FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sunday, October 22, 2006 Sun-Times: Stuck on Stupid Redux Chicago, IL... In response to the Chicago Sun-Times endorsement of Todd Stroger, Peraica for Cook County Board President campaign general consultant Dan Proft released the following statement: "The Quiz Show scandal of the 1950s, Milli Vanilli, the Sun-Times endorsement of Todd Stroger. What do these have in common? "They are three of the biggest frauds perpetrated on the public in recent times. "The Sun-Times' extraordinary and confounding endorsement of Todd Stroger for County Board President is, quite simply, a violation of the public trust. "Besides flying in the face of common sense and the manifest weight of the evidence in this race, it is completely at odds with virtually every Sun-Times commentator who has weighed in on this campaign. "Tony Peraica will stand with the opinions of Sun-Times' columnists Mark Brown, Cindy Richards, Carol Marin, Neil Steinberg, and Laura Washington-all self-described liberal Democrats no less-who have offered brutally accurate and decidedly unflattering reviews of Todd Stroger over the last three months. "We will also stand with those Sun-Times reporters who have broken one story after another about corruption and abuse within county government-most of it connected to the Stroger political organization in one way or the other-since the inception of this campaign. "The Sun-Times editorial board or its publisher, whoever made this decision, should try reading their own paper. (See link below) "A month ago the Sun-Times released a fraudulent poll that has since been exposed as such. Today, the Sun-Times offers a fraudulent endorsement. "How else are readers to make sense of the paradox of endorsing Stroger given their review of Peraica, '...we believe Republican Tony Peraica is a qualified and experienced candidate who would be dedicated to reform...' combined with this amazing statement about their level of confidence in Todd Stroger, 'And we're going to assign extra reporters to watch him (Stroger) to make sure that he follows through on his promises.' "If all of this shilling for someone so obviously unqualified and inept is simply a political decision or a business decision, fine. But the Sun-Times should have the integrity to level with their readers. "The Sun-Times 'wishes' Todd Stroger had a better record on which to run. The Sun-Times 'wishes' Todd Stroger did not come to his party's nomination the way he did. "Well, wish upon a star. "Cook County does not have to depend on ethereal wishes with Tony Peraica. His record, his qualifications and his vision for Cook County are firmly planted on the landscape upon which the next County Board President must operate. "The Sun-Times reports that now Todd Stroger is saying some of the right things regarding reforming Cook County government. Those who are actually paying attention to this race know that Stroger has started saying some of the right things recently because he is parroting what Tony Peraica has been saying for the past four years on issues from health bureau reform to reform of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center to reducing the size and expense of county government. "Todd Stroger's record? According to Stroger himself, his greatest legislative accomplishment over his 15 years in elective office was to increase the fines on fly-dumping. "Yes, fly-dumping. That apparently is good enough for the Sun-Times. "If Cook County voters would like to read an informed opinion of the choice they have for Cook County Board President, they should check out the endorsements offered by the Chicago Tribune, Daily Herald, and Daily Southtown." (See links below)