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The Sheriff Gets a Helicopter and Cook County has a Clean Audit

7/29/2024

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Cook County Board of Commissioners Committee Meetings
July 24, 2024

Finance Committee

Carrianne Carallis, Director of Research, Operations and Innovation, outlined the new process to review and revise performance management goals and measures. The objective will be to align the measures with the stated mission of the department in the budget book. They are going to start with the Economic Development Department and plan to review all departments under the President by the end of the fiscal year. Then they hope that the elected offices will also participate. Commissioner Gainer said they should address the measures in Human Resources since money is being spent to improve the process. Deloitte is consulting with that department. Commissioner Daley said the elected offices should be included, especially focusing on the technology programs such as in the Court system. Commissioner Miller asked if there were standards for the Justice Advisory Council grantee reviews. She also asked if ARPA has standards for performance evaluation. The ARPA reporting requirements focus more on finances.
The County’s Fitch bond rating has improved from AA- to AA. This will help with the impending issuance of sales tax revenue bonds.

Criminal Justice Committee

One of the public speakers was Carlos Ballesteros, a reporter for Injustice Watch, who has been investigating the high number of deaths at the jail and urged the Commissioners to hold a hearing on the issue.
The Commissioners recommended for full Board approval the purchase of a helicopter for the Sheriff’s Office for $11.3M. Currently, the Sherriff shares one helicopter with Chicago. Chicago has 4 additional helicopters. There was a lot of discussion about the cost of the helicopter’s ongoing maintenance, fuel, and pilot costs. The pilot can be a civilian and would be accompanied by two tactical officers. There will be an additional request for money in the budget for those items. Jason Hernandez of the Sheriff’s Office explained that they have to know the model of the helicopter to be purchased in order to calculate the other costs. They anticipate it will be $3.1M/year. A helicopter reduces the need for high speed car chases, facilitates searches in wooded areas, and can be used for patrol and other emergencies. It will be delivered in second quarter 2025.

Health and Hospitals Committee

LaMar Hasbrouch, M.D. reported that they are tracking four difference communicable diseases: Covid, H5N1 (bird flu), Mpox, and West Nile Virus. Incidences of Covid are still low in Cook County but Dr. Hasbrouch explained that the variants change and so those people who are more vulnerable should get another vaccine this fall.
The agency has five points of surveillance of standing water for West Nile Virus throughout the County. There has been one case this year. They have a program called Fight the Bite, educating schools and other groups to protect themselves against mosquito bites and eliminate standing water.

Asset Management Committee

The department is working with vendors to install electric vehicle charging stations in suburban Cook County. The vendors will charge for the service. There was discussion about the two power levels of the charging stations and where they would be placed. Commissioner Moore asked that some should be put in his district as there currently are very few and that they should be the higher- level charging station that requires a shorter time for the charge, as residents would not be able leave their cars for a long period of time. Commissioner Degnen recommended that more charging stations be put in the County buildings to facilitate the County fleet being converted to electric vehicles.

Audit Committee

The RSM US LLP audit manager presented the report of the comprehensive financial audit for the County. It was a clean audit. There were reporting errors discovered and the relevant departments accepted the findings and put in additional controls. He stated that the workman’s compensation liability for the County is $1.3B. Commissioner Gainer asked if he could break down the components of the pension liability increase to headcount, recent salary increases, and investment income/loss. The auditor did not have that specific information, but thought the County analysts could provide it to the Commissioners.
A previous finding of insufficient monitoring of systems access for employees that moved to another department or were terminated was discussed. The controls were better in this audit. Commissioner Anaya asked more questions about how the controls were improved. Currently a paper form has to be completed by the supervisor and there is a 90 day completion deadline, which the Commissioner commented was too long especially for a terminated employee.

Contract Compliance Committee

Director Mandeville reported on the current lawsuits in other states that are challenging MWBE programs and the potential effects on the County’s program. Her department is working to help MWBE and all smaller vendors learn how to navigate doing business with the County. They are making informational webinars open to all vendors. The County needs to address how to make it easier for any small business to participate, such as breaking down contract amounts into smaller units.

Emergency Management & Regional Security Committee

The executive director, Ted Berger, explained the updated multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan. 125 municipalities and agencies are participating including the Forest Preserve and the MWRD. The group cooperates in dealing with issues such as the recent flooding in the County.

