* The Todd Stroger saga gets weirder by the day…
Cook County Board President Todd Stroger said Thursday that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer months earlier than his administration has previously disclosed. […]
Stroger revealed he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in April 2006 and decided to keep it private.
Earlier this month, Stroger’s spokeswoman said he was diagnosed only about 10 months ago after he was chosen for the ballot.
Stroger blamed the discrepancies on his communications team.
Either he’s not telling the truth again, or his communications team is one of the worst ever and should be cleaned out right away.
* More…
His medical condition was not grave and did not immediately threaten his life, Stroger said. Because of that, he said, it was not imperative that he inform Democratic Party officials or the public. He said he was suffering from a slow-growing cancer that could be treated without surgery, at least initially.
“What I had was something that would not truly affect me until sometime into the future if I didn’t do anything at all,” Stroger said. “It’s not like a brain tumor that grows very quickly and you don’t know what’s going on. Prostate cancer generally takes some time to develop.”
* Well, he didn’t “do anything at all” for over a year. I understand denial. We all have that problem sometimes. But most of us are private citizens and what we do impacts only ourselves and our familes. Stroger, on the other hand, is the County Board President. He has an obligation to every citizen of the county to stay as healthy as he can, or at least be up front about his situation.
This is a recurring problem with the Stroger family…
With a an election approaching, the public was initially told the elder Stroger would be fine, his recovery was routine, and he’d soon be back running county government. None of that was true, but John Stroger was re-elected. When the truth came out, an interim board president was appointed, then party bosses slated Todd Stroger to run for his dad’s position.
[Emphasis added]
* And let’s get back to this point for a moment…
Mr. Stroger said he did not intend to deceive voters or Democratic Party officials about his ability to hold office, but rather meant to keep a burden from his mother, Yonnie, who was dealing with the illness of her husband, John Stroger Jr.
Again, if he’s telling the truth, protecting one’s mother from news that could be devastating, especially when she’s already going through a crisis, can be considered noble. But, again, he was being considered at the time for an appointment to the general election ballot. He had an obligation that rose above family. If he didn’t want to tell his mom, he should’ve just taken a pass on the appointment.
* This is also worth noting…
U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, who was jockeying to replace John Stroger last summer, said he doubts an earlier disclosure of Todd Stroger’s cancer would have affected the race, as party bosses “pretty much set the pace.”
Davis is probably right. Disclosure likely wouldn’t have meant a loss to Tony Peraica, but the ballot appointment was so controversial that I can see how Stroger might have wanted to keep it a secret. That decision was wrong on all counts.
Todd Stroger is not nearly the bad guy that he’s often made out to be. But he’s his own worst enemy and he makes himself impossible to defend.
Also, I’m getting tired of the goofy nicknames in comments, particulary regarding Stroger. Please avoid them in the future or your comments could be deleted. Thanks.