A
Public Service from The King..
In an ongoing effor to serve his people better,
King John Williams is attacking
the problems that affect you. Number one on his list in 2007 is
of course public
servants who hog elevators. John wrote the following letters to
Cook County
Board President Todd Stroger after his people commandered one
of the elevators
in the County Building for his use... Here are the letters he
wrote to President
Stoger that put an end to his elevator tyranny, plus his ongoing
efforts to invite him on
the show....
1/28/07
Dear Todd Stroger or the Person reading this, possibly his PR
or sposepersons or a forest ranger,
Please
call my Producer Matt Bubala immediately to arrange an on-air
interview regarding the Cook County budget cuts and the sweet
deals you are cutting your friends. Really, you guys are just
about – and this is a semi-informed but caring guess –
two 6-figure appointments from loosing the people’s trust.
Today’s
paper has a story about Chinta Strausberg, who is pulling in $110,000
per year. She’s the Directory of Communications over there
but those responsibilities are now being handled by a guy from
the Forrest Preserve District. Here’s the thing that kills
me: She gets $110,000, the Forrest guy gets $75,000 and the Deputy
Communications guy gets $86,000. So that’s about $275,000
a year worth of Communications people but we still can’t
get Todd Stroger on our show.
Now
if you don’t want to come on – and that is your prerogative
– please communicate that to my Deputy Commincations Lieutneant
who will tell his supervisor of …lieutenants who will tell
my Producer’s Communications liason who will tell producer
Matt. This should go quickly on our end as they are all the same
person and, I might add, doing the job for less than nearly half
a million dollars a year when you include benefits and perks like
pencils and phones and not having to do very much.
And
before you think I’m just a snake in the grass waiting to
bite, please know the following things. 1, I’m past the
elevator thing. We don’t have to talk hardly at all about
this. 2. I’d like you to come on our show to discuss the
budget cuts and the way you’re asking county departments
to take a 17% cut. A lot of us think that trimming the county
budget is a great idea, by the way. And 3., please extend to Ms.
Strausberg my sympathies about the front page photo the Sun Times
chose to run of her. I’m sure there are better photos of
her out there and if she had just done something positive –
say, found $50-million at the bottom of an elevator shaft –
you better believe they’d print a super smokin’ hot
photo of her.
Please
come on my show to discuss these things.
John
Williams
Cc/
Matt Bubala
PS
– I asked my sister Jeane if she sent you her resume and
she did but no where in the did she discuss her interest in working
for you on the Forrest Preserve District. She will send a new
cover letter but till then please know she has used to camp with
her husband and kids and also my dad took us to Disney World in
a pop-up trailer.
1/16/07
Hi
Todd Stroger!
It's
me, John Williams! So hi, how are you, did you see the Bears game,
how about those Obamas and wow, winter is finally here, eh? Have
you thought about giving up 17% of your salary? I'll bet its come
up and I'll bet you've thought you don't want to. (I know I wouldn't
want to.)
The
way I see it, you're making about $180,000 per year right now
and a 17% reduction would take you down to about $150,000. Since
the median wage earner in Cook County is making about $45,000
per year, your $150,000 would still be over three times what your
constituents are making. Never a better way to lead than by example,
eh?
I
wouldn't have brought it up - my producer Matt says there's virtually
no chance you'll ever come on my show now (or maybe even WGN)
- but one of my listener/voters wanted me to ask. And in fact,
I'll bet there is a good reason or two as to why you shouldn't
kick off the campaign by taking a pay cut. Please come on my show
to discuss this, or, since that will probably never happen, telepathically
send me your thoughts.
Thanks,
(I'm
beaming this now)
J-o-h-n-
W-i-l-l-i-a-m-s
1/10/07
Dear Todd Stroger,
So that's what your voice sounds like. Imagine my shock and, I'll
say it, dismay, when I turn on my favorite morning radio show
today and hear you talking with Spike O'Dell. Wow! I'm like, "Nice
get Spiker! Gee I wish I had thought to write you a note and invite
you on my show, too." Oh, wait.
Hey, is there any chance you could come on my radio show, too?
I know you just did a radio show, but this one still wants to
talk to you about - it seems so petty now - your famous elevator.
And the hires you are making to family and friends. AND the timing
of those things with your call for a 17% cut in county government.
Here's what happens. Politicans do something crummy and everyone
gets their undies in a bundle but before anything really HAPPENS
about it, a new politician comes along to take the spot light.
So did you send Arenda Troutman a Bundt cake and a thank you note?
Or President Bush or the Olympics coming to Chicago etc., etc?
Hey, keep up the good work. And I mean that. Really. But come
on our show to talk about this yucky stuff and then we'll be fast
friends.
Signed,
John Williams
If you like, I will talk about crummy stuff about me, too, like
the time in 5th grade when I took my sister's purse and handed
out the contents on the school bus.
January 8, 2007
Dear Todd Stroger,
Please
come on my wildly popular talk show soon to discuss several items,
including all the press you are getting from the Chicago Tribune.
