Stroger diagnosed with cancer earlier than previously disclosed

July 5, 2007 - Cook County Board President Todd Stroger made a surprising
disclosure during a telephone conference call Thursday morning.

Originally, a Stroger spokesperson said the County Board President had been
diagnosed with cancer ten months ago. Stroger said Thursday that he was
diagnosed with prostate cancer in April or May of 2006.

The news conference on his prostate cancer recovery quickly turned into an
effort by Stroger to salvage his administration's credibility. Virtually
every question focused on why the county board president withheld
information about his illness.

"I never told you anything that wasn't true," said Stroger.

Using the same means of communication he reportedly has used to direct his
administration in recent weeks, Stroger held his first news conference since
undergoing prostate surgery via telephone. He spoke from his South Side home
where he is recovering in private with his family.

"My doctor says that all reports are good since the surgery and everything
turned out great," said Stroger.

Reporters were surprised when Stroger said his cancer was diagnosed last
April or May before Democratic leaders appointed him to run in the place of
his father and predecessor John Stroger. The elder Stroger suffered a stroke
before winning the party's nomination.

Todd Stroger said he did not tell anybody, including his peers, because he
felt the condition was not serious enough and he did not want to upset his
mother.

"To be honest with you, I did not want to discuss it with my mother while
she was going through her problems," said Stroger. "I didn't think my mother
needed another situation with a family member."

Stroger claimed to have not told his mother about his cancer until a week
after his surgery when she returned to Chicago from a vacation. That would
mean she was told days after news stories on the illness were broadcast and
published.

Commissioner Tony Peraica, the Republican who lost in the general election
to Stroger, said a candidate's cancer should always be disclosed to voters.

"I think the public does in fact have the right to know about a major
diagnosis like prostate cancer," said Peraica.

After initially calling the surgery "a routine medical procedure" and giving
no specifics, Stroger's staff later reported their boss was diagnosed last
August after he was appointed to run. Stroger blamed inexperience to explain
the misinformation of his diagnosis.

"That's the affect of a new administration and everything not coming through
me," said Stroger.

Stroger vowed that in the future all information about his prostate cancer
recovery would go through him before it is released. Stroger said he expects
to resume an abbreviated schedule in his office by next week.