Cook County Board Committee Meetings
Jan. 24, 25, & 26, 2023

In several of the meetings of the Cook County Board Committees, Commissioners raised the need for more data and identifying up front what the goals and measures should be for determining whether particular programs were worth the expenditures.  For example:

• In the Health & Hospitals Committee, the Public Health Department reported on several campaigns, including those to boost the number of people who have obtained the latest Covid booster shot, and a “Here to Hear You” program with regard to providing mental health services.  Commissioner Miller asked for a report at the next meeting on ways to track the impact of these efforts.
• During that same meeting, Commissioner Miller asked where to look up where health disparities exist in the County.  There is a Health Atlas that is published online by the County, and Commissioner Miller asked for a briefing on this at the next meeting.

 

• In the Finance Committee, there was a long discussion about the extension and increase of a contract with Deloitte Consulting to provide recruiting and other related services for the Bureau of Human Relations.  Commissioners Gainer and Degnen wanted to know how the Bureau will determine the degree to which the various marketing/recruiting strategies are effective so they can determine where to put their money in the future.  
• In a related topic, the same Commissioners, along with Sean Morrison, asked for data as to the time it took from when a department notified it had a need for an employee until the position is filled.  The Commissioners asked that the information include any time that elapses prior to the posting of the job, including any time necessary to create a job description and any time necessary for the Budget Department to approve that the position is authorized under the department’s budget.  Commissioner Gainer explained that having such data is crucial for determining where the process might be speeded up.

 

• In the Technology Committee, Commissioner Degnen asked for a cost comparison assessment to analyze (a) the costs of maintaining two separate systems, including creating an interface between the Board of Review’s system and the County-wide Property Tax System which includes the Assessor’s office now and will encompass the other two offices involved with the property tax system (the Clerk and Treasurer) vs. (b) expanding the County-wide system to include the Board of Review.  This request was formally included as an item on the next day’s Board meeting, where it was referred to the Technology Committee.  (Item 23-1174)

• During the Contract Compliance meeting, the consultants who prepared the Cook County 2022 Disparity Study gave a presentation.  One of their recommendations is that the County develop performance measures for determining the success of the County’s affirmative action program.  Commissioner Miller, Chair of the Committee, said that there would be a subsequent meeting to review the plan developed by the Contract Compliance Department to implement the Disparity Study’s recommendations.

Other Items of Note:

• While the meetings are being held in the Board room, at each meeting there was a motion to authorize some of the committee members to participate remotely.  However, in order to hold the meeting at all, a quorum (i.e. simple majority) of the committee members must be physically present.  This proved to be a problem for the Subcommittee on Workers’ Compensation which had to postponed on Jan. 24, and again at a re-scheduled time on Jan. 25.  The meeting was finally held on Jan. 26 when 3 of the 5 members were present in the Board room.
• At the Finance Committee meeting, the Comptroller reported that the preliminary analysis of the revenues and expenses for the fiscal year ending November 30, 2022 shows favorable balances of $357 Million in the General Fund and $366 Million in the Health Fund.  However, the Comptroller also pointed out that these balances are on a cash basis.  Cook County Health uses the accrual basis, which provides a truer picture of the financial situation at Cook County Health.  
• During the Environment & Sustainability Committee meeting, at which the Environmental Commission’s 2022 Annual Report was received and filed, Commissioner Trevor raised the concern that multi-family buildings in the suburbs are not covered by municipal recycling programs.  Commissioner Miller would like to get a list of municipalities that have recycling programs and those who do not.

Observer:  Priscilla Mims

Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting
December 15, 2022

This was the first regular meeting of the Cook County Board for the new fiscal year of 2023 that began December 1, and was conducted in just over an hour.  

Two key items were approved:

• The 2023 property tax levy of $797.5 M, that is consistent with the 2023 budget passed in November.  (Agenda Item 23-0392)
• The intergovernmental agreement with the Pension Fund which is the vehicle used by the County to provide additional contributions.  For 2023, the additional monies will be $291.7 M.  These contributions are funded by a portion of the sales tax increase of 1 cent that took effect in 2016.  Commissioner Daley pointed out these additional payments to date have totaled $2 Billion, and have resulted in a Fund that is 67% funded. (Agenda Item 23-0474)

Because most items that were in Committee as of November 30 were not carried over, there were several items on the agenda that were revised versions of prior resolutions, and those and a number of other key items were referred to Committees:
To Legislation & Intergovernmental Affairs Committee:

