Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle suggested Tuesday her predecessor shouldn’t be able to collect unemployment just because he lost an election.

Preckwinkle’s administration says former president Todd Stroger applied in January to collect state jobless benefits based on his time in office. Stroger ran for re-election last year, but didn’t make it past the Democratic Primary. He lost that contest to Preckwinkle - and with it, a $170,000 annual public salary.

Preckwinkle said her administration is protesting Stroger’s application for state benefits.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for elected officials who lose elections to apply for unemployment compensation,” Preckwinkle said.

A spokesman for the Illinois Department of Employment Security has said he can’t comment on specific benefit requests. But he says elected officials can’t collect benefits based on public salaries.

Stroger did not respond to a request for comment.