John H. Stroger Jr
PER
Stroger John H. Stroger Jr
Late Wednesday afternoon, Forrest Claypool conceded his challenge to the incumbent Cook County Board president, John H. Stroger Jr. In the Cook County Board race, Mr. Claypool, who was running against Mr. Stroger as a reformer looking to end patronage in county government, told his supporters on Wednesday at campaign headquarters that they brought them so close to victory against the old Democratic machine and that they were challenging virtually all the power brokers in Cook County and Chicago, but they ran a real grass-roots campaign. Mr. Stroger, 76, remains hospitalized in serious but stable condition after suffering a stroke last week. In unofficial returns, Mr. Stroger was leading Mr. Claypool by more than 21,000 votes, 52 percent to 48 percent.