• The proposed appointment of Tanya B. Anthony as the new Chief Financial Officer.  Ms. Anthony is a prior Budget Director and currently is the Chief Administrative Officer.  (Item 23-0442)
• The proposed appointment of Zahra Ali to replace Ms. Anthony as Chief Administrative Officer.  (Item 23-0556)
• The proposed appointments of Mia Webster Cross and Tanya R. Sorrell to the Cook County Health Board of Directors.  (Items 23-0586 and 23-0595)
• The report from the Cook County Commission on Women’s Issues on “Continued Support of Survivors of Gender-Based Violence.”  (Item 23-0563)

To Finance Committee:

• A proposal sponsored by Commissioner Anaya to create a 2023 Property Tax Relief Loan Program.  This provides for a loan for qualifying owners for 10 years at 3% interest.  (Item 23-0593)
• Another proposal from Commissioner Anaya is to create an Historic District Preservation Exemption to lower the property tax for owners who own a property within a historic district and who have low- or middle-income tenants who have resided in the property for a minimum of 5 years.  To be eligible, the property must also have an assessment that exceeds one and a half times the percentage median assessment increase within the district.  Com. Anaya stated that this will take some State Action in order to enact.  (Item 23-0594)

To Health & Hospitals Committee:

• A resolution requesting a committee meeting to receive updates from Cook County Health and the Dept. of Public Health on Covid.  Commissioner Miller explained that as was the case for the one that just expired, this will likely be held in committee so there can be monthly updates, but Comm. Miller said that this one includes updates on other infectious diseases. (Item 23-0469)
• A resolution requesting a committee meeting for a report from senior staff at Cook County Health.  Like the item above, this will likely be held in committee so these reports will be given monthly.  (item 23-0202)
• A resolution to have semi-annual reports detailing behavioral services provided by Cook County Health, the Department of Public Health, Cermak Health, the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, the Sheriff, the State’s Attorney, the Chief Judge, and the Public Defender.  One of the stated purposes is to see whether there are overlaps and/or gaps in services provided by these different County areas.  Another purpose is to assess costs and effectiveness of the services.  This resolution is similar to the one previously in effect, except that the reports will now be twice a year, rather than quarterly.  The committee will review the reports in July and December. (Item 23-0523)
• The semi-annual report on Health Disparities from the Dept. of Public Health.  (Item 23-0555)

To Technology Committee:

• A proposed amendment to the Technology Reporting Ordinance that requires semi-annual updates (in April and October) from the offices under the President and the separately elected offices related to their strategic initiatives.  In addition, an annual Technology Strategic Plan is to be submitted each January.  All the criminal justice offices are to present their offices’ progress toward an automated, integrated criminal justice system in October.  The Chief Information Security Officer is to submit a report on relevant information security issues annually in March. (Item 23-0557)
• The Assessor’s strategic plan for 2023.  (Item 23-0296)

During the Public Comment portion of the meeting, one of the Cook County Interpreters talked about the value provided by the interpreters and the need for them to have a just contract put in place.

Observer:  Priscilla Mims

Cook County Finance Committee and Special Board Meetings
November 17, 2022

The Finance Committee considered and passed 26 amendments to the proposed 2023 Cook County Budget of $8.75 Billion.  The Board then immediately met and voted to approve the budget, as amended.  These amendments increased the total amount by about $73 Million, resulting in the final $8.8 Billion 2023 budget.  (Item 22-5700)  The final budget continued to have no increases in taxes or fees or layoffs, while continuing the supplemental payments to the Pension Fund.

Some of the key amendments which utilized these funds or transferred funds from other line items included

• The carry-over capital dollars of $11.4 Million for lease of a helicopter for use by the Sheriff’s office.  This sparked some conversation with Commissioners Anaya and Johnson voting no as they stated the dollars could be better spent on social services to prevent crime. (Amend. # 16)
• Adding 2 social worker positions to the Sheriff’s budget used for the 911 call center so that calls that involved primarily mental health crises could be dealt with by these trained experts.  Several of the public speakers voiced concern about this amendment as not providing sufficient resources and keeping the funding within the Sheriff’s budget to deal with mental health issues.  Another issue was that these positions are initially temporary until a long-term funding source can be identified.  Commissioners Johnson and Lowry voted against passage. (Amend. #17)
• Additional dollars to the Public Health Fund (Amend. #13)
• Additional dollars for improvements to the CORE Center (Amend. #11)
• Additional dollars for CCH to provide services, including housing, for domestic violence victims (Amend. #10)
• Additional dollars for implementing the SAFE-T Act (Amend. #14)
• Use of some unallocated ARPA dollars to add 2 FTEs to the Auditor’s budget for contemporaneously auditing the use of ARPA dollars for approved programs. (Amend. #18)
• Adding 3 more FTEs to the President’s Office and allocating dollars for a tax policy consulting service (Amend #20)
• Adding a General Counsel/Ethics Officer to the Board of Review (Amend. # 22)

