Cook County Board Labor Committee             
May 12, 2026
(Also see the separate report for the other Committee Meetings on May 12 and 13)

The Labor Committee, in response to the Resolution in Item 26-1249, requested the County Elected Officials to report on the state of its labor force. They were asked to address: reducing the current vacancy rate and hiring timeline; reducing employee turnover rate; aggregate demographics of the official’s current workforce, limited to race and gender; collaboration efforts with labor unions on hiring initiatives; and pathway programs to create and sustain a future workforce. Below is a summary of those reports for each entity:

Human Resources (covering the Offices under the President) – 2,700 employees

• Vacancy: 14%; Timeline: 60 days for recruitment; 30 days from interview to onboarding; turnover 8.44%; average tenure about 10 years; male/female ratio balanced, diversity representative of community; have action plan to address any change in demographics

Processes in place to address recruitment and retention

• Introduced engagement (with 76% response from current employees) and exit surveys
• Managers hire; Union input on employee performance review process
• Emphasize countywide benefits, competitive salaries, some positions with hybrid work options, pension and vacation benefits, attractive health and wellness packages
• 1 year fellowship program with Northwestern and UofC; created entry level jobs for interns to join; work with CPS

Comm. Degnan asked for actual economic impact of maternity/paternity leave that was extended several years ago with an estimated cost of $3M.  Commissioners now have the opportunity to add interns to their staffs.

Cook County Health - 6,620 employees

• Vacancy: 19.8%; Timeline: 78 days; Turnover: 8.4%; Tenure about 10 years; staff predominantly female; 47% identifying black population

Processes in place to address recruitment and retention:

• Work with unions on hiring initiatives, updated job descriptions as jobs/duties change;
• Adapted Docusign and rebuilt Linkedin page to accelerate hiring process; reduce redundancies
• County supported programs include Provident Scholarship Fund -- scholarships with wrap around programs and mentorships; Health Catalyst program -- challenge grant w/City College providing 1 year externship; Project Rainbow with Google --18-month program to obtain Google certification for career in cybersecurity and data analytics

Assessor’s Office – 73 employees

• Vacancy: 13%; Timeline: 49 days from recruitment to hiring; use exit interviews, new hire and internal transfer surveys to assess job issues; majority female workforce; minority representation reflects community 

Processes in place to address recruitment and retention

• Monthly labor/management meetings to address/reduce grievances; quarterly classification review for job descriptions and levels; added 50 bargaining unit members at higher grades
• Added Dir of Recruitment and HR Director
• Use job fairs and public service panels to recruit; have new-hire cohort meetings
• Added skills assessments, eg., Excel, Word, etc., to process for more reliable info for hiring; also do criminal background checks; use surveys for feedback on hiring and transfers
• Engagement committee plans events for employees, such as Coffee & Conversation, Lunch & Learn, peer cheer celebrations
• Hybrid work opportunities
• Use internships and partnerships with local high schools and colleges to identify potential employees

In response to a question from Comm. Lowry, higher compensation is driver in those leaving.

Board of Review – 177 employees

• Management/Supervisory 12%, analyst/taxpayer services 65%, admin/support 13%
• Vacancy:  14; Timeline: 15 days; Turnover: 4%; Employee demographic reflects community

The following are processes in place to address recruitment and retention

• Continually review compensation structures; invest in workforce development, stability; growth and opportunity; promote employee professional education/certified staff
• Just completing first union labor agreement with SEIU

In response to a question from Comm. Anaya, will supply how many employees are bilingual and what languages.

Clerk of Circuit Court    1,400 employees

• Vacancy:  8.6%; Timeline: 45-60 days interview to first day; use enhanced screening; just did massive hire; Turnover: 1.8%; tenure: 18 years; majority women; majority black identifying

The following are processes in place to address recruitment and retention

• Follow employment plan; job fairs; standardized interviews; enhanced screening; skill-based assessment tests; reduce redundancies
• Added business agent; bimonthly meetings with union which includes education on hiring process, laterals and promotions
• All staff gets customer service training; rotate courtrooms for varied experience, focus on substantive training; have work/life balance sessions in lunch & learn; internal advising available for laterals and promotions

Comm. Stamps asked about testing – standardized math, verbal, reading comprehension, multiple choice; starting salary is $48,000

Cook County Clerk -- 200-500 employees depending on season

• Vacancy:  13.6%; Timeline: 49-60 days posting to hiring; Turnover relatively low; 40% male; 60% female; mostly diverse workforce; new deputy clerk dedicated to DEI