Observer: Kathleen Graffam

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Commissioners Hear about Impact of Assessor’s Change to Definition for Some Mixed-Use Buildings

7/26/2024

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Cook County Board Committee Meetings
July 22, 2024

Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee

Most of the meeting centered around the change made by Assessor Fritz Kaegi in the fall of 2023 to the definition of buildings under the 3-18 subcategory for buildings containing commercial and residential uses. As a result of this change, some properties no longer qualified as a 3-18 and had a significant change in their assessed value and resulting tax bills because residential property is assessed at 10% of the value and commercial property is assessed at 25% of the value. The change was made under the Assessor’s rule-making authority.
Two main objections were raised by public speakers, in addition to the speakers providing specifics as to how they were adversely impacted: (1) the lack of public input prior to the change, and (2) the Assessor’s use of a rule change rather than coming to the Board for a change to the County ordinances.
The Assessor started his presentation by saying that the Cook County property tax system is unnecessarily complex, even as compared to other counties in Illinois, in part due to the different assessment levels for commercial and residential properties. However, on the plus side, the Assessor said that the much smaller level for residential properties can incentivize expanding and maintaining residential units.
The Assessor and his staff explained that Assessors have long used their rulemaking authority to create sub-categories for properties under the main categories that are fairly broad under the County ordinance in order to be able to assess properties with common characteristics similarly. The Assessor said that the change to the definition under the 3-18 subcategory was made to respond to an investigation by the Office of the Independent Inspector General in 2022 which found that some mixed-use properties were being assessed at the 10% level even though the majority of the space was used for commercial properties. The Assessor said that the change in definition was to close this “loophole” and the Assessor used the rule-making authority to quickly make the change to have it in place in time for the start of the triennial reassessment of the South and West areas of the County.
Commissioners raised questions regarding (1) the Assessor’s decision to use rule-making authority (but did not appear to question that authority) as opposed to talking to the Commissioners about a possible ordinance change, (2) the failure of the Assessor to communicate the rulemaking changes to the Commissioners so they would know about this before they heard from constituents, (3) the use of the limit of 35% for the commercial area of the property under the new 3-18 definition, and (4) how much communication and outreach the Assessor had done when making the change. The Commissioners pointed out that property owners would not necessarily have understood the impact of their change in classification until the 2nd installment bill arrived this July. Also, the Commissioners said that there cannot be too much communication.
Commissioner Morita (and possibly others) said she would work with the Assessor’s office to look closer at the new definition and whether an ordinance change was appropriate and said she expected that options could be presented to the Board in September.

Workforce, Housing, & Community Development Committee

The Committee recommended for full Board approval two proposals to use HOME investment Partnership Program funds for (1) an 80-unit affordable housing development in Franklin Park ($1.75 M), and (2) a 42-unit affordable senior housing development in Hillside ($2.5 M). (Item # 24-3370 and # 24-2891)
There were a number of public commentators against the Hillside development objecting to (1) the use of this property which would be exempt from local property taxes, thereby eliminating the opportunity to have a taxable use of the property which could reduce the local school taxes on Hillside residents, (2) the fact that there are no public transportation options nearby, and (3) allegations of wrongdoing by the developer that had been raised at a prior meeting which caused this item to be deferred.
Susan Campbell, the Director of the County’s Department of Planning and Development, said that they had investigated the previously-raised allegations and the Department was satisfied there was no evidence of any impropriety. Commissioner Trevor pointed out that there are many sections of Suburban Cook County that lack public transportation and that should not be a bar to making investments in needed housing.

Observer: Priscilla Mims

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Committee Makes Appointment Recommendations for Approval by Cook County Board

7/11/2024

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Cook County Board of Commissioners (CCBC)
Committee Meetings
June 12, 2024

Legislation and Inter Governmental Relations Committee
Several appointments were voted on and recommended for approval by the CCBC. The recommendations were:

Tirrell Paxton, Independent Inspector General, Office of CC Independent Inspector General, for a term from 6/17/2024 to 6/16/2030 (Item 24-3215),
Dr. Sage Kim, as Director to CCH Board of Directors to complete the partial term from 6/13/2024 -8/1/2025 (Item 24-313)
Rachel Sinnen to Cook County Board of Ethics for a Term from 6/13/2024-6/13/2028 (Item 24-3202).