Additionally, the Budget Resolution was amended to allow Cook County Health to use up to 30% of any excess Net Patient Services revenue over budget in 2023 to address increased costs related to direct patient care. (Amend. #26)

The additional dollars for these amendments came primarily from

• The County’s share of a declaration by the City of Chicago of a surplus in TIF District funds (Amend. #1)
• Use of additional special purpose fund balances (Amend. #4)
• Additional grants (Amend. #6)
• Additional capital dollars from bonds (Amend. #7)
• Additional estimated dollars from the State (Amend. #8)
• An opioid settlement (Amend. #12)
• Transfer of some dollars remaining in a long-discontinued TB Sanitarium District special purpose fund (Amend. #13)
• Increases in turnover adjustments (that free up dollars that would otherwise be spent on salaries and benefit costs based on the estimate that certain positions would remain vacant for some time periods during the budget year) (Amend. #14)
• A carryover of dollars from the capital budget in 2022, which is not usually done (Amend. #16)

During the public comment period, several speakers spoke against use of money for leasing the helicopter and adding 2 positions to the 911 call center, and advocated for the need for more funding to create a non-police response to mental health crises. The Civic Federation spoke in favor of the proposed budget, nevertheless noting concerns, including 

• The need for a unified tax administrative office as shown by the issues involved with the delay of the 2nd installment property tax bills
• The need for CCH to publicize the pension and debt subsidies being provided by the County
• The need for more transparency regarding the use of Provident Hospital 
• Unincorporated areas not paying their fair share of the costs to their services

​League Observer:  Priscilla Mims

Cook County Board of Commissioners Committee Meetings
November 16, 2022 

Finance Committee – 9:30 am

• Comm. Suffedin explained the intention of this Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) is to provide additional research on property tax systems, ways to get bills out sooner, and to provide clarity on disparities using CMAP research. Com. Suffredin moved, Sylvestri seconded. Approved.  Will be on Board agenda tomorrow. (Agenda Item 22-6131)
  
• The ordinance is for a Fiscal Note, that is a feasibility study amendment to the ordinance to make clear the financial impact of the ordinance which would extend paid parental leave to 12 weeks for full-time county employees. Next month this will be offered at the Forest Preserve District Board meeting. This will align county policy with federal and city policies.  Com Degnan moved, Com Miller seconded the measure. Approved. (Agenda Item 22-6090) 

Environment & Sustainability Committee – 10 am
(Agenda Item 22-6140)   Com. Degnan moved, Miller seconded this ordinance amendment. The Environmental Commission has served as advisors to Board on environmental matters for the past 4 years. The ordinance was passed in 2019; this extends the sunset date of this Environmental Commission by 4 yr.  Com Degnan explained the commission selected 3 goals for its first 4 years:

• Industrial Composting – Landfills are filling up; this compost can be used for areas adjacent to roadways; talking with IDOT, CCOT, and CDOT. Compost could be made saleable.  Looking at expanding to food and waste composting. 
• Planting 1,000 trees – they have planted 300 and have also provided seeds for native plants
• Pollination Gardens and Plantings – The Commission worked with aldermen to change classifications of weeds so this work could go forward on parkways.

Other commissioners gave examples of many opportunities for working with local environmental groups, some of which have already been developed. Motion was approved.

Technology & Innovation Committee – 11:30 am
(Agenda Item 22-5023) Motion made by Comm. Sean Morrison, seconded by Comm. Degnan to receive and file. The item was deferred last month because the Board of Review (BOR) was absent when they were expected to give updates on the process and expected date for being off the main frame and being fully integrated with the systems of the Assessor and related departments.

Charles O’Shields, Chief Deputy Commissioner from BOR, stated no timeline given applied to the BOR, no timeline was developed for BOR to exit off mainframe.  He stated their tech improvements were demonstrated by their work in 2021. 