The following are processes in place to address recruitment and retention

• Continually review job descriptions; update interview questions; job fairs
• Cross-over training; career mobility opportunities/promote from within; responsive to employees’ concerns; regularly meet with staff; developing employee recognition program; conflict resolution and sexual harassment training
• Seasonal election workers in bargaining unit; encourage upward mobility with skills-based training; union input to reclassify jobs; quarterly management meetings

Comm Stamps wants more info on the effectiveness of using job fairs vs. cost and time/

Sheriff  -- 5,000 employees 

• Vacancy:  96 civilian, 148 sworn; Timeline: 73 days; use background investigation software to reduce time between application to training; HR reduced # classes from 8 to 6; increased size of classes; tenure – 13.5 years; Demographics reflects diversity of community

The following are processes in place to address recruitment and retention

• Large social media presence; 20 career fairs 
• Standardized orientation and onboarding; Learning and Development workshops for managers/leaders; annual performance evaluations via Benchmark software; employee engagement/development programs; partnerships with higher education, agreements to discount tuition; peer support
• 15 bargaining units; meeting almost daily w/different units.
• Internship program; good relations with college and universities in area; developing pipelines with Chicago Public Schools and area high schools 
• Stamps: in and out basically even; women leadership support; upper management diverse; training exceeds state standards re implicit bias and cultural competency; training in person and module

State’s Attorney -- 1,452 employees, 924 are Asst State’s Attorneys (ASA)

• Vacancies:  104 ASA, 5 investigator, 62 admin;istrative. Timeline: 40-45 day; Demographics: 62% female; 37% male; 47% black, 53% white and other
• 50 paid interns; 80 unpaid interns; 231 applications for summer interns; 96 accepted

The following are processes in place to address recruitment and retention

• Use centralized job postings; reducing redundancies; competitive compensation, benchmarking salaries 
• Structured onboarding and mentorship; regular feedback; leadership development; exit interviews to make sure address problems
• Union/management shared hiring initiatives; fair/transparent hiring criteria; equitable outreach; grievance-informed process improvement; mutual accountability on diversity goals; collaboration on offer and classification of work timelines.

Treasurer’s Office  -- 70 employees; 36 with foreign language, 13 languages

• Vacancy:  4 open; Timeline: 45 days recruiting to onboarding; Demographics: 58 white, 42 minority; 62% male
• Collaboration w/unions
• Work with colleges, Chicago Public Schools, law school fellowship opportunities
• Continuous training and engagement skills

Observer:  Hollis Burgess

Cook County Board Committee Meetings
May 12 and 13, 2026
(see also the separate report on the May 12 Labor Committee meeting)

Cook County Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee
May 12, 2026
Clerk’s Office Provides Update on 2026 Primary Election

At the request of the Cook County Board, the Cook County Clerk’s office provided an update on the March 2026 Primary Election.  (Item 26-1147) 
Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon provided a brief update via video

• She stated that the new system utilized by the Election Division of her office which was introduced for the March election is called Election Lens.
• The system will provide live updates from polling places; integrate the data from the Smart Mail-In Ballot Drop Boxes; and provide tracking for mail-in ballots. All the data from these sources will be integrated into Election Lens to provide a profile of how the election process is working and where there could be problems.
• AI is also being used at the call centers to expedite responses to calls. 

The CEO of KNOWiNK and Ed Michalowski, Deputy Clerk for Elections continued with the update. KNOWiNK is the company that makes the poll books the County uses for elections and is the company behind Election Lens. They provided a demonstration of how Election Lens will work making the following points:

• It will provide information on real time check-in of voters
• By integrating the data from the drop boxes for mail-in ballots all those ballots should be able to be counted on election day
• Provides tracking for all mail-in ballots in real time.
• Will assist with polling place readiness - to see how each precinct is operating and identify any problems. 
• There will be GPS tracking of all election equipment.

Questions from commissioners focused on who would be able to view the data collected. Would it be available to the general public? The Commissioners and their staff? The political parties? 

• Response was that those issues will need to be worked out and would depend on the type of data as well as ensuring security and privacy issues. 
• The head of Cybersecurity for the Clerk stated that the system has the highest level of security and they will be running a mock election this summer to further test the system. He also said they work closely with the Cook County Bureau of Technology to ensure they are in compliance with County regulations, and they meet with them monthly. 
• Comm. Britton asked how the integration of election results between Chicago and the County is progressing. Mr. Michalowski said it could be done if the Chicago Board of Elections is willing. Comm. Daley said that he is also requesting the Chicago Board of Elections to come before the Commissioners to provide their update. 

The Committee also approved a resolution that would initiate a process to engage an organization to develop a process to develop a youth council to provide a voice to the young people of the County. 