Finance Committee

Received update from Comptroller Dean Cosentino on Cook County Health (CCH) reporting that it has a favorable balance at this time, that the State of Illinois owes CCH millions of dollars and there has been a $10M decrease in the amount owed. Health Fund has a favorable balance with a 21.5% higher than budgeted enrollment in County Care.
The Long-Term Revenue Forecast Quarterly Report (24-3092) indicates that the general fund revenues are predicted to be lower in the long term with the specter of slower growth which impacts sales tax collection.
Impact Summary was provided on Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt (CCLAHD) (24-3030). Its goal was to keep people stably housed in the Covid19 crisis, led by Comm Suffredin, Daley, and Annaya and was an AARPA investment. It was stated that CCLAHD serves as a model in reimagining ways to provide services in its Early Resolution Mortgage Foreclosure Program, using cross collaboration with the courts as a partner to reduce homelessness, reduce vacant properties by preventing evictions and foreclosures/slow the process and to provide level of service appropriate to the client and circumstances of the case, fair and better court processes, case managers for conflict resolution and coordinating services. More than 75,000 people have been served. 7300 fewer cases since 2022 were placed with Sheriff’s Office for eviction, a 23% reduction. Commissioners were provided with a folder of materials and a slide show was used that was readable on the observer’s iPad. Com Daley gave commendations regarding the program and expressed concerns regarding funding sources beyond ARPA monies. Com. Annaya noted the thoughtful planning involving multiple partners and thanked the Bureau of Economic Development for their participation. Com Britton mentioned work is being done to utilize public libraries as an option for court appearances. He stated that this is an example that Cook County government is about improving access to services, including States Attorney, Courts, and Sheriff’s Offices. Com. Sean Morrison offered his compliments and concerns about future funding. He also indicated that municipalities get notice first regarding eviction and noted the need to ensure all communities know about this resource.
Grant management services contract in the amount of approximately $899K, spent over 2 years was recommended for approval (24-2115). This had the concurrence of the Chief Procurement Officer. The goal is “to redesign grant management infrastructure of Cook County to promote maximum grant fund recovery and compliance with federal and state regulations”
There was much discussion regarding the Arts Alliance Illinois agreement, reducing its budget and entering sub recipient agreement with Local Initiatives Support Corporation Chicago-ie LISC Chicago- and a resolution (24-1676) was recommended for Board approval after an overview was provided by LISC Chicago and discussion with the Board. This authorized the Bureau Chief of the Bureau of Economic Development to amend the Art Alliance agreement and enter into a new subrecipient agreement with LISC Chicago for Cook County Arts for up to $2.3M through 2026 to provide technical assistance to projects that support the arts in suburban Cook as well as administer and distribute grants to advance these projects; this broadens LISC Chicago’s focus to the suburbs. Com Daley stated that going forward, recipients should be present anytime grants are to be awarded.

Audit Committee

Mary Modelski, County Auditor, presented reports to the Audit Committee which were received and filed.
These several reports monitored progress with compliance on specific metrics. For example, 24-2210, Medical Examiners audit was to assess internal controls over cash process to see if it was adequate. It was found that inadequate communication between the ME office and the Dept of Revenue relating to bounced checks needed to be rectified. Recommendation was to add additional tracking measures regarding when contact was made, and how the situation was addressed.
Another example was an assessment of services provided by a security vendor, whether it was following the scope of contracted services. Modelski stated management accepted all recommendations from reports.

Environment and Sustainability Committee

Recommended approval of a resolution requesting a hearing on the updated Cook County Solid Waste Management Plan (24-2870). A 45% waste diversion rate is the goal for 2030; the County is currently at 27%. The southern area of Chicago has less than 4yr space available in landfill. Among the recommendations to support management in the south suburbs is to fold into a joint action agency that would include technical assistance and coordinated strategies.
There was discussion about plan to open additional Centers for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHARM Centers), similar to the one at South Suburban College, perhaps located on campuses of junior colleges. South Suburban Mayors Assoc reported a decrease in illegal dumping since CHARM was opened.
Recommendation for Approval of a Proposed Memorandum of Agreement Climate Pollution Reduction Agreement (24-2832) between the Chicago and Cook County in applying for a US EPA grant. The City of Chicago is the lead agency for the application. The grant request is for $200M. This proposal is focused on three areas: 1) industrial decarbonization programs, 2) decarbonization of public facilities, and 3) diversion of food waste from landfills. This was recommended for Board action.

Other Items of Interest:

Recommended items for approval in Finance Commt. included several related to housing.
Committee meetings began at 9:10am. The Observer stopped at 2:53pm when CCH Public Hearings were starting.
There was public testimony at the start of the Finance Committee meeting, including someone who received help from CCLAD.

Observer: Carolyn Cosentino

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The Sheriff Gets a Helicopter and Cook County has a Clean Audit

Commissioners Hear about Impact of Assessor’s Change to Definition for Some Mixed-Use Buildings

Committee Makes Appointment Recommendations for Approval by Cook County Board

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