​Chief Information Officer (CIO) Tom Lynch and Derrick Thomas, Deputy CIO, responded to questions from commissioners.  Their statements indicated the following:

• While the BOR was not part of the original project using Tyler Rs modules, they are part of the project because of the work originally contemplated. 
• There is a timeline; it applies to all stakeholders.
• The BOR. has engaged a vendor to do data discovery for interface and integration. They are now looking at vendors to provide service; procurement process is long. 
• By Q4-2023, that is Sept.-Oct. 2023, all interfaces should be in place for 2-way exchange because mainframe will no longer be in use. When asked directly, Thomas stated he could not answer definitively if it was feasible to complete procurement process and complete all work necessary. 
• When asked by Comm. Degnan what would happen if the main frame unit were shut down and the BOR is not off the main frame - Thomas stated bills would be late.

Commissioners’ questions and statements indicated their dissatisfaction with the level of progress at the BOR and concern for citizens facing the possibility of late property tax bills again in 2023 which in turn mpacts the entities that rely on the property taxes. 

Committee Chairperson Kevin Morrison asked Mr. O’Shields to attend the Jan. meeting of the Technology Committee and be prepared to provide an update of the Board of Review’s strategic plan; it should include a report on RFP progress and timeline.  “OK” was Mr. Shield’s answer.

State’s Attorney’s Office representative Matt Steiner presented the update on their office.  An apology, explanation of absence, and assurance that this would not recur were given. Process for getting off main frame began with Juvenile System which is on the mainframe; adult system is not. It began with a discovery process which involved integration of cases, data mapping, identifying risk points and developing 2-point solutions to address those.  He stated they are on track to be off mainframe by August, 2023. 

Motion to Receive and File reports was approved.

Carolyn Cosentino, LWVCC Observer

Cook County Finance Committee Meetings on the Budget
October 26, 2022, 9 am to 2:30 pm

The Sheriff said there should be little impact on the jail population in Cook County as a result of the SAFE-T Act going into effect on January 1, 2023.  The Chief Judge explained the differences between the criteria for holding people in jail prior to trial in criminal cases now and after January 1.  

Following are more details of the meetings with these two officials, as well as the meeting on the Capital Budget.

Office of the Sheriff -– Presented by Sheriff Tom Dart

• Because of the changes in the way bail has been set in Cook County courts since 2018 he expects that the SAFE-T Act will have little impact on the jail population.  Estimated maybe 100 current detainees will have their bail reviewed, and thinks there may be some more people accused of domestic violence ordered detained.
• Says that he still thinks there are more people being released (mainly on electronic monitoring, “EM”) than should be because there is not enough distinction among those charged with gun violations.  (See more on this below in the Chief Judge’s section.)
• Wants to have budget amended to fund purchase of a new helicopter to help in fighting crime across the County.  Says only have 2 now (from 1994 and 2006), with the ability to borrow another from the County’s Homeland Security department at times.  Another helicopter would reduce dangerous, high-speed pursuits.  Contrasted the larger number of helicopters for New York, LA, and Harris County, Texas.  The Budget Department is analyzing the request and looking where money could be found.
• Explained that jail population has changed.  Majority now are there accused of violent crimes, rather than substance abuse, as in the past.  Many of the past efforts and programs were directed to helping those released from jail to successfully go back to their communities.  Now, however, most of the detainees are leaving the jail after trial to go to prison and not back to the community.
• Says that 2 main proximate causes of violence now are (1) availability of guns, and (2) social media where people’s rhetoric escalates and there is no cooling off period.  (These causes apart from all the social issues.)
• In addition to policing the unincorporated areas and Robbins and Ford Heights, and providing services for a number of other suburbs pursuant to agreements, the Sheriff has focused on violence in Chicago.  Since opening an office in Austin on the west side of Chicago, there has been a 20% reduction in shootings in that neighborhood.  More recently, opened an office at 500 N. Clark, and will be moving into larger quarters at State and Chicago.  Besides providing a police presence, also have a unit to deal with homelessness, another to deal with people in crisis, and a K-9 unit to help patrol El platforms.  Roll call for eviction and service of process has been moved from the Daley Center to Chinatown to provide a greater police presence there.
• Has about 400 vacancies.  Recently went to Kentucky and North Carolina to recruit military veterans with some success.

