by Amanda Griffin-Johnson

It looks like Cook County was counting its eggs before they hatched. The county recently found out seven contracts totaling nearly $175,000 would not be reimbursed by grants from the federal government. The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Now a strapped Cook County government is left with the final tab for seven contracts -- five awarded under a federal energy grant to promote the county's "green" initiatives and two to promote more than $10 million in federal 2008 flood relief, officials said.

That includes a contract given to CGC Communications Inc., the public relations firm privately owned by Stroger's Deputy Chief of Staff Carla Oglesby. She was hit with a one-week suspension for signing off on the contract.

During Tuesday's meeting, officials revealed that grant administrators rejected applications for reimbursement for those contracts under investigation. Chief Financial Officer Jaye Morgan Williams told commissioners that the county has "eaten" the costs.

Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer says this points to a gap in the system, since it's clear contracts and checks were handed out before anyone knew whether the grant would cover it.

"What I'd like to see happen from now on is before any grant dollars are spent, we need to assess whether it's appropriate and reimbursable," Gainer said.

You can read the full Sun-Times article here.