Posted by John Byrne at 10:05 a.m.; last updated at 12:30 p.m.
Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool, who announced last year he would quit rather than wage a much-anticipated challenge to Board President Todd Stroger, said today he will instead try to mount an independent campaign for Cook County assessor.
Claypool’s target this time is another fellow Democrat, Joseph Berrios, who is a member of the county tax Board of Review and county Democratic Party chairman. Berrios won the February primary for the assessor’s post and already faces Republican and Green Party candidates for the office that sets the value of private property for tax purposes.
Claypool said his earlier run for board president was focused in large part on reforming the county health care system. With the subsequent creation of the independent county health board, Claypool said he had a less compelling reason to run again.
Claypool said he didn’t run in the Democratic primary against Berrios in large part because he was hopeful another candidate, Raymond Figueroa, would win instead of Berrios.
"Right now there is a different challenge, and that is to prevent Joe Berrios and the Democratic machine from taking back an office that has long been used to support and fund and help insiders at the expense of average taxpayers who are already suffering," Claypool said.
The commissioner was joined today by U.S. Reps. Mike Quigley and Jesse Jackson Jr., who both endorsed him.
Claypool ran unsuccessfully against Stroger’s father, then-incumbent President John Stroger, in 2006. Last year, Claypool opted not to run for the Democratic nomination against Todd Stroger, saying he would resign from the board and return to the private sector.
But rumors began circulating after Berrios’ Democratic primary victory for assessor that he was considering running as an independent.
Outgoing assessor James Houlihan praised Claypool last week during a news conference to make the allegation that Berrios was trying to slow the review process at the tax board to delay bills until after the Nov. 2 general election. Berrios claimed it was Houlihan slowing down the process and said Claypool should have run in the primary if he wanted the job.
Making an independent run for office is daunting because it takes at least 25,000 signatures on petitions to get on the ballot.