Cook County, Ill., commissioners say they are perplexed by a seemingly redundant proposal from the county board president about the medical examiner's position.

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The proposal from Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, which is scheduled to go before county commissioners for a vote Wednesday, calls for the coroner's office to be eliminated in favor of a medical examiner's office with the "top official" to be "selected by the board president with the consent of the county commissioners," the Chicago Sun-Times reported Monday.

However, commissioners said the coroner's office was eliminated in the mid-1970s and the medical examiner has been appointed ever since.

Commissioner Larry Suffredin said the proposal "is a surprise, and seems redundant ... There may be a technical reason for doing this that we're not aware of."

Suffredin said he does not expect the board to adopt the proposal.

"This whole administration becomes more of an enigma as it winds down," he said.

Stroger lost his bid for re-election in the February Democratic primary and in recent weeks one of his close aides was arrested for allegedly funneling no-bid contracts to her own company.

The Sun-Times said Stroger's office did not respond to calls for comment.