• It is intended that the council will consist of 20 young people between the ages of 14-21 and will launch in 2027. (Agenda Item 26-1017) Commissioners thought this was a good way to provide an administrative approach to engaging youth and wanted to be sure it had representation from all aspects of the County and a workforce component was also suggested. Comm. Lowry stated that the Commissioners would be asked for input into the development once the organizing agency was selected. 

Also approved was the appointment of Olive Brown as the Resident Commissioner to the Housing Authority of Cook County. (Item 26-1188)

​Observer - Cynthia Schilsky

Cook County Criminal Justice Committee Meeting
May 13, 2026
On Split Vote, Committee Approves Automated License Plate Readers & Services Contract

The Committee approved all 3 agenda items, but the first one seeking approval for an Automated License Plate Readers and Services Contract (26-1043) passed on a split vote with 13 ayes, 3 nays (Comms. Anya, Stamps, and Vasquez), with 1 absent (Gainer).  Under the contract, Insight Public Sector would continue to provide services and increase the number of stationary Automated License Plate Readers at a cost of $900,000 over 2 years thru (April 30, 2028) with 2 one-year renewal options. 

• There were several public speakers: three Police Chiefs in person and several chiefs online. All spoke to the importance of having license plate readers (LPRs) in their communities and across communities.  They referenced specific incidences regarding violent crimes, carjacking, hit and runs, and missing persons.  One chief said that LPRs are important for public trust.
• The County first contracted for cameras as an emergency procurement in 2022 when the County had a crisis with carjackings.  Commissioner Miller shared her own experience with being carjacked before cameras were available.
• Cook County already has 71 cameras deployed
• Concern was raised with data shared and how long it is kept. Currently held for 30 days unless there is a link with a crime.  Commissioners want to be notified if the Sheriff extends the 30-day retention.
• Concern was raised with misuse of the data in regard to targeting immigrants or people accessing abortion services. Data can only be accessed by others through FOIA or a court order/subpoena.
• If there is a data breach, the Commissioners want to be notified. Expectation is within 24 hours. 
• Cook County has its own Professional Services Agreement (PSA) which guides and restricts how data can be used.  Several Commissioners asked for a copy of the PSA and expressed concern with county data shared with 3rd parties.
• Other information shared about the cameras is there is no facial recognition, no capability to see individual people in the car, and it is not used for predictive policing.

The two other items passed unanimously by those at the meeting were:

• Resolution in support of Illinois SB2801/HB4471 which provides that a person commits the offense of unlawful possession of weapons when the person knowingly manufactures, sells, or offers to sell, purchase, receive, manufacture, import, or transfer a convertible pistol. Also provides that a machine gun also includes any convertible pistol equipped with a switch. If a switch is added to these guns they can shoot up to 1,200 rounds per minute. (item 26-1198)
• IL Criminal Justice Information Intergovernmental Agreement that provides for data sharing among local governments regarding community violence intervention programs under the Government Alliance for Safe Communities. The goal is to streamline metrics, investments and analyze local impact of community violence intervention strategies in Cook County and coordinate where resources go with the research partnership of Northwestern University. (Item 26-0553)

Observer:  Laura Davis

Cook County Health and Hospital Committee
May 12, 2026 
Committee Hears that Agency Use Is Down at CCH

• At this Committee meeting, Cook County Health Chief Human Resource Officer Win Buren and Executive Chief Operating Officer Craig Williams presented Cook County Health’s Semi-Annual Agency Utilization Report for the period of October 2025 through March 2026.
• Cook County Health (CCH) is required to provide a Bi-Annual Agency Utilization Report to comply with Resolution 24-5841 of the Cook County Board. The Board had a concern about the number of jobs being filled with people from external agencies, as opposed to County employees.  These bi-annual reports will no longer be required once CCH agency utilization does not exceed 20% of the budgeted Full Time Equivalents (FTE) personnel for each job classification approved in the annual budget by the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
• The overall trend is downward for agency usage for all job categories. 
• Job titles accounting for high % of agency usage are: Clinical Nurse I; Health Information Management Coder; Third Party Bill Follow Up Representative and Medical Laboratory Scientist
• Commissioner Daley asked for further information on the impact of absenteeism and usage of agency.
  
• Commissioner Stamps asked about effectiveness of the job recruiting fairs. Mr. Buren reported that currently 71% of newly hired nurses came through job fair events. 
• Nick Shields, Cook County Health’s Chief External Affairs and Civic Engagement Officer, said in response to Commissioner Stamps’ question about the health system’s work with high schools in Chicago and the suburbs that he is holding ongoing meetings with Chicago Public Schools and contacting suburban districts to set up preceptor and other student opportunities.

