By John Dempsey, WLS-AM News
(CHCAGO) A number of Cook County board members have missed hundreds of meetings in the past five years.
The joint investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times and ABC7 Chicago’s I-Team shows that four county commissioners, Democrats Bridget Gainer, Jeffrey Tobolski, John Fritchey and Jerry Butler, were absent at least a quarter of the time since 2013.
The report says the worst offender was Gainer, who records show missed 162 of 504 meetings of the board and its committees — nearly a third of the official meetings she was supposed to attend in the past five years.
Gainer responded by saying she is the only mom with school-age children on the board, and that as a working mother she has a hectic schedule. Gainer is facing a Democratic primary challenge next month from personal injury attorney Mary Ann Kosiak.
Fritchey and Tobolski say they both have had health issues in recent years. Butler did not return messages seeking comment.
@ 2017 WLS-AM News
