15 members of Joe Berrios' family on county, state payrolls (Chicago, cook county democrat)

For Joe Berrios, the Cook County assessor who is also the county Democratic Party chairman, government is the family business.

That got him in trouble with the county ethics board, which called for Berrios to fire three family members who are on his staff and fined him $10,000 for violating the county?s anti-nepotism ban by hiring two of them -- his son and sister -- after he was elected assessor in 2010.

But the Berrios family's presence on government payrolls goes far beyond that. In September, his nephew Stephen Berrios got a job working for the Cook County judiciary. That made him the 13th member of the powerful politician's family on a county or state payroll, a Chicago Sun-Times examination of government records shows.

And two of Berrios' siblings have recently retired from government jobs and now get public pensions. Count them, and that makes 15 members of the Berrios family who receive a total of more than $1.05 million a year in wages and pension payments, records show.

Just think for a moment. What if he had done this while working for a private company.

HE WOULD HAVE BEEN FIRED ON THE SPOT. But since he’s a friggin worthless government official he’s immuned.

It’s time to take matters into our own hands. The system is COMPLETELY broken.

But since he’s a friggin worthless government official he’s immuned.

Our liberal politicians have lost fear of open corruption. One reason is that the media no longer serves as a watch dog for corruption in both parties - only Repbulicans. Also, they have to be careful not to cross powerful corporations, union thugs and foreign people and governments.

The US media has become a central tool of political corruption on a National and global level in serving as a cover-up machine. They are careful to steer culture and politics left; and to not anger powerful corporations.

If someone CONSERVATIVE, with a keen sense of traditional American liberty, ethics and rule of law (that excludes ethically dummy libertarians) started a cable news program just focused on exposing corrupt politicans, government workers, and processes (without regard to party), and corrupt business practices, I think it would be popular. We need anti-corruption activist groups who can coordinate political action and bring legal consequences and prevention laws.

Berrios ...a brief written statement: "Family members working in government isn't new in Chicago...You are picking on the Puerto Rican kid from Cabrini-Green

Did not take long for the race card to be played.

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