Question: Are you one of those people who thinks there is no such
thing as bad publicity? I sure hope. Not that the Tribune has
been bad to you, but boy are they nit-picky!
First,
they write about the elevator in the County Building that you
had reserved for your personal use. Then the story about your
dad's doctor getting the top $391,000/yr job at the county health
bureau. Then you're promoting your buddy's wife to be the county's
purchasing agent at $126,000. So then today the Trib writes about
Cedric Giles, the cousin of one of your big supporters, getting
the $103,000/yr job as County Assistant Comptroller. Boy, talk
about a slow news day, huh? And then, just to show they don't
like you, the Tribune story mentioned that you have already promoted
longtime friend Kim David Gilmore - note the sinister three name
reference - as the county's new Chief of Human Resources Bureau.
To pile on, they went to Commissioner Forrest Claypool, who said
you're a great guy and should be left alone. NOT.
Claypool
said you're telling the county to cut 17% across the board while
you hand out 6-figure jobs to friends. Where he gets this stuff
I don't know.
You
hang in there, Todd Stroger.
Sincerely,
John
Williams
Hi Todd Stroger,
Congratulations on becoming President
of the Cook County Board and Happy New Year! My name is John Williams
and I host the afternoon show on WGN Radio here in Chicago. We
did a news story recently about how you now have a private elevator
for your personal use in the County Building on North Clark. It
was previously a public elevator but now it is for your personal
use and when you are not using it, I hear, it is blocked off so
no one else can use it.
This isn’t true, right?
I mean, I know that is what we said
so I ought to believe it, but then I think, no, that can’t
be right. One version says you are so gregarious that you’d
never get anything done mingling with the hoipoloi in public elevator
car. So it is a private one for you now.
That isn’t true, right?
And if it is, is that the best you
can do? Can’t you feign some odd air-borne illness? Tell
the public you have a case of Presidentis Cook Coutnis and it
is contagious and causes people to mad with power and could be
hereditary but might also be airborne.
Or something.
I am writing to you to see if you
will come on my show and discuss this with me. We don’t
have to take calls from listeners as that might distract you from
your business. So just you and me, and we can be brief. I just
want to know A) is this true, B) if it is, why are you doing it,
C) whatever that reason may be, how long are you going to have
a personal elevator and D) are you going to have private restrooms
or streets or parking lots, too?
Good
luck on that 17% cost reduction. It sounds to me like a good idea,
maybe. And please email or call me at the addresses below to set
up an interview.
December 27, 2006
Todd
Stroger
Cook County Board President
118 N. Clark St
Room 537
Chicago, IL 60602
Whoa, President Stroger. Did you see our news click? Hi, I’m
john Williams, host of the John Williams show here on WGN Radio.
Our Daily web poll asked about your private elevator and –
hokey smokes – these are bad numbers.
Specifically
the question asked, Do you think Todd Stroger should, as Cook
County Board President, have (as a perk to his job) his own private
elevator?
And
the answer is – drum roll please – 97% said no. (As
a reference for you, I should say that we rarely find an issue
as one sided as this; when we asked “Does 2 + 2 = 4? 87%
said Yes. And, “Do you like cancer?” got a 94% no.
Put another way, more people think 2 and 2 are 5 or in fact like
cancer than think you should get your own elevator. Hokey Smokes,
that’s amazing.
Please
come on our show to discuss this. My machine, my producer and
I are here 24/7. We could do a studio interview or a phoner. My
first choice would be for a phoner with you using the little emergency
phone they have in the elevator.
Happy
New Year, go bears, John Williams
Happy New Year Todd Stroger!
This is just a quick good luck note
for 2007. And an invitation to come on my show to discuss your
slick private elevator. Also, I see you hired your dad’s
personal physician to be the county’s new health bureau
chief. The Sun Times said that he is currently the highest paid
eimployee for the county living outside the county; that is, he
makes 391-thousand dollars a year but lives in Michigan. Either
way, he is planning on moving here soon and I think that is a
good idea.
Question. Since the Clinton’s
let their friend’s use or pay for the Lincoln Bedroom, will
you give, sell or lease rides on the elevator you now control?
Just wondering.
Call
me or email me anytime. Best, John Williams
January
3, 2007
Todd Stroger
President, Cook County Board
Dear
President Stroger,
Welcome
to 2007 and congratulations on your New Year’s Resoloution!
Some people are working out, some people are giving up snacks
and YOU are giving up an elevator. Wow, a whole elevator. I’m
still trying to floss from last year’s resoloution! But
a whole elevator.
That’s
super impressive. Now granted, most people don’t have an
elevator to give up. And that leads to the question how’d
you - why’d you, what the heck were thinking to –
get an elevator. I mean, you knew people would notice, right?
And you knew it would hit the fan, right?
I’m
wondering who you are and what kind of person do we have running
Cook County.
Be
as thorough in your response as you like.
John
Williams
PS
– If you don’t have time now to respond because you
are busy because you have to take a public elevator, I’ll
understand.
