Special Cook County Board and Finance Committee Meetings
November 16, 2023

Completing a process that began this summer, the Cook County Board unanimously passed a budget for fiscal year 2024 totaling $9.26 B on November 16, 2023.  This budget contains no increases in taxes or fees.  It does continue to utilize ARPA funds of about $682 M, mainly for special programs, as opposed to ongoing operations.  However, as part of this budget, the County has also begun setting aside some funds for future use to continue those ARPA programs that are deemed most beneficial beyond 2026, when no further ARPA funds may be spent.  See the Observer Reports on the Budget meetings that were held on October 24 thru 26 that are posted on this web site for more information about the initial proposed budget. The 2024 fiscal year begins December 1, 2023.

Amendments to the Original Budget Proposal
The $9.26 B budget passed reflects an increase of $126 M over the initial budget proposed by President Preckwinkle in October as a result of 7 of the 22 amendments approved at the Finance Committee meeting:

• $100 M comes from allocating more of the excess in the Fund Balance at the end of FY2022 for a new Disaster Response and Recovery Special Purpose Fund that was approved at the Special Board meeting immediately prior.  Monies from this fund may only be used after a Disaster declaration at the County, State, or Federal levels.  (23-5710)  
• Pursuant to Budget Amendments #6, 7, and 8, $70 M of the total $100 M for this new Fund is allocated for new arrival health care costs which are over and above the $24 M already in the budget; $20 M is allocated for Suburban local governments’ costs in dealing with disasters, including support for new arrivals; and $10 M is allocated for disaster response and recovery due to events in FY2024.  These amendments drew the most discussion, with Commissioner Gainer asking questions as to how and who would determine when funds were to be expended, particularly with regard to funds to local governments.  The Director of Emergency Management and Regional Security and the Chief Financial Officer, in consultation with the President, will be making the determination. Quarterly reports will be provided to the Board on any such expenditures.
• Other additions to the budget are $17.5 M for capital expenditures (Amend. #5); $5.2 M from Special Purpose Fund Balances to increase expenditures from those funds in 2024 (Amend. # 2); $2.6 M in additional grant monies were identified (Amend. #4); and $818,918 from collections of special assessments on property taxes for C-PACE, which allows property owners to finance the cost of energy or other eligible improvements up front, with payback through a special assessment on their property taxes (Amend. #13).

In addition to these Amendments which increased the overall budget, other amendments moved dollars around from original line items.  Those amendments include;

• Adding a Manager of Purchasing & Operations and 3 administrative assistant positions (one for each Commissioner) to the Board of Review.  (Amend. #15)
• Adding a Special Assistant for Legal Affairs under the Office of the Secretary to provide legal assistance to the Cook County Commissioners.  (Amend. # 17)
• Increasing funding by about $1 M for Doula/Social Support Services in Cook County Health to improve maternal morbidity/mortality rates for women. (Amend. #19).  Several people spoke and submitted public comments in support.
• Adding dentistry positions for the Oral Health Program under Cook County Health that visits the clinics.  (Amend. #20)
• Funding the new ARPA program for the Food for Medicine initiative that was approved at the prior day’s Health & Hospitals Committee meeting.  (Item 23-5723 and Amend. #18)
• Adding $900,000 to the Veterans Assistance Commission. (Amend. # 9)

Public Speakers at the beginning of the Special Board Meeting included

• Sarah Wetmore, Acting President of the Civic Federation, said it supports the budget, but expressed the following concerns:  (1) the General Fund’s increasing reliance on sales tax revenues; (2) the County’s staffing shortages which result in higher costs for contractual services; (3) the need for a unified property tax office; (4) the high costs associated with unincorporated areas within the County; (5) the need for Cook County Health to increase transparency by reflecting the full County monetary support (such as for pensions) in its budget.
• Appleseed expressed concern over the continued use of electronic monitoring, which Appleseed equated as almost as problematic as incarceration in jail.  Appleseed reminded the Commissioners of Appleseed’s report earlier this year which contained a number of recommendations that have thus far not been implemented.
• Two speakers also spoke against increasing the Sheriff’s budget to provide mental health services, arguing those should be provided under other auspices.  As one speaker put it, you shouldn’t have to go to jail to receive such services.
• Another speaker spoke against the Board of Review budget.

Observer:  Priscilla Mims

Cook County Board Finance Committee Departmental Budget Hearings
October 25, 2023  - morning session

​Clerk Of The Court—Iris Martinez
2024 Total:  $135,144,132                          2023:  $127,821,336
2024 FTEs:  1,429                                        2023:  1,509

​Following are some key items from this meeting:

• there is a reduction in staffing even though 200 new employees were hired
• following requirements of Shakman decree and are out from court supervision
• evictions, expungements, and victims of violence categories are all up in workload
• Odyssey technology program which allows easier access to information by users, more efficiency was completed in August 2023
• customer service center is very “efficient” and took more than 106,000 calls since June
• developed a domestic violence safe space area for victims to meet with advocates—Markham location for mostly the southern parts of county
• 189 vacancies
• continuances of court cases are tracked, but the coding for why these cases are not completed is very complex.  Pre-trial Fairness Act codes are also being added—will be done in 4-6 weeks
• Commissioners wanted to know reasons for continuances and why technology wasn’t being used by the judges  (input on computers rather than handwritten notes by the judge which can’t always be read clearly, thus mistakes) 

Secretary To The Board—Lynne Turner
2024 TOTAL:  $2,155,000                            2023:  $2,045,000
2024 FTEs:  12                                                    2023:  12

Following are some key items from this meeting:

• 5 positions vacant; only have 7 current employees
• budget increase due to salary increases
• Comm. Degnen wants a legal advisor for the Board and will bring an amendment forward to add this position  (NOTE: this issue was brought up years ago and then never followed up on)
• new Board room will be ready Dec., 2024 with ADA compliance, language translation services, all new equipment
• two improvements are use of QRC code to access agendas (less paper) and closed caption on screens by the end of 2023

Sheriff—Tom Dart
2024 Total:  $708,458,429                                 2023: $674,966,716
2024 FTEs:  5,744   (a decrease)                      2023:  5,839 

Following are some key items from this meeting:   

• budget increases due to parental leave, salary increases, overtime, COLA
• Sheriff office still policing or aiding several towns and parts of Chicago—full time in Ford Hts. and Austin neighborhood
• in River North of Chicago—retail theft work, 
• 1,000 guns taken off the street, go after revocations of Firearm Owner Identification Cards (“FOIDs”)  but doesn’t have the staff (only 8) to do this completely (38,000 revoked FOIDs in Cook County with 30,000 not in compliance)
• working with FBI on carjackings and car stealing which is the worst in the country; only 20% of carjackers are arrested and 60% of those are juveniles; many repeat offenders
• Sheriff has developed many special programs to help detainees with mental, drug and behavioral issues; job help, etc.
• jail programming is high but if defendants are released, there is no service for them; those on electronic monitoring also don’t get these services
• currently 4,860 detainees in jail and 1,800 on Electronic Monitoring (“EM”)
• state law requires EM defendants to have 2 days per week unmonitored.  5% of EM people (166 this year) commit additional crimes on these unsupervised days;  0% on fully monitored days
• has difficulty filling correctional worker positions; has full staffing (35-40) of social workers
• every commissioner who spoke praised Sheriff for his programs and advancements that are one-of-a-kind in the country
• Sheriff is also concerned about the delays in trials, causes problems in the jail too.  It is up to the judiciary to fix this.

Karin Hribar, Observer