Cook County Board of Commissioners Finance Committee - Departmental Budget Hearings
Day #7 - October 28, 2016        

Cook County Sheriff - presented by Tom Dart, Cook County Sheriff
Proposed Budget
FY17 - $633,359,903 
FY16 - $520,257,341    
Proposed FTEs
FY17 - 6,667 FTEs
FY16 - 6,772 FTE’s
In 2016 - Detainees in the Jail number about 8300 with approximately 2500 on Electronic Monitoring (EM)  
In 2010 - Detainees numbered closer to 10,000 in jail with only a few hundred on EM.

Key Information Presented:
Sheriff Dart gave a short presentation about how his budget is up while his jail population is down. He indicated the cost of overtime and the increase in special programs set up for detainees are the reasons for the budget increase. His officers are also spending more time helping other police districts, especially in the southern suburbs. Most of his time was spent answering the commissioners’ questions. He took all of the questions very seriously and gave thoughtful and expansive answers. When he did not have a good answer ready for a serious issue, he always said “I would welcome suggestions on how to handle this.” By appearing to not know everything about law enforcement and incarceration, he used his time to engage in a very thoughtful dialogue. The Commissioners who were present were Sims, Garcia, Boykin, Morrison, Silvestri, Schneider, Moore, Gainer, and Daley.

Questions/Comments from Commissioners:

• Comm. Sims asked about the “SAVE” program. The Sheriff said that it was aimed at detainees who were 18-23 years of age, male, and from high crime neighborhoods. These young men are asking for help in parenting and help in staying away from gangs. The Sheriff admitted to having problems keeping rival gangs apart when housing them on tiers in certain divisions. He said separation was easier when there were larger, more organized gangs in Chicago. Now these large gangs have lots of subgroups and it is difficult to determine gang loyalties.
• The Commissioner asked about alternative housing for jailed substance abusers and those detainees with mental health issues. The Sheriff appealed to the board for more funding to house these inmates outside of the jail, which he said was much cheaper than housing them inside. He also spoke of the need for more CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) training of all police in Cook.
• Comm. Silvestri asked about the mental health of the Corrections Officers. The Sheriff admitted to a higher than average suicide rate among his CO’s. Each CO is given a psychology screening upon hiring and then given support for any issues that come up during their employment by a peer support staff.
• The Commissioner asked about the abuse of sick time, especially during holidays and sporting events. The Commissioner asked if there was a correlation of employees getting migraine headaches and the Cubs being in the World Series. There was some laughter in the crowd after that remark, but then the Sheriff got serious.  He tried to tie attendance to promotions, but this did not seem to make a big difference. He admitted that sick time abuse is a terrible problem that he did not exactly know how to solve. He welcomed suggestions.
• Comm. Gainer asked about women’s programs in the jail. The Sheriff stated that women make up only 6% of total detainees and that number has not changed much since his tenure as Sheriff. He said that women do show more signs of mental illness than men (55% of total detainees who are female have some symptoms of mental illness, compared to 33% of men).
• Comm. Gainer mentioned STAR (Performance Management Goals) with regards to fee collections during the eviction process. The Sheriff stated that his fee collection numbers are similar to other counties.
• Comm. Schneider asked about the recent fight involving jail stabbings in Division 9 that led to some injuries of detainees and staff. The Sheriff said that he released the video of the incident immediately and that the fight had no serious injuries. This is a very maximum security division with some of the most dangerous detainees in the system. The commissioner complimented him on the timeliness of the video release.
• Comm. Boykin asked about gun violence in general. The Sheriff answered that this a very complex issue with lots of moving parts. Job training is one part and the Sheriff touted his Renew Program that trains detainees in carpentry and demolition skills. This program has helped to demolish or rehab many abandoned structures in the southern suburbs and Maywood. The Sheriff would like to provide opportunities to develop some job skills to all detainees.
• The Commissioner also asked about heroin overdoses. The Sheriff said that all of his officers will soon be trained to administer Naloxone (anti-dote) in such cases.
• Comm. Garcia asked about the problems of detainees on electronic monitoring who have to get to job interviews or other such necessary appointments. There are delays in reaching those in charge of those bracelets in order to “turn off” the mechanism temporarily. The Sheriff promised to look into this issue.
• Comm. Moore also asked about the recent stabbings in Div.9 and about the ERT officers (Emergency Response Team).  The Sheriff admitted to having stressed out officers in this division and to always having ERT staff in place there. He is also expanding this unit. The federal government is constantly evaluating the numbers of staffers in place and the length of their shifts. The Sheriff is also working out ways to keep his staff safe from detainees who like to throw bodily fluids at the CO’s (and some substances that are not so fluid). A 6 foot wall is sometimes used to deliver meals to the most dangerous detainees who use this method to retaliate against some CO’s.