Office of the Chief Judge -– Presented by Chief Judge Timothy Evans

• Said that under current law, the State’s Attorney must file a petition to hold a criminal defendant in jail prior to trial.  Then the judge at the bail hearing has to hold there is at least one of these situations to grant the petition: (1) that the proof has to be evident or the presumption is great that the preponderance of the evidence points to the defendants and that they pose a clear and present threat to a person or community and there are no mitigating factors; and/or (2) there is clear evidence the defendants are a flight risk.
• Under the SAFE-T Act, there are certain felonies that are excluded from consideration of the first situation, and in those cases, defendants can only be held if a current flight risk.  The other difference is that if there is a petition to hold, there is a separate hearing on whether to detain presided at by a second judge.
• Responding to Comm. Sean Morrison’s questions, said that approximately 86% of those defendants that go to trial are found guilty.  The average sentence for murder is 35 years.  As a result, the overwhelming number of cases end in a plea deal.  Said would provide data from the last 12 months on the number of murder and attempted murder cases where the charges are downgraded.
• Comm. S. Morrison also provided some statistics from the Sheriff that of the over 2,000 people on electronic monitoring, 970 are accused of gun offenses.  Comm. Morrison asked whether there should be some kind of blue-ribbon commission to review these cases to see if policies regarding electronic monitoring should be changed.  Judge Evans said that many of these defendants are charged with “unlawful use of a gun,” but that charge does not mean that the gun was actually used. It could be that the person had a gun without the proper permit.  So Judge Evans would welcome such a commission and would like to revise the terms used to distinguish among the different situations.
• Because of the Early Resolution Program to help deal with eviction cases, there has been no huge number of evictions as the Judge feared at last year’s budget meeting.  Under this program, there are mediators and legal advisors to work with both sides to try to resolve the situation, including find other housing since in some cases the landlords want to get rid of the tenant as opposed to getting back rent.
• Provided some codes that can be used to generate reports on continuances, including whether the state’s attorney or defense counsel sought them.  Commissioners Miller and Daley noted they have been seeking this information for the last year.  Judge Evans said that his office will work with the Clerk of the Court to add codes for general reasons on why a continuance is sought. Expects to start on this after the Odyssey System is fully operational, which should be by the end of Nov.
• There was discussion concerning confinement/isolation of juveniles at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.  Commissioner Gainer asked that the following be considered as the policy continues to be fleshed out:  (1) more clarity on how someone ends up in confinement; (2) clear direction that confinement is the last resort; and (3) mental health sign-off by a professional before someone can be confined (like in NY and LA).

Capital Budget Overview – Presented by Acting CFO Lawrence Wilson, Bureau Chief of Asset Management Elizabeth Granato, Director of Transportation Jennifer Killen, and Deputy CIO Adam Clement.

The 2023 Capital Budget is $505.2 M composed of 

• $248.4 M (49.2%) for capital improvements for County facilities; 
• $136.2 M (27%) for County maintained road, bridges, and highways; and 
• $120.6 M (23.8%) for capital equipment for County departments that includes primarily information technology (71% composed of costs for hardware and implementation), plus the remainder for vehicles, fixed plant assets, institutional equipment, furniture, and medical lab equipment.  
• Note:  some of these expenditures show up in the overall budget as expenditures from special purpose funds (including the Transportation and Highways fund), and grants.  As a result, these sources of revenues for capital projects are not included in the Capital Improvement Budget, which is $352.6 M (just about the same as 2022).

Part of the presentation focused on the process of determining how much could be directed to capital projects, including how much debt to incur, as well as how the County prioritizes projects.  The County currently has investment grade bond ratings of A2 from Moody’s; A+ from S&P Global Ratings, and AA- from Fitch Ratings for General Obligation Bonds; and AAA from Kroll Bond Rating Agency and AA- from S&P Global Ratings for Sales Tax Debt. 

Among the projects included in the Capital Budget are

• Renovation and consolidation at the County building, including making the 5th floor Board Room ADA accessible and adding technology improvements (the entire 5th floor, which also houses the President’s and Commissioner’s offices are expected to move to the 10th floor in Nov. or Dec.)
• Major renovations at Stroger Hospital
• Completion of the Court Utilization Study for the civil division (the criminal division has been completed0
• More work on the Integrated Property Tax System
• The State’s Attorney’s Case Management System
• A number of transportation projects
• Continued work as part of the Green Buildings Program, which is reducing the County’s carbon footprint, but also reducing energy costs

​Observer:  Priscilla Mims