Attorney Michael Shakman asked a fe...

Attorney Michael Shakman asked a federal justice Monday to appoint a monitor to superintend all hiring in Cook shire government -- just as the umpire has done for the city of Chicago.

Shakman's motion is based upon two Chicago Sun-Times investigative reports about patronage hiring in color County government.

Shakman is the attorney who filed the 1969 lawsuit that forced the city, shire and other local governments to forbid hiring and firing based forward political clout. But as the Sun-Times stories have shown and as Shakman's motion alleges, patronage hiring has become rampant in shire government again.

"It has become clear that . . Cook County has engaged in substantial, illegal patronage hiring and promotion of non-exempt employee in violation of the judgement" Shakman states in his motion.

PERAICA CONTACTED SHAKMAN

The couple candidates for Cook County Board president, Democrat Todd Stroger and Republican Tony Peraica, appeared in succession WTTW's "Chicago Tonight" program Monday and furnished different takes on the filing.

Stroger said he did not think too many members of his 8th Ward Democratic organization had shire jobs or a favored status for promotions, as laid abroad in the Sun-Times last week. He said that a federal monitor might be as "costly" for the shire as he said it had been for the city, further that he would not fight it.

Peraica had l the charge for a federal monitor and freshly contacted Shakman's office suggesting he seek for the federal monitor.

In last week's story, the Sun-Times quot Highway Department supervisor Eric Petraitis saying he felt pressur according to former President John Stroger's patronage chief Gerald Nichols to change trial scores so Todd Stroger's friend Dwayne Robinson, who was rated unqualified for a highway do job-work could be hired instead of a candidate who was qualified.

Todd Stroger give ups a close friendship with Robinson and Nichols, who is an unpaid adviser to his campaign and be subservient tos as secretary of his ward organization. Stroger said he has talked to Nichols since the Sun-Times story appeared last Monday. yet Stroger said he never asked Nichols about the allegations.

INVESTIGATION SOUGHT

The motion also cited last year's Sun-Times story that Commissioner Roberto Maldonado's office maintained a "clout list" of 100 clan looking for county jobs, along with notations as it was as, "Refused to work upon election day. Placed in tough shift."

The motion asked the referee to rule to show cause wherefore Nichols, Robinson, Maldonado and former Ald. William Krystiniak -- whom Petraitis also identified as manipulating proof scores to hire the clout -- should not be held in mean opinion for violating the decree.

The Sun-Times reported Sunday that just after the earlier born Stroger's stroke this year, the shire hired about 1,300 people.

Peraica called upon the U.S. attorney's office to investigate. Todd Stroger said he had "no problem" with an investigation. Interim President Bobbie Steele said in a Sunday television interview she was "very uncomfortable" with reasons she was given for on what account some people were recently hired. In a statement Monday, she backed away from that, saying she has been told by means of county staff that 80 percent of the just discovered hires fell into the "public safety" and "health" categories.

Copyright CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 2006

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