Cook County Commissioner Jeffrey Tobolski has resigned his leadership roles on several committees for the Cook County Board and the Forest Preserve District citing health issues.
The move was prompted by a Nov. 12 letter Board President Toni Preckwinkle sent Tobolski, asking him to step down from his chair and vice chair positions after missing a string of meetings since federal agents raided Tobolski’s Village Hall offices in McCook in September. Tobolski is mayor of the southwest suburb.
Tobolski is chair of the county’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Committee, Technology and Innovation Committee, the Veterans Committee and vice chair of the Labor Committee. The resignations were first reported by Crain’s Chicago Business.
In a letter dated Wednesday, Tobolski said he has taken “great pride in the legislative accomplishments throughout my tenure on the Board and several Committees. It has been a pleasure presiding over the various Committees and ensuring that County business is conducted efficiently.”
“However, current health issues have prevented me from attending recent meetings, and I feel it is best for me to make room for another Commissioner with the ability to devote more time to those Committees,” Tobolski wrote.
“Therefore, in the best interest of the people of Cook County and out of respect for my colleagues, I hereby resign as Chair and Vice Chair of the various Committees of the County Board and Forest Preserve District Board, effective immediately.”
This isn’t the first time Tobolski has cited health issues as reason for missing meetings. A January 2018 Sun-Times/ABC-7 report found Tobolski missed 28 percent of meetings over the previous five years.
“I almost died,” Tobolski said at the time. “I was just not physically able to get out of the hospital. … I think that’s a reasonable explanation.”
Federal agents were interested in the heating and air conditioning at Tobolski’s home, according to a search warrant released in October.
The day McCook was raided, feds also visited neighboring Lyons. Those raids followed ones of state Sen. Martin Sandoval’s Springfield office and Southwest Side home.
Like Tobolski, Sandoval has been largely missing in action. The state senator also relinquished his post as chairman of the Transportation Committee, though he will remain a member of the panel.