Sheriff Dart concluded his remarks with an offer to all of the commissioners to keep the dialogue open and to reach solutions to these problems together.


Cook County State’s Attorney - presented by Gavin Ambrose, Chief of Staff for SA 
Proposed Budget
FY17 - $21,733,224
FY16 - $21,709,450
Proposed FTEs
FY17 - 1,327 
FY16 - 1,391

Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez did not show up for the State's Attorney budget presentation.  She had sent a written statement prior to the the meeting to all of the Commissioners. Those present (Daley, Boykin, Garicia Silvestri, Sims, Moore, Gainer, Morrison, and Schneider) did not want her statement read aloud by her Chief of Staff, Gavin Ambrose. Instead, Mr. Ambrose and other staffers did their best to answer the questions of the commissioners.

Written Statement: After the meeting I (the observer) was told that I could find the statement online under “Meeting Details”. The statement listed some of the achievements that the SA had completed during her 8 years in office. These included;

1. New state laws aimed at reducing straw purchases of guns (guns bought legally by one person and then resold illegally to another)
2. RICO laws used against gang violence. (anti-racketeering laws).
3. 75% reduction in arrests for misdemeanor drug crimes.
4. An increase from 8 to 30 in the number of alternative courts. (for mental health, and defendants with substance abuse addictions, for example).
5. Addition of a human trafficking prosecution unit.
6. The Conviction Integrity Unit, to fight wrongful convictions.
7. Community based prosecutions which involve solutions generated in neighborhoods.

Questions/Concerns of the Commissioners:

• Comm. Gainer asked about the success of the prostitution courts. Mr. Gavin said that this crime was now treated as a misdemeanor and this has been a success for women who complete the program of treatment. Loyola University is studying this program and analyzing the results. She also asked about the increase in time for disposition of most cases. It was admitted that the time was increased due to less staff.
• Comm. Garcia asked if the loss of investigators led to less prosecutions. Not so, said Mr. Gavin since the investigators are saved for the most violent crimes.
• Comm. Silvestri asked about the lesser amount of drug and property seizures. Mr. Gavin said that the Chicago Police Dept. is in charge of these seizures.
• Comm. Boykin asked about victims’ programs. Mr. Gavin admitted that budget cuts have cut both the witness and the victim programs. The state had some programs to help with this, however.
• Comm. Moore asked about appeals taking longer. A similar answer was given to this question as to the one asked by Comm. Gainer about the time increase for disposition of cases.
• Other questions were asked and answered about the racial breakdown within the staff. Also mentioned briefly was the issue of the slowness of civil cases.

Overall, it would have been better to have heard directly from the State’s Attorney. The answers given were not as in depth as they would have been had she been present.

Observer - Jan Goldberg

Finance Committee Meeting of the Cook County Board - February 9, 2016  

Significant Decision Made: 
The Committee unanimously approved a resolution calling upon the State's Attorney to:

1. Review existing court orders and consent decrees that authorize the State to make payments to see if any of these might cover payments to the County, or be amended to do so.
2. Research whether a cause of action could be brought to order the State to pay monies owed to the County.  

The resolution also calls for the Finance Committee to develop a plan for keeping the 2016 budget in balance despite the failure of the State to make payments and is scheduled to be voted on by the Cook County Board at their February 10 meeting.

Background: 
The County’s 2016 budget was balanced based on the expectation of receiving $225.2 million from the State.  However, as a result of the State’s fiscal crisis and the lack of a budget authorizing expenditures, the State is paying monies owed to the County very late, if at all. 

