It’s the kind of score that storage auction addicts live for.
For $450, Chicagoan Chris Amer bagged it for himself last Wednesday, when he made the winning bid for a locker full of possessions that appear to have belonged to the late John H. Stroger Jr.
Gavels, photos, awards and even two replica Chicago Bulls championship rings that apparently belonged to the former Cook County board president were among the treasure trove auctioned off to settle unpaid storage fees.
“I didn’t know what we had until we opened up the locker the next day and saw a photo of Stroger with President Clinton,” said Amer, 38.
Amer, who makes a living selling items he buys at public auctions, said that when the dark locker was opened, bidders had just a few seconds to assess what was boxed up inside.
Just six of the 30 people present placed bids at the auction, which was at Metro Self Storage at 87th and Dobson – directly across the street from WVON radio, where Stroger’s son Todd hosts a radio show.
“I [originally] come from Ann Arbor in Michigan, so I didn’t know who Stroger was, but my co-worker saw a golf bag with ‘Stroger’ written on it, so we bid,” Amer said.
“It’s an incredible find.”
