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Cook County Board Approves New Chief Financial Officer and New Chief Administrative Officer

1/31/2023

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Cook County Board Meeting
January 26, 2023

The Board approved:

President Preckwinkle’s appointment of Tanya Anthony as the County’s Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Anthony has been serving as the County’s Chief Administrative Officer and head of the Bureau of Administration. (23-0442)
The appointment of Zara Ali to replace Ms. Anthony as Chief Administrative Officer. Ms. Ali was previously serving as the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer. (23-0556)
The appointments of Mia Webster Cross and Tanya R. Sorrell to the Cook County Health Board. (23-0586 and 23-0595)
The County’s levy of property taxes in 2023. (Note: the Observer Report for the December 15 Board meeting mistakenly stated that this levy was approved then. It was actually referred to the Finance Committee, which then recommended Board approval at this meeting.) Commissioner Daley stressed that the County’s base property tax levy has been in place since 1994! (Item 23-0392)
The Justice Advisory Council’s acceptance of a grant of ARPA funds from the State of Illinois and use of that grant to enter into agreements with 39 entities for gun violence prevention programs: $5 Million to be received and used from Feb. 1 thru June 30 (the State’s fiscal year); and $25 Million from July 1, 2023 thru June 30, 2024. (Items 23-1174 and 23-0767)
The Public Health Department using up to $1 Million of the County’s ARPA funds to implement a Suburban Cook County Worker Protection Program that will provide information to workers to help prevent the spread of diseases, such as Covid. (Item 23-0937)
Authorizing the Chief of the Bureau of Economic Development to enter into a 3-year agreement with the Chicagoland Workforce Funders Alliance to establish a program called “Grow the Talent Solution Ecosystem.” The purpose is to provide employers with channels to meet their talent needs and to provide a directory of career pathway opportunities to employees and job seekers. $300,000 will be used from this year’s budget, and the Bureau will seek to use $300,000 in the 2024 budget and $125,000 in the 2025 budget. (Item 2023-0937)
A 5th amendment to an intergovernmental agreement with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District for the Sheriff to continue to implement a prescription drug take-back program. (23-0786)

The Board referred:

An update on the County’s Guaranteed Income Pilot Program to the Finance Committee. (23-0546)
The 2022 Annual Ethics Report to the Legislation& Intergovernmental Relations Committee. (23-0709)
Commissioner Degnen’s resolution to the Technology Committee that requires a cost comparison by the Board of Review and Bureau of Technology regarding having an interface between two systems vs. moving the Board of Review to the County’s Property Tax System. (23-1174).
Commissioner Gainer’s resolution to the Pensions Committee to discuss the financial implications of possible future pension legislation. (23-1178)

Public Comments included:

Several urging that the County replace the Columbus Day holiday with an Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Many of these same comments were given at the Legislation Committee meeting on Wednesday.
Audra Wilson, Chair of the Cook County Women’s Commission, highlighting the report for 2022 on the “Continued Support of Survivors of Gender-Based Violence” that was received and filed as recommended by the Legislation Committee. (Item 23-0563)
A Chicago resident who complained of the increase in rats near the area of the construction of the Obama Presidential Center. Commissioner Lowrey during the meeting reached out to people at the Center and he reported that they had assured him that steps were being taken to mitigate the increase in the rat population in the area.

Observer: Priscilla Mims

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Cook County Commissioners Focusing on Need for Data and Performance Measures

1/31/2023

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Cook County Board Committee Meetings
Jan. 24, 25, & 26, 2023

In several of the meetings of the Cook County Board Committees, Commissioners raised the need for more data and identifying up front what the goals and measures should be for determining whether particular programs were worth the expenditures. For example:

In the Health & Hospitals Committee, the Public Health Department reported on several campaigns, including those to boost the number of people who have obtained the latest Covid booster shot, and a “Here to Hear You” program with regard to providing mental health services. Commissioner Miller asked for a report at the next meeting on ways to track the impact of these efforts.
During that same meeting, Commissioner Miller asked where to look up where health disparities exist in the County. There is a Health Atlas that is published online by the County, and Commissioner Miller asked for a briefing on this at the next meeting.

In the Finance Committee, there was a long discussion about the extension and increase of a contract with Deloitte Consulting to provide recruiting and other related services for the Bureau of Human Relations. Commissioners Gainer and Degnen wanted to know how the Bureau will determine the degree to which the various marketing/recruiting strategies are effective so they can determine where to put their money in the future.
In a related topic, the same Commissioners, along with Sean Morrison, asked for data as to the time it took from when a department notified it had a need for an employee until the position is filled. The Commissioners asked that the information include any time that elapses prior to the posting of the job, including any time necessary to create a job description and any time necessary for the Budget Department to approve that the position is authorized under the department’s budget. Commissioner Gainer explained that having such data is crucial for determining where the process might be speeded up.

In the Technology Committee, Commissioner Degnen asked for a cost comparison assessment to analyze (a) the costs of maintaining two separate systems, including creating an interface between the Board of Review’s system and the County-wide Property Tax System which includes the Assessor’s office now and will encompass the other two offices involved with the property tax system (the Clerk and Treasurer) vs. (b) expanding the County-wide system to include the Board of Review. This request was formally included as an item on the next day’s Board meeting, where it was referred to the Technology Committee. (Item 23-1174)

During the Contract Compliance meeting, the consultants who prepared the Cook County 2022 Disparity Study gave a presentation. One of their recommendations is that the County develop performance measures for determining the success of the County’s affirmative action program. Commissioner Miller, Chair of the Committee, said that there would be a subsequent meeting to review the plan developed by the Contract Compliance Department to implement the Disparity Study’s recommendations.

Other Items of Note:

While the meetings are being held in the Board room, at each meeting there was a motion to authorize some of the committee members to participate remotely. However, in order to hold the meeting at all, a quorum (i.e. simple majority) of the committee members must be physically present. This proved to be a problem for the Subcommittee on Workers’ Compensation which had to postponed on Jan. 24, and again at a re-scheduled time on Jan. 25. The meeting was finally held on Jan. 26 when 3 of the 5 members were present in the Board room.
At the Finance Committee meeting, the Comptroller reported that the preliminary analysis of the revenues and expenses for the fiscal year ending November 30, 2022 shows favorable balances of $357 Million in the General Fund and $366 Million in the Health Fund. However, the Comptroller also pointed out that these balances are on a cash basis. Cook County Health uses the accrual basis, which provides a truer picture of the financial situation at Cook County Health.
During the Environment & Sustainability Committee meeting, at which the Environmental Commission’s 2022 Annual Report was received and filed, Commissioner Trevor raised the concern that multi-family buildings in the suburbs are not covered by municipal recycling programs. Commissioner Miller would like to get a list of municipalities that have recycling programs and those who do not.

Observer: Priscilla Mims

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Cook County Board Approves New Chief Financial Officer and New Chief Administrative Officer

Cook County Commissioners Focusing on Need for Data and Performance Measures

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