The main concern at the moment is that the County will not receive $31 million broken down as follows:

• $18.6 million from a combination of federal (70%) and state (30%) funds to cover a program for obtaining and enforcing judgements for "poor mothers to obtain child support."  This program encompasses 177 County personnel in the offices of the State's Attorney, Chief Judge, Clerk of the Circuit Court, and the Sheriff.  The Budget Department's slide indicated that 20,000 child support cases are filed annually and result in nearly $30 million in support payments from non-custodial parents.   The federal funds are not being received because they are dependent on Illinois paying its share of the funds for this program, which is not happening.  
• $12.6 million in direct state grants.  Of these, the ones that are causing the most concern are:

                     - $1.8 million for the Adult Redeploy program, 
                     - $2 million (to date, but more costs will be incurred) for the State's             Attorney's Appellate Assistance Program (which has to be done, so if the State isn't covering it, the County will have to)
                     - $2.1 million for the Department of Public Health to conduct inspections that are mandated by the State (so again, if the State won't pay, the County will have to)
                    - $1.8 million for a street project at 167th Street in Harvey that is already underway by the County, but for which word has been received that state funding (previously granted) will not be coming. 

Observer: Priscilla Mims

Cook County Board Meeting, 12/16/15
Observed by:  Nancy Marcus

Significant Decisions Made: 
Item 16-0557 Cook County Board meeting schedule for 2016.  The calendar was approved, there will be 15 meetings, 1 meeting per month including July and August and 2 meetings in the following months: March, June, and October.

Two items proposed by the Justice Advisory Council were approved:

• An extension of an existing contract for The Thresholds Bond Court Pilot Project, a project with the Justice Advisory Council and Cook County Public Defender’s Office. The project assists individuals who are receiving treatment for mental health issues. These individuals are facing criminal charges and are awaiting determinations of bond and conditions for release in the Central Bond Court.
• The services of 6 Bond Court Backlog Clearance Specialists to investigate individuals who have low bonds set, but have remained in jail for an extended period of time due to failure to post bond. This project is a collaboration with the McArthur foundation, the Justice Advisory Council, and the Safer Foundation.

Item 16-0574 an approved as amended resolution sponsored by Commissioner John Fritchey and Jesus Garcia. This is a request to the Cook County State’s Attorney to appear before a hearing of the Criminal Justice Committee to discuss the investigation and indictment in the LaQuan McDonald case. Commissioner Fritchey introduced an amendment to this resolution, waiving the 24-hour rule, to delete all reference to the LaQuan McDonald case and add that the State's Attorney appear to discuss the investigation and handling of alleged police misconduct matters. There was discussion as to whether this is an appropriate request. Gavin Ambose, Chief of Staff of the State's Attorney Office, stated an objection to this request..


Item 16-0420, is a report from David Orr, County Clerk and approved by the Commissioners regarding the proposed confirmation and appointment of Election Judges.


Item 15-5906  ordinance, Liquid Hazardous waste ordinance and fee. The Commissioners concurred with the Environmental Control Committee to approve this ordinance.
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Significant Topics Discussed and/or Referred to Committee:

Item 16-0475 is a proposed ordinance sponsored by Commissioner Richard Boykin, This is to amend section 2-331 of the Cook County Guidelines for Special State’s Attorney pertaining to the prosecution of alleged offenses by members of the Police Department. Since there could be a presumption that the CC State’s Attorney has an interest in the case; therefore, the appointment of a Special State's Attorney should occur. This was referred to the Criminal Justice Committee.

Item 16-0577 proposed resolution sponsored by Commissioner Richard Boykin, calling on the Circuit Court of Cook County to appoint a Special State’s Attorney to handle the prosecution of Officer Jason Van Dyke. In light of the Tribune Editorial   (Wednesday, December 16,2017) written by Chief Judge Timothy Evans, stating why he could not appoint a special prosecutor, this was referred to the Criminal Justice Committee.

Unexpected Votes, Events, Testimony or Items to Watch for in the Future:
Emily Harris, Executive Director of ADA 25 Chicago, testified in support of the renovations of the Cook County Board Room. Adam Baler of Access Living also testified in favor of the renovations.

Any Other Comments or Observations:
The meeting was 2 1/2 hours; 1 hour of the meeting was the Consent Calendar.