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Criminal Justice Committee of Cook County Board Discusses Jail Safety and Security Issues

12/26/2024

Cook County Board of Commissioners
Committee Meetings
December 18, 2024

Criminal Justice Committee
The meeting began with 45 minutes of Public Comment from advocates and family members of those persons who have died while incarcerated at the Cook County Jail. Comments focused on the need for better procedures to ensure the health and safety of persons while they are incarcerated. Also requests for more transparency and better notification procedures when deaths occur.

Public Comment was followed by a presentation from representatives of the Sheriff’s Office and Cook County Health (Cermak Hospital) to educate the County Board about the policies and procedures in place to address the health and safety of detainees. (Agenda Item 25-5416) The following points were made during the presentations:

40,000 people per year cycle through the Cook County Jail System
In 2023 44% of inmate deaths involved drug soaked paper
Initial assessments for health risks and medications are done on all individuals when they go through intake
The Sheriff’s Office has programs for individuals with Substance Abuse and/or Mental Health Issues as well as anti-violence and anger management programs.
Naloxone is available across the compound and training of personnel is done.
Attempts are being made to review all mail so that drug soaked paper does not get into the jail.
Cermak does initial assessments on approximately 82 persons per day

Commissioner Questions and responses:

Comm. Quesada asked for the numbers of deaths and cause of death. In 2024 there have been 10 deaths and in 2023 there were 18 deaths. In 2024 2 were natural causes, 1 overdose, 1 suicide, 2 homicide, 1 accidental overdose and 3 undetermined to date. In 2023 there were 6 from natural causes, 8 overdoses, 1 suicide and 3 homicides. He also asked about the procedure known as “cross watching” which is when staff have to oversee more than one unit. Response was that it does occur when staffing is not adequate. It is not prohibited but also not ideal and is used judiciously when necessary.
Comm. Anaya asked how the jail and the health system collaborate to ensure that individuals receive the care they need while incarcerated. Inmates are assessed for health needs when they enter the system and can request health services anytime if they want to. Cermak îs not an emergency facility but they will respond as necessary but also outside emergency services are enlisted when necessary.

Legislative and Intergovernmental Relations Committee

An amendment to the Board Rules was proposed requiring that any reports and documents pertaining to board agenda items must be attached to the original filing of the item. If not attached initially they must be filed 48 hours prior to a meeting or the item must be withdrawn, deferred or referred to committee. (Agenda Item 24-6376) The item was approved. The League of Women Voters of Cook County did submit written comments to the board supporting this amendment.
A technical amendment to the Paid Leave Ordinance was approved to address some of the concerns that school districts have been raising with this ordinance. (Agenda Item 24-6496) Comm. Britton stated that he has been attending municipal meetings over the past few weeks and more entities are opting out of the County's Paid Leave Ordinance. He said that by not excluding Park and School Districts from the ordinance it has probably resulted in fewer people being covered than was originally intended. Comm. Morita said that they will continue to work with the school districts to ensure that their concerns are addressed.
A representative from the Assessor’s Office presented an Update on “split-classed, commercial mixed-use properties” - a new definition for the sub category of 3-18 under multi-use Class 3 property assessments. (Agenda Item - 24-6504) This classification addresses properties that have commercial space as well as residential space and considers square footage as well as % of living space vs commercial space. Several speakers spoke during the Public Comment at the beginning of the meeting about the tax burden being placed on certain small business owners due to the reclassification of 3-18 properties in the last assessments. The presentation outlined the process the Assessor’s Office used to change the definition of the 3-18 to address the concerns of the 30 property owners in the south suburban area and the city who will benefit from this change. In the next assessment of the northern suburban area there could be more properties that will be affected.

Finance Committee

During the Cook County Health Financial Report, CCH reported that there has been a 14% decrease in the utilization of agency workers throughout the system, an initiative that Comm. Degnan and Anaya have been pursuing. Comm. Gainer asked whether this was a sustainable decrease and what factors changed to allow this to happen. CCH staff stated that salary adjustments and reassessing staffing needs/requirements were key. Also some agency employees are converting to County employees which is expected to result in a savings. Comm. Gainer also requested information about how much the agencies are paying their contracted employees and how much the agency is keeping. CCH said they would attempt to get that information.