Observer:  Susan Avila

Finance Committee 
May 13, 2026
Committee Approves Reallocation of ARPA Dollars for Gun Violence Prevention

• To ensure all Federal dollars under the American Rescue Plan Act are spent, the Committee approved a reallocation of those dollars to increase the amounts to entities which have consistently provided timely financial and program reporting under the Gun Violence Prevention and Reduction Grants.  (Item 26-0554)
• Also approved a proposed contract for consulting services with ICF Incoporated for $5.9 M thru the end of 2031 to manage $244 M for unmet housing and recovery needs resulting from disasters that occurred in 2023-24.  It was stated that the County does not have the capacity to manage this on its own.  (item 26-1064)
• After a long discussion, approved a contract for law enforcement entry-level and promotional testing services for use by the Cook County Merit Board, which is responsible for doing the initial assessment that someone is qualified for an entry-level position or promotion in the Sheriff’s departments.  However, the Merit Board does not actually make the hiring or promotion decisions, which are with the Sheriff.  Much of the discussion centered on whether there are any requirements that someone who is hired and trained then works for some minimum time before leaving, as a result of discussions that occurred at the Labor Committee meeting on May 12.  However, that does not come under the Merit Board’s purview.  (Item 26-1014)
• Deferred was a Substitute resolution to continue the Recruitment Incentive and Retention Bonus Program.  Sponsors Anaya and Degnen explained that the deferral was to work out some language with the President’s office, but they expected that to be resolved quickly. (item 25-1251)
• The Comptroller reported that through March 31:  the General Fund has a favorable $261.7 M as compared to budget and the Health Fund has a favorable $27.7 M as compared to budget.  For this fiscal year, the Federal Government has cancelled $700,000 worth of one-time grants to the County.

Observer:  Priscilla Mims

Cook County Asset Management Committee     
May 13, 2026
Concerns Raised about Length of Time to Award Contract
The Committee approved a contract for demolition and renovation of buildings at Cook County Jail. (26-1057)   It was noted that it took 2 years from the time of the request for proposal (RFP) to actually awarding the contract.

• Commissioner Degnen asked what happened in the process for it to take so long.  Raffi Sarrafian, Chief Procurement Officer, did not have the details of the process and said he would get that information to her.  Commissioner Degnen said the Asset Management staff should have expected that a Commissioner would ask about the length of time and have that information ready for the meeting.

Jamie Meyers, Interim Bureau Chief of Asset Management, presented the annual report of the 2025 Build Up Cook Program.  The purpose of the program is to help municipalities maintain critical infrastructure such as water supplies, as well as assess future needs.   

• Examples of the work included: helping Harvey repair a major break in its water supply main; assessing public buildings for structural integrity with 24 municipalities; training water operators on maintenance and repair; and helping villages compete for federal funding for projects. The report was received and filed (26-1144)

Observer:  Kathi Graffam

Contract Compliance Committee
May 13, 2026
Committee Reviews Annual Diversity Report

• Raffi Sarrafian, Chief Procurement Officer presented the 2025 Annual Diversity Report which records the amount of contractual work and money going to women owned, minority owned, and small businesses (MWBE). The report was received and filed (26-0815)
• The Department has goals for inclusion of MWBE business in the procurement process with prescribed benchmarks but not quotas or set-asides. The methodology is used by many municipalities and is legally defensible.
• Of the total of $1.08B awarded for County contracts, $231M went to MWBE entities, which is 21%.  Separately, Cook County Health had a total of $1.6B in awarded contracts with $209M going to MWBE, which is 28%.
• The Department currently has 706 businesses certified as MWBE that can bid on work. The Department has a goal to increase that number. Asset Management consults with other departments on creating their contract requirements so that smaller businesses can participate.
• The Business Service Organization of the Economic Development Department provides support to businesses in getting their MWBE certification.

Observer:  Kathi Graffam

Cook County Environment & Sustainability Committee 
May 13, 2026
Committee Approves Resolution to Advance the Chicago Area Waterway System Ecological Health

This one item was passed unanimously (26-1238).

• The Chicago Waterway System is 76.1 miles of canal and modified natural rivers which are home to a variety of wildlife, plants and fish, with fish species, rising from 10 in 1974 to 77 species in 2026. This indicates significant improvements in water quality and aquatic habitat. 
• The next goal is to target “hot spots” from years of pollutants that drop to the river bottom. The work will be performed by the US Army Corps and US EPA and the resolution was passed last year by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and  by the City of Chicago earlier this year.

Observer:  Laura Davis