Bored President?

Apparently not. But for the announcement, it's essentially official that Cook County Board President John Stroger is running for re-election. The President has been around since old school was new school, and it looks like he's not done yet. The following is from the History Makers website about Stroger's long political history:

At his mother's urging, Stroger moved to Chicago in 1953 where he became involved in Chicago's South Side Democratic Party. There, he met Congressman William L. Dawson, Ralph Metcalfe, and Harold Washington. Stroger was appointed as an assistant auditor with the Municipal Court of Chicago in 1954 and served as personnel director for the Cook County Jail from 1955 to 1961. He then worked for the financial director of the State of Illinois while earning a law degree from DePaul University Law School in 1965. In 1968, Stroger was elected 8th Ward Committeeman. After his election to the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 1970, Stroger went on to chair every major committee including finance, health, building and zoning. In 1994, he became the first African American to be elected president of the Cook County Board and Forest Preserve District.

This sets up what should be a barnburner of an election. Commissioners Forrest Claypool and Mike Quigley have both declared their candidacy, and I would anticipate at least one more person throwing their hat in the ring just to make it 'interesting'. Some people are also suggesting that Claypool and Quigley may wind up with challengers for their board seats in an effort to keep them closer to home. Throw Republican Commissioner Tony Peraica in the mix and you've got all the makings of an entertaining campaign. There is going to be a lot of coalition building and busting on this one and I could see this getting nasty before it's all over.