Observer - Cynthia Schilsky

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Data Collection Topic for Health and Hospitals Committee of Cook County Board

12/26/2024

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Cook County Board of Commissioners
Health and Hospitals Committee
December 17, 2024, 1:30pm

Dr. Hasbrouck, head of Cook County Public Health, did a presentation on Data Collection through a Health Equity lens.

He emphasized fast versus slow data collection and explained why it took so long for some data to appear (up to two years delay). The slow data is more trustworthy than the fast data. Data from 2022 is now available in 2024. National Data and Illinois Dept of Health data is likewise as slow as Cook County for many health statistics. The reason data takes so long to be accurate is that it needs to be “cleaned” and analyzed. He said there were many examples of the same individual going to multiple Cook County clinics with the same health concern, and CCH has to make sure they are not double or triple counting that same person. In many cases the clinics are reporting data by fax or paper rather than entering it via a spreadsheet.
Ways to access health data for CC, include the apps, Health Atlas and Shiny.
Com. Anaya wanted to make sure CC and Chicago were synced better than they are now. Dr. Hasbrouck said they meet on a regular basis and the data would be available on Health Atlas in the next 3 to six months.
Com. Daley wanted to know why COVID results were available so much faster (week to week) while current data takes years. Apparently COVID reporting was mandated while other data is not, by Illinois Dept of Health. Daley also asked how citizens can learn about health stats, and Dr. Hasbrouck says they help produce newsletters and work with the 31 communities within Cook County.
Com. Trevor asked about early warning signs like wastewater testing, and Hasbrouck said those and police data are gathered by their data contractor.
Com. Aguilar was also concerned about data timeliness.

Observer - Amy Little

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Agency Hiring of Personnel Discussed by Cook County Board Committee

12/2/2024

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Cook County Board of Commissioners
Health and Hospitals Committee Meeting
November 20, 2024

The Committee approved a nonbinding resolution that Cook County Health's (CCH) agency-hired personnel should not exceed 20% of the budgeted full time equivalents (FTE) personnel for each job classification approved in the annual budget.

Prior to the start of its formal agenda the Committee heard 20 minutes of testimony from 5 CCH union workers regarding support of Resolution 24-5841. Impacts of having many agency employees working in the hospitals included reduced permanent staff morale and productivity. Staffing shortages were attributed to lower pay and no sign-on bonuses for permanent hires compared to agency personnel. Disrespectful behavior of agency personnel toward staff and patients were also noted as issues impacting patient returns for treatment.
There were comments against the Resolution.
Resolution 24-5841: Chairman Lowry, Vice Chairwoman Anaya and several Commissioners spoke in favor of the Resolution and thanked Commissioner Degnen and her cosponsors for working with the local union representatives and hospital staff, drafting the Resolution, and then amending it to define specific goals and timeframe to meet them. Resolution 24-5841 was approved 14-0 with 3 absentees.
The amended Resolution 24-5841 Goal is to reduce the CCH System’s agency staff levels to not exceed 20% of the budgeted FTE in every department within 5 years. Progress updates will be provided to the Board of Commissioners, Board of CCH, and the public via biannual reports and an annual hearing. The Resolution will sunset in 2029 (or sooner if compliance is complete).

Mr. Craig Williams, CCH Chief Administrative Officer, presented the CCH Agency Reduction Plan’ (Oct 2024).

While the system-wide agency use is ~10%, several departments contract >20% of staff from agencies, including out of state companies
FMLA backfilling is often addressed using agency staff
Job classifications utilizing 20-50% agency staff include Hospital Security, Nurse, Respiratory Therapist, MRI Technician, Medical Technologist, Phlebotomist III, Building Service Worker, Clerk, Food Service Worker, and Transporter
CCH will add budget for departments who have exceeded budgeted FTE to right-size them; new agency FTE additions have been paused
Permanent staff turnover is improving (7-8% vs. 20% US average) as is personnel engagement

Observer - Susan Gregory

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Criminal Justice Committee of Cook County Board Discusses Jail Safety and Security Issues

Data Collection Topic for Health and Hospitals Committee of Cook County Board

Agency Hiring of Personnel Discussed by Cook County Board Committee

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