Orlando Jones, the top aide and godson of former Cook County Board President John Stroger, parlayed his connections into a lucrative career as a behind-the-scenes government consultant with ties stretching from Chicago to Springfield and Las Vegas.
But in the last year, his quiet, insider role had brought him under more scrutiny of law enforcement, and on Tuesday he met with his lawyer to discuss how to refute allegations that he was involved in a contract scheme at a Las Vegas public hospital.
A day later, Jones, 52, was found dead on a beach in southwest Michigan, and authorities said they believe he shot himself near the vacation property where he had hoped to build a home.
A couple walking the beach found him at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, hours after his wife had called police when she found what Jones’ lawyer described as a suicide note at his Chicago home.
Jones’ death sent a shock through government circles, and both friends and acquaintances struggled with the notion that potential legal troubles would lead a hard-nosed veteran of the city’s tough political scene to take his own life.
“I’m not saying there’s foul play involved. I’m telling you if he did take his own life, there were demons haunting him that I was totally unaware of,” said his lawyer, Robert Stephenson. “Our conversation, part of it, was about the future.”
Last week, police in Las Vegas recommended that Jones be charged in an investigation into alleged corruption at the public hospital there, Stephenson confirmed. The local prosecutor is reviewing the police report and no charges have been filed.
Stephenson said he and Jones met for a lengthy lunch on Tuesday in The Village Squire restaurant in northwest suburban West Dundee to talk about the allegations involving the public hospital that had been run by a former Cook County official.
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Stephenson said they reviewed documentation that they were confident would refute the allegations.
Stephenson said Jones, who had two sons, seemed to be in fine spirits and that he talked about future business ventures. Jones recently had passed an exam to become a registered licensed investment adviser.
“This act is entirely inconsistent with our conversation at lunch,” Stephenson said.
Stephenson said that he was contacted by Jones’ family Wednesday and told that Jones did not come home Tuesday night. They also said Jones’ wife, Cerrelda, had found a note in his desk drawer. Stephenson said it outlined how Jones wanted his affairs handled after his death.
Jones was a longtime insider in Cook County government, where there is an ongoing federal investigation into hiring practices, and where a minority contractor scheme at the new public hospital has garnered criminal convictions.
Stephenson said Jones had not been approached by federal authorities regarding investigations in Cook County.
FBI agents in Chicago tried to interview Jones on Monday but he “politely” declined, according to spokesman Frank Bochte, who would not say what the visit was about. Jones’ attorney said the FBI visit was last week, and that the agents were merely seeking to have Jones contact Las Vegas authorities.
Jones left the county in 2001, having served in several capacities, including six years as John Stroger’s chief of staff. After he left, he went to work for Antoin “Tony” Rezko, who later came under federal indictment for an alleged corruption scheme at the State of Illinois and separately for his business dealings.
Stephenson said Jones has never been questioned by federal authorities in the Rezko investigation. In an interview in 2005, Jones said he was still friends with Rezko but that they had severed their business ties.
Political fixture in county
Shortly after his election as County Board president in 1994, John Stroger tapped Jones to be his chief of staff.
Years earlier Stroger had taken Jones under his wing, adopting him as his godson. Friends and associates say Jones was like another son to Stroger, whose elder son, Hans, died of an asthma attack in 1982.
Jones was also a top lieutenant in John Stroger’s formidable 8th Ward Democratic political organization. When his mentor suffered a debilitating stroke in the heat of his contested primary last year, Jones was key to preserving Stroger’s win.
Stroger’s younger son, Todd, declared victory on behalf of his stricken father the day after the primary. Thanking supporters in a crowded news conference, he singled out Jones’ efforts. The media-shy Jones, trying to blend with the crowd along the side of the room, offered a weak smile that betrayed his discomfort with the attention.
Backed by Democratic Party leaders, Todd Stroger went on to win his father’s seat.
Todd Stroger canceled a morning appearance Thursday as word of Jones’ death spread. “The Stroger family is saddened by the passing of Orlando Jones, godson to former Cook County Board President John Stroger and a longtime family friend,” Todd Stroger said in a written statement. “His passing is an untimely and unfortunate loss for those who knew and loved him, and he will be missed. Our prayers go out to his wife, Cerrelda, and his two sons.”
County officials and employees described Jones as fiercely loyal to John Stroger and an intelligent and deliberate man not prone to acting rashly.
Cook County Commissioner John Daley said Jones had a very good personal and professional rapport with County Board members.
“He loved government,” Daley said. “People always talked about his so-called politics. He never put politics ahead of the people of this county.”
Jones’ body was found near the bottom of stairs that lead down to secluded Gowdy Shores Beach, located off a private road in Union Pier, an area popular with vacationing Chicagoans.
Jones was found with a handgun in his hand and a single gunshot wound in his head, Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey said. Initial results from the autopsy and investigation indicate the death was a suicide, authorities said.
Jones brought his wife and kids to the area numerous times over the years and had hoped to build a vacation home there, said Vernon Levine, a friend who got to know Jones during their visits to Union Pier.
Jones had owned a vacant lot near the beach for several years but had decided to look for a bigger lot to build on, Levine said. A mutual friend saw Jones’ Lexus parked on the lot Wednesday but did not see Jones, Levine said.
“He loved going there for the beach,” Levine said. “He used to love going down to the beach right there.”
Las Vegas inquiry
In Las Vegas, Jones and his one-time business partner Martello Pollock were under investigation regarding an alleged phony billing scheme at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada.
The county hospital was run by Lacy Thomas, who had been the top administrator at Cook County’s Stroger Hospital and worked with Jones. Thomas has denied any wrongdoing in Las Vegas, and Pollock could not be reached for comment.
Among the firms that investigators were interested in was Crystal Communications Inc., a Chicago company run by Pollock that Jones once had an ownership interest in, according to public records.
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A spokesman for the Nevada hospital said this week that since 2004, the firm had received more than $82,000 in consulting contracts for communication work at the hospital under Thomas, who was fired after a critical audit of the hospital finances. Hospital administrators told Las Vegas police that Crystal Communications was one of several Chicago companies hired by Thomas that never completed the work they were paid for.
Las Vegas police issued a statement Thursday saying Jones was a friend of Thomas’ and a subject of their investigation, but their probe remained focused more on Thomas and others in the Las Vegas area.
Over the years, Jones was well-known under the Capitol dome in Springfield, where he represented a variety of clients in his lobbying business.
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