Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica Loses Office Lease!!!

According to the Chicago Tribune, it looks like Cook County Board Commissioner Tony Peraica might have to find a new district office.

His County Board colleagues have voted to terminate the lease for Peraica's district office after the county Ethics Board alleged that Peraica's landlord donated more to his campaigns than allowed under an ethics ordinance.

In what he described as an effort to avoid a more costly legal battle, Peraica said he already has paid $4,500 to his landlord, Oak Brook businessman and Republican politician Asif Yusuf, to return in-kind contributions of office space to Peraica’s campaigns. Peraica did that after the ethics board concluded Yusuf’s contributions exceeded county limits.

But the Tribune and Commissioner William Beavers (D-Chicago), who is often at political odds with Peraica, later posed questions to the Ethics Board about further in-kind office-space donations from Yusuf to Peraica’s campaigns for higher office, and the panel took another look at the issue.

The Ethics Board now contends that Yusuf contributed an additional $28,000 to Peraica’s campaigns that exceeded the limits on how much county vendors can give to commissioners.
Peraica called the amount “just plain ridiculous” and said it’s the result of his political opposition to Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, who is Beavers’ ally.

“I don’t owe a single penny,” said Peraica (R-Riverside). “This is nothing but political nonsense