January 23, 2020
Honorable Toni Preckwinkle
President, Board of Commissioners of Cook County
118 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60602
Dear President Preckwinkle,
It is with deep regret that I tender my resignation from the Cook County Board of Ethics,
effective February 26, 2020. It has been a great honor to serve on the Board since you
first appointed me in March 2016.
When I first began my service, I was honored to be in the company of Margaret Daley,
Juliet Sorenson and Executive Director Ranjit Hakim. Later, the Board added two
additional members of great integrity, Thomas Szromba and Von Matthews. I believe
that we were doing an excellent job of enforcing and strengthening the ethics ordinance
of Cook County.
Last Tuesday, I was advised that you have elected to terminate the services of Margaret
Daley, the Chairman of the Board of Ethics. You did so without so much as even doing
Chairman Daley the courtesy of a phone call. I can only surmise that your action was the
result of 1) Chairman Daley’s support of Lori Lightfoot in the past mayoral election, 2)
the hard line the Board of Ethics has taken with regard to violations of the ethics
ordinance by your friend, Joseph Barrios, and/or 3) the latest recommendations of the
Board of Ethics to strengthen the existing ethics ordinance, which, among other things,
brings it more in line with the serious effort by the City of Chicago to strengthen its own
ordinance.
In light of your action, it is clear that you do not welcome a Board of Ethics that is
serious about its duties. As such, it would simply be a waste of my time to continue in
my role with the board. As of February 26, 2020 you are free to fill my vacancy with
someone more likely to do your bidding.
Sincerely,
David Grossman
Member, Cook County Board of Ethics