Email FOIA Requirements Mystify Cook County Board

Cook County Board of Commissioners Committee Meetings and Board Meeting - February 8, 2017
     Committee meetings include: 1. Workforce, Housing and Comm. Dev. 2.Business and Ec. Dev., 3.Criminal Justice,
           4.Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, 5.Rules and Administration, 6.Finance  7.Zoning and Building

Significant Decisions Made:

• After an objection by Comm. Schneider that the 2nd substitute ordinance on the subject had been presented to him 15 minutes before, and after an extended discussion about what the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) already requires, the Board adopted an ordinance creating a working group to establish final rules about the use and storage of emails, whether on the County’s server or on members’ personal email accounts.  The ordinance's sponsor, Comm. Suffredin had to explain repeatedly to his colleagues that their objections to the ordinance, relating to what emails might be discoverable under FOIA, were actually objections to existing law, by which they were already bound.   The working group’s job is to figure out how to keep County business secure and confidential while acknowledging that much of it is conducted by Boards and committees whose members don’t even have County e-mails.
• Comm. Boykin’s proposed ordinance to petition President Trump for Federal assistance to the three police districts with the highest rate of homicides mysteriously returned from committee as a vague appeal to the Federal government to continue to provide support for workforce development programs and to aid all County communities.  Boykin objected, saying the point was that specific communities most affected by gun violence should receive specific violence prevention resources, and several Republican commissioners echoed his objections; but the reworded toothless ordinance was adopted instead on a mostly party-line vote. Though never explained, apparently the concern was that Boykin’s ordinance would invite the President to send in the National Guard or increase policing.
• The Workforce, Housing and Community Development Committee approved and sent to the Board the Workforce Resource Ordinance, which requires businesses who receive money from County Tax Incentives to spend its first 7 days of hiring considering employees from within the population served by the Chicago-Cook Workforce Partnership, and to file an annual report on its success in hiring on this basis. (Agenda Item 16-5674)

Other Topics Discussed or Referred to Committee 

• A good thing to emerge from the conversation on the ordinance dealing with gun violence is, as Comm. Fritchey observed, that the Board was even having the conversation, discussing the problem of violence in Chicago: “We are the government of last resort.  We are the government of poor people.  No one else is paying any attention.”   

• Comm. Boykin’s proposal to create a Cook County Neighborhood Revitalization Authority was referred to the Finance Committee, which is a committee of the whole.  
• Comm. Arroyo’s proposal to reduce the number of employees with take-home County vehicles was likewise referred to Finance.

Other Observations:

• In public testimony, Stephanie Coleman from the Northwestern School of Law submitted a report to the Commissioners containing recommendations for ending gun violence.  The Community Renewal Society submitted written testimony in support of the report.
• In addition to Mr. Blakemore, who testified 7 times (once for each committee and once for the full Board), a woman from Warriors on the Watch in Englewood likewise testified every time public comment was permitted.  In each case, the gravamen of the testimony was that County Commissioners should do their jobs.

Observer - Kelly Kleiman                        Meeting Length: Committees - 9am to noon, Full Board - noon to 2:30pm