Chicago Sun-Times Editorial - Sordid Dunnings debacle is another Stroger fiasco

Chicago Sun-Times Editorial - Sordid Dunnings debacle is another Stroger fiasco
Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times
April 18, 2009
http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/1533019,CST-EDT-edit19a.article


Cook County Board President Todd Stroger has long been a defender of his first cousin, Donna Dunnings, who Stroger promoted to be the county's chief financial officer.

Even after Stroger forced her to resign over the scandal involving county employee Tony Cole, he still boasted of her credentials and experience in a radio interview Friday.

Stroger said he doubted he would find anyone as qualified as Dunnings to replace her. If Stroger can't find someone with better judgment than Dunnings -- given her dismal performance in the Cole scandal -- Stroger should resign himself.

To recap, Tony Cole is a former University of Georgia basketball player with some problems.

In 2002, he got charged with aggravated assault with intent to rape and got kicked off the team. The charge was eventually dropped.

Over the years, he's been sued by three women alleging he sexually harassed or assaulted them. Those suits were settled.

He was later charged with threatening an ex-girlfriend with an Uzi, a charge that was dropped when the former girlfriend did not show an eagerness to appear in court.

He has also pleaded guilty to writing bad checks.

Despite that background, Cole appeared to be something special to Stroger, who hired him when he discovered Cole working as a busboy at Ruth's Chris Steak House.

"I hired a young man, who I thought was very bright. And he told me, you know, he really just needed a chance and he could do a lot," Stroger explained in a radio interview Friday on the "Don Wade & Roma" morning show on WLS-AM.

So Cole went from a restaurant busboy to Dunnings' administrative assistant, making $58,000 a year.

We believe in second chances.

But Cole had his second chance and then some. He did not deserve another one at taxpayer expense.

Stroger was apparently unaware of all of Cole's background -- which could have been discovered in a Google search in 10 minutes and then verified.

Not surprisingly, while on his county job, Cole developed "some personal problems," Stroger said in the radio interview.

Stroger did not elaborate, but those "personal problems" were getting arrested twice for allegedly violating an order of protection against an ex-girlfriend in November, then in January.

Bailing him out both times was Cole's boss -- remember her, Donna Dunnings, Stroger's cousin -- who put up $4,000 in bail.

Some sympathetic observers may understand bailing a loyal worker once out of jail, in an emergency.

But twice?

"He's innocent until proven guilty," Dunnings told the Sun-Times before she was forced out.

It gets worse.

Just days after his January arrest, Cole got a promotion at the county and a raise to $61,000.

Do you know of any job where you can get arrested twice, have your boss bail you out and get a raise?

Cole eventually got fired last week -- but only after Sun-Times reporter Mark J. Konkol did some excellent spade work to learn about Cole's background and hiring by the county.

Dunnings was forced to resign Thursday -- but only after Konkol was preparing to break the news of her bailing Cole out of jail twice.

Stroger could have stepped up and taken the blame for his incompetence and Dunnings'.

Instead, he blamed the media and his political enemies.

Stroger said Friday that Cole had made some unspecified allegations against Dunnings, which Dunnings denied, but she still had to go.

"I don't really think she will be able to perform her duties while trying to fight off not only just the papers who would be pretty interested in talking to her probably as much as possible, but even the politicians on the board who love to make political hay of anything that has happened," Stroger said.

Stroger is working as hard as he can to get in front of this scandal.

Too bad he doesn't put the same effort in running county government.