24-9: the new magic number to watch for in upcoming indictments.
A top aide to Cook County Board President Todd Stroger was arrested and charged Monday with several felonies relating to alleged money laundering and theft.
Carla Oglesby, Stroger’s deputy chief of staff, was taken into custody about 4 p.m. by members of the Cook County state’s attorney’s financial crimes unit, said Sally Daly, a spokeswoman for Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.
Oglesby is charged with several felonies, including theft of government property over $100,000, money laundering and official misconduct.
“It’s in connection with the ongoing financial crimes investigation conducted by the state’s attorney’s office into the awarding of so-called 24-9 contracts,” Daly said.
The “24-9” reference is to contracts that fall below the $25,000 mark, the threshold requiring approval by the Cook County Board.
On Monday afternoon Oglesby was pulling out of a Loop parking garage when investigators — armed with an arrest warrant — stopped her vehicle and took her into custody, placing handcuffs on her before they drove her to a nearby police station.
Her attorney did not return a call for comment.
Todd Stroger could not be reached for comment either, the Sun-Times reports.
I remember when Todd Stroger was running to be elected to the seat his father held. I was at a meeting of a local township’s Democratic organization when a young college student asked the Democratic Committeeman if Stroger received the nod just because of his name. The committeeman responded with a lecture, “Young lady, you need to understand how things work.”
“How things work” at the time essentially meant “fall in line.” The young college student was too naive.
Weren’t we all…?
Toni Preckwinkle, clean up this mess. Please.
And work for the taxpayers of Cook County 24-7, not 24-9.