Todd Stroger

Todd H. Stroger (born January 14, 1963) is the former president of the Cook County, Illinois Board and a former alderman for the 8th Ward in Chicago.

Stroger is a member of the Democratic Party.

In 1992, Stroger was elected as State Representative for the 31st District of Illinois.

Stroger worked as a statistician for the Office of the Chief Judge of Cook County; later he was also a jury supervisor with the Cook County Jury Commissioners.

He worked for the Chicago Park District during the tenure of Forrest Claypool.

Stroger is an active fundraiser for the United Negro College Fund and a member of the Young Democrats.

In 2001, he was appointed to the Chicago City Council by Richard M. Daley.

He is the son of John Stroger who served as Cook County Board president for 12 years until his death.

In 2001 Stroger was appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley to replace Lorraine Dixon, who had died while in office.

Stroger served on seven committees: Budget and Government Operations; Committees, Rules, and Ethics; Housing and Real Estate; Human Relations; Police and Fire; Special Events and Cultural Affairs; and Traffic Control and Safety.

On March 14, 2006, John Stroger, Cook County Board of Commissioners president since 1994 and Todd Stroger's father, suffered a serious stroke one week before the Democratic primary.

John Stroger eventually won the Democratic nomination, winning about 53 percent of the votes cast, defeating Forrest Claypool.

For months after the elder Stroger's stroke he did not appear in public, and his family provided little information about his condition.

Shortly after the stroke, Todd Stroger gave noncommittal responses about the likelihood that his father would remain on the ballot.

But in May, he reversed his previous stance, saying his father would return to office.

Ultimately, John Stroger would submit his resignation.

At the same time that John Stroger submitted his resignation, it was announced that alderman William Beavers would assume the County Commissioner seat while Todd Stroger, if elected, would take over the County Board presidency.

This announcement came four days after the deadline for third-party candidates to file for the Board presidency race.

In the aftermath of his father's resignation, Todd Stroger emerged as the front-runner for his father's presidential seat.

His main opponent was U.S. Representative Danny K. Davis.

Another opponent, County Commissioner Bobbie Steele, dropped out of the race shortly before party leaders chose a new candidate.

On July 18, 2006, the Cook County Democratic Central Committee (a collection of 80 county Democratic party leaders also known as "ward committeemen" or "township committeemen") overwhelmingly chose Todd Stroger to replace his father as the Democratic candidate for Cook County Board president for the Nov. 7, 2006 election.

The following day, Steele was unanimously elected by the Board as interim president.

Paperwork was not filed on time for the 2006 election contributions it received along with late organization papers that were sent to the election board.

According to state election officials, in July 2008, Stroger's campaign paid almost $27,000 in fines for failing to file paperwork in a timely manner.

The campaign also filed incomplete and late reports to the State Board of Elections during the week of July 21, 2008, so more fines are expected to be brought forth.

After Darren E. Bryant was elected the mayor of Robbins, Illinois, he announced his intention to appoint Stroger as village administrator (city manager).

On October 5, 2021, he was moved to the position of executive assistant to Bryant, switching places with Jasmine Washington (who became village administrator).

Stroger drew fire for perceived nepotism, including promoting his cousin Donna Dunnings, who had worked in the County's budget office for 16 years, to the position of the County's chief financial officer.

Dunnings and Stroger received additional criticism when she received a $17,000 raise after she initially agreed to not accept a pay hike (in an attempt to help county finances).

Dunnings stated that critics could have blocked the pay raise by submitting an amendment to the proposed budget "if they were so concerned about the salary of the first African-American female CFO".

Dunnings was later forced to resign her position after the press reported that she had posted bail for Tony Cole, a former University of Georgia basketball player and busboy whom Stroger had hired to a $60,000/year Cook County position despite Cole's having an extensive felony record.

On April 16, 2009, Dunnings resigned at Stroger's request over the scandal involving the hiring of Cole as a human resources assistant in the County Highway Department.

Stroger had earlier fired Cole (in Cook County Jail in connection with a domestic violence case at the time Dunnings resigned) for concealing his felony record.

Stroger also drew criticism when he began raising certain taxes in an effort to balance the county budget and resolve staffing issues.

On February 2, 2010, Stroger finished last in the Democratic primary for President of the Cook County Board behind Dorothy A. Brown, Terrence J. O'Brien and Toni Preckwinkle (who won the primary), putting him in a lame duck stage for the remainder of his board presidency.

Preckwinkle would go on to win the general election and assume office on December 6, 2010.

Stroger was raised in the Chatham-Avalon neighborhood, located on Chicago's South Side.

He attended Gordon Tech and later received his bachelor's degree from Xavier University in New Orleans.

Before becoming an alderman he worked as an investment banker for SBK Brooks Investment Corporation.