The Missing Link

McMissing: Suburban pol Jeff Tobolski MIA for string of meetings following federal raid
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said she hadn’t seen the commissioner since a forest preserves meeting in September, a few days before the raid.

By Rachel Hinton Oct 24, 2019, 2:53pm CDT

Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski in 2011. File Photo. Rich Hein/Sun-Times



Since federal agents showed up at his door last month, Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski has worked on perfecting his disappearing act.

Tobolski, who also doubles as the mayor of McCook, has been a no-show at Cook County Forest Preserve meetings and County Board and committee meetings — including the one that happened the day the feds executed the search warrant on his McCook Village Hall offices. He also missed a village hall meeting for that southwest suburb, WGN reported.

Last month, Tobolski at least treated his fellow commissioners to a Buona Beef lunch for a belated celebration of his birthday after a County Board meeting — though he wasn’t there to join them for the festivities. At the meetings he missed this month, Tobolski left the lunch catering to someone else.Cook County Commissioner Jeffrey Tobolski, right, at a Cook County Board of Commissioners committee meeting last year. File Photo. Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

With two government jobs, Tobolski gets two taxpayer-funded salaries.

At a press conference following the Cook County Board of Commissioner’s meeting Thursday, Board President Toni Preckwinkle said she hadn’t seen the commissioner since a forest preserves meeting in September, a few days before the raid.

“My view is that it’s disturbing that Commissioner Tobolski’s offices have been raided, however, there hasn’t been charges brought against him,” Preckwinkle said. “Should there be charges brought against him, my response might be different, but in the current situation, it is my expectation that he will return to the body and perform his duties.”

Tobolski has been as silent as he’s been invisible. He didn’t respond to a request for comment on Thursday — or since the search of his McCook offices.

Earlier this month, an unredacted search warrant showed the feds were interested in the heating and air conditioning at Tobolski’s home.

The day McCook was raided, feds also visited neighboring Lyons. Those raids followed a raid on state Sen. Martin Sandoval Springfield office and Southwest Side home. The raids are related, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Like Tobolski, Sandoval has been largely missing in action.