Cook County Blog

From Illinois Crime and Politics:

Cook County Board president Todd Stroger is in a world of trouble.  But maybe not, if you know Chicago politics.  In the fall of 2008, Stroger hired Tony Cole, a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse busboy with a lengthy criminal record.  So much for the "vetting" process.  Somehow Stroger's cousin, Donna Dunnings is involved in this, as I keep seeing reports that she has bailed Tony Cole out of jail on a few occasions. Donna Dunnings was Cook County's Chief Financial Officer.

Originally from Baton Rouge, La., Cole came to authorities' attention when he was an aspiring basketball player at a Rhode Island community college. He was accused of misconduct by three women. The university barred him from the campus, and he was twice arrested on charges of trespassing, according to court records. In March 2000, he was expelled after two female employees of the athletic department accused him of groping them.

A year later, Cole was recruited to the University of Georgia by coach Jim Harrick, according to court records.

In January 2002 Cole's girlfriend at Georgia accused him of being involved in gang-raping her.

Cole and two friends were indicted on sexual assault charges, but after one was acquitted, the charges against Cole and the other defendant were dropped. Nonetheless, school officials kicked him off the team, and he dropped out of Georgia in early 2003, according to court records.

After he left the university, Cole leveled allegations of NCAA rules violations including grade-fixing against Harrick that led to the coach's resignation.

After returning to Baton Rouge, Cole was charged with aggravated assault after being accused of threatening a former girlfriend with an assault rifle. The assault charge was dropped, but he was convicted of bouncing a $578 rent check in Georgia—a felony conviction Stroger said was never disclosed.  (Chicago Tribune Stroger hires wayward ex-busboy for county job, cousin takes fall)

And this was supposedly the reasoning for his firing Cole?-Cole's undisclosed felony conviction for bounding a $578 rent check in Georgia?

In June 2008 he (Cole) was charged with domestic battery for allegedly striking his girlfriend, according to court records. He allegedly violated an order of protection twice by harassing her at her home, according to court records. He was released after a November arrest once Dunnings posted bail for him of $1,000, court records show. (Chicago Tribune Stroger hires wayward ex-busboy for county job, cousin takes fall)

On October 14, 2008-Tony Cole was hired as an administrative assistant with an annual salary of $48,289. Magically, within a short period of time, Cole's salary jumped to $61,189 as a human resources assistant in the Cook County Highway Department.

In January 2009, prosecutors increased Cole's bail to $40,000 after he allegedly made threatening telephone calls to his accuser at her work over several days. Dunnings (Stroger's cousin) posted $3,000 to have him released, according to the records. This month, Cole was not home as required when authorities made an unannounced visit. He was arrested Tuesday and his bail was raised to $200,000.

It was the latest episode in a years-long pattern of allegations involving violence against women. (ibid)

In April, 2009, Donna Dunnings, Stroger's cousin and Cook County's Chief Financial Officer, resigned. Cole was fired some time beforehand. There is a grand jury investigation regarding Stroger's reckless hiring decisions.

Huffington Post from April 21, 2009:

Three suburban townships, frustrated with the county's high sales tax, voted to secede from Cook County earlier this month. And Stroger's support among Chicago's African American voters, which was a rock-solid 90 percent in the 2006 primary, is also wavering.

"People are not going to just vote for you 'cause you're black anymore," Ald. Ed Smith (28th) told CBS 2. "People are looking at quality, integrity, character."

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/21/stroger-media-blitz-fails_n_189554.html

Stroger and a subpoena (Chicago Tribune)