sure that I want to be a part of something that has become so willing to deny basic services to those who facilitate its existence. I’ve resolved myself to the fact that young Mr. Stroger is going to do what young Mr. Stroger wants to do. I’ve even accepted the fact that politicians lie to get what they want and then, once they get it change the rules. I will not, however, willingly give any more blood to an administration that is sucking the life out of a system that is supposed to serve the residents rather than the administration. No offense to Mr. Stroger or Dr. Simon but ya know what boys, I already gave at the office.


special note--I've recently been told that a certain well-connected administrator at my current place of employment strongly disliked an article of mine that was published in a newspaper a few months back. Maybe it's because he's feeling guilty about being handed cushy triple figure jobs all of his life or maybe not. Whichever the case and since I don't have a silver spoon blocking the exit, as it were, there's plently of room for this to come out, "Too Freaking Bad!!"