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Lake County board member charges racism over vote
Outburst came during discussion of president's health care reform plan
By Russell Lissau | Daily Herald Staff
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Lake County Board member Mary Ross Cunningham, a Waukegan Democrat


John Starks | Staff Photographer
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Published: 9/1/2009 5:00 PM | Updated: 9/1/2009 8:38 PM

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In a long and agitated outburst, a black Lake County Board member Tuesday accused the panel's health committee of not supporting a proposed resolution concerning President Obama's health care reform plan because they're racist.

Toward the end of what previously had been a typically civil meeting, Waukegan Democrat Mary Ross Cunningham attacked her fellow committee members for not backing a model resolution endorsing the administration's "health care reform principles."

Several committee members said they weren't fond of the resolution because the health care plan is a federal issue, not a county matter. But Cunningham said they were against it because the draft she presented was promoted by the National Association of Black County Officials.

"When I saw 'black,' I knew then it wasn't going to fly," Cunningham told the group.

The comment, part of a seemingly unstoppable diatribe, was denounced by other panelists and later by committee leader Steve Carlson.

"I think it was unwarranted and I think it was untrue," Carlson, a Gurnee Republican, said after the meeting.

Committee member Linda Pedersen said Cunningham went too far.

"It has nothing to do with race," said Pedersen, an Antioch Republican. "But unfortunately, she thinks it does."

Cunningham, the vice chairwoman of the health committee, is one of three black county board members but the only black person on the committee. The other black county commissioners are Angelo Kyle of Waukegan and Audrey Nixon of North Chicago, all Democrats.

Health committee member Michelle Feldman didn't think Cunningham's comments were appropriate but didn't take them personally.

"Sometimes we get emotional over things that we have borne our entire lives," said Feldman, a Deerfield Democrat. "And I think that was emotional."

Health care resolutions have been considered or adopted by government agencies across the country, including the cities of Durham, N.C., Kansas City, Mo., and Miami.

They typically have addressed the millions of people who are underinsured or uninsured and the rising costs of health care. They also have called for Congress to enact the reform legislation.

Assistant County Administrator Amy McEwan said the administration did not favor the resolution. She compared it to a request by activists last year for the board to adopt a resolution in support of the Second Amendment, which protects the rights of Americans to own guns.

The county board took no action on that request, with members saying it was a federal issue. McEwan made a similar case Tuesday about the health care plan.

"There are hundreds of issues we could get involved in that aren't our business," she said.

Cunningham objected to the comparison.

"Guns is violence," she said, the volume of her voice rising. "This does not compare to guns. It's about your health."

After Cunningham commented about the resolution being promoted by a black group, Carlson repeatedly tried to interrupt her and get the meeting under control, but she refused to be silenced for several minutes.

She even threatened to sue Carlson for trying to quiet her, claiming she had a First Amendment right to speak.

The committee eventually split 3-3 over whether to direct the staff to draft a resolution for the county board. The tie killed the proposal.

Vote: Board compares health resolution to gun measure last year
Lake Co. official willing to apologize after accusations of racism
By Russell Lissau | Daily Herald Staff
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Lake County Board member Mary Ross Cunningham, a Waukegan Democrat


John Starks | Staff Photographer
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Published: 9/2/2009 3:26 PM

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* Lake County board member charges racism over vote [09/01/09]

A day after a racially tinged public outburst, a Lake County Board member on Wednesday said she'd apologize to any of her peers who viewed her remarks as an accusation of prejudice.

"I wasn't calling them prejudiced," said Waukegan Democrat Mary Ross Cunningham, who is one of three black commissioners on the 23-member board. "If they took it that way, I will apologize."

During a meeting of the board's health committee on Tuesday afternoon, Cunningham attacked her fellow panelists for not supporting a proposed resolution endorsing President Obama's "health care reform principles."

Several committee members said they didn't think such action was necessary because the health care plan is a federal issue, not a county matter. But Cunningham said they opposed it because the draft she presented was promoted by the National Association of Black County Officials.

"When I saw 'black,' I knew then it wasn't going to fly," Cunningham told the group Tuesday during an angry diatribe.

Several board members took Cunningham's remark as an accusation that they're racist. It prompted an immediate outcry and was denounced by several members of the panel.

"It's out of line," committee member Linda Pedersen, an Antioch Republican, said afterward. "That certainly is not the reason we're not supporting (the resolution)."

During a telephone interview Wednesday, Cunningham said she wasn't calling the committee members racist.

Even so, Cunningham wouldn't elaborate or explain the comment other than to say "it was just a word I said."

When asked if she really believed the commissioners opposed drafting the resolution because the group promoting it consists of black people, she said, "Yes and no."

Cunningham initially was reluctant to apologize but said she would "if they thought I thought they were prejudiced."

Cunningham said she likely would approach the members individually. If the issue comes up when the full board meets Friday morning for a committee-of-the-whole session, she said she might apologize then.

"I don't know, because it might not even come up," she said.

Cunningham said another apology is in order: one from health committee leader Steve Carlson, who repeatedly tried to quiet Cunningham during her tirade Tuesday.

"Steve needs to apologize to me for the way he speaks to me," she said.

Carlson, however, maintains he gave Cunningham more than the usually allotted time for her to talk at the meeting and was polite, even when he asked her to allow another commissioner to speak.

He said he would accept an apology from Cunningham, if one is offered.
I'd like to hear from the National Association of White County Officials on this issue. What's that? There is no National Association of White County Officials? Oh, I'm just kidding--that would be racist.
Ya know harold, I have OFTEN thought the same thing. We must be careful not to be racist.
Oh, there is one. You just have to be of a certain caliber to join---- :lol: Most of them are bi-racial.