Cook County Board of Commissioners (CCBC) Meeting
February 9, 2023

Board Action:

• CCBC approved resolution from the Technology and Innovation Committee for Cost Comparison Assessment and Action Plan from Bureau of Technology and Board of Review on Technology Software. This will provide a comparison to calculate cost to County of creating an integrated automation platform technology to transfer data. The written report of cost comparison will describe and prepare an action plan based on the report’s results.  Report is due within 90 days of enactment of resolution. Several Board members commented on the discussion in committee and that members recognized it could be helpful in resolving a long-time issue. Com. Degnan noted that extra time could be provided should Bd of Review require it (23-1174). Approved.
• Cook County Covid-019 Response Financial Report passed to Receive and File.  The report serves as an update on Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), FEMA PA, Emergency Rental Assistance, and American Rescue Plan Act Grant allocations, 3/1/2020-1/20/2023.  Per the Report, the County’s CARES Act allocation is 100% expended with final report delivered to US Treasury last month. (23-1268) 
• Cook County Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot Status Update passed to Receive and File. Potential participants were evaluated and interviewed for eligibility and a lottery was used to select the 3250 persons participating.  Surveys of participants, data collection, and update reports will continue for this 24-month pilot program. (23-0469)
• Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways reported on projects including an intergovernmental agreement with Metra for improvements to Chicago State University Metra station. County will reimburse Metra for its share of construction and construction management costs. Both items referred to the Transportation Committee. (23-1063, 23-1074)

Of Interest:

• Resolution honoring Jesse White was deferred. (23-0992)

Observer - Carolyn Cosention

Cook County Board of Commissioners (CCBC) Committee Meetings 
Feb. 7-8, 2023                

Finance Committee

• Cook County Health: Cook County Comptroller, Lawrence Wilson, reported Dec. 2022 balances. A  net favorable revenue balances of $52 M in General Fund and $49M in Health Fund.  State payments to Health Fund with $206M owed, including Medicaid, state direct and pass-through grants have been competed for 2022. CCH Chief Financial Officer, Pam Cassara, reported a net favorable net balance for expenses and revenues for Dec 2022. ​Receive and File, approved (23-1209).
• Cook County Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot Status Report:  Slide presentation of highlights and discussion with commissioners was led by Dom Tocci, Deputy Bureau Chief, CC Bureau of Economic Development, Pete Subkoviak, Director of Guaranteed Income and Economic Mobility, CC Bur. Of Ec Dev., Sarah Moran GiveDirectly, US Country Director, and Misuzu Schexnider, Program Director for Univ Chgo Inclusive Economy Lab. They represent the main components of this 24-month guaranteed income pilot. It is funded through AARPA. Of the $42.5M total for the county program, $39M goes to participants, $2.5M (8.5%) goes to administration, outreach, and evaluation costs. Prior to this committee meeting, each commissioner met with these groups.
  
• Here are some details from the presentation and discussion: A total of 3,250 households in Cook County are receiving $500 a month for 24 months. A manual review of 12,000 applicants was conducted; a full list of instruments used for the verification process can be provided. 83% of participants live in the suburbs. If their income status improves during this period, they remain in the program.  Application assistance, outreach, and benefits counseling are provided by GiveDirectly throughout the county in multiple languages. There is a control group comprised of applicants who were eligible but not selected to receive funds. Monthly, they conduct a 2-question survey to ensure participants received payments and to check for accuracy of accounts.  Payments began Dec. 2022 through either direct debit or loadable debit accounts.  Working Credit, a national non-profit, provides education on credit for participants and 1-1 credit-building counseling for 1 year, more if requested.  All participants, including those in control group, are eligible for financial counseling.  The data from the pilot is being compiled by the Univ. of Chicago Inclusive Economy Lab; they are also processing data from the Chicago pilot. The County’s 2-year collection of data is expected to give more reliable results than the typical 12-month pilots. Commissioners requested that results include information from detailed breakdown of race and ethnicity of participants. Commissioners were also assured that data at the end of the process would be quantitative, not just qualitative. Motion to Receive and file report was approved (23-0548).  Video of this meeting is available.

Environment and Sustainability Committee

• Resolution in Support of Environmental Justice: Resolution affirms CCBC will assess internal policy and procedures to ensure environmental justice, prioritize projects that will help address past harms in communities impacted by environmental injustice, and work with environmental justice leaders and organizations to adopt a Cook County Environmental Policy by the end of 2024.  Motion to accept 23-1092 as substituted. Passed

Technology and Innovation Committee

• Resolution Requesting Cost Comparison Assessment and Action Plan from Bureau of Technology and Board of Review on Technology and Soft Solutions:  This resolution is intended to address replacing the 40 year old mainframe system with an integrated appraisal and tax administration software solution. Resolutions states the report to Commissioners will be due within 90 days of passage of resolution. Officials from Bd of Review, Bureau of Technology, and Assessors Office were present to answer questions from commissioners. The concerns by CCBC had been expressed in the Jan. 2023 meeting. The resolution is intended to provide numbers for the comparison.  Discussion extended over an hour.   Tom Lynch, Bureau of Technology, stated 60 days was adequate to complete their portion of the comparison.   Board of Review Com. Cardenas, incoming Chair, has been in office 2 months. He stated he has held meetings in his district and within the department; he stated he is aware that with technology there are always better ways to work. The Board of Review has 2 IT workers to address operational issues in the department of 150 analysts working on appeals. He stated that IT would not be able to work with new technology and at the same time respond to analysts’ needs, including new employees, and equipment issues that occur as they work with appeals. Com. Rogers from Board of Review ( BoR) stated many times that the timeline was not realistic since tax bills are now being processed. Appeals are being conducted. He stated tax bills will be late this year and that as of Feb. 1, the BoR has received 22 of 38 township assessments.  So late billing will be the result of not receiving all the assessments from Assessor for appeals. Normally, he stated, all assessments would be with BoR by early December. Currently, they are hearing appeals. BoR Com. Steele stated all commissioners were invited to see the draft of the resolution; she apologized if Rogers did not receive a copy of the draft when it was distributed. Scott Smith of Assessor’s Office stated they have met with new commissioners and have a tentative agreement over a calendar for the next round of assessments. He also stated that the BoR had by now (2/8/23) received all the township assessments. Com. Morrisson asked whether BoR would have all the information needed from Assessor’s Office to complete all assessments if it was off the mainframe and interfaced with the system it used.  “Yes” was the answer from the Assessor’s Office. Com Degnan stated multiple times that the intent of the resolution was to shine a light on costs when comparing use of 2 systems vs 1 system. She stated that the CCBC could take a request for more time if a reasonable explanation is provided.  She stated that the CCBC could not force the BoR to join the interfaced system used by 3 departments involved in the process.  Resolution was approved with vote of 6 Aye, 1 Nay, 2 Present. (23-1174)  Video is available.

Carolyn Cosentino, Observer

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 Finance Committee Meetings on the Budget
October 25, 2022

Cook County Health (“CCH”) – Presented by CCH CEO Israel Rocha. Jr.

• Addressing Payroll expenses, particularly for nurses, has been devasting for the System and remains its top priority.  Agency contract rates have declined but still historically high. President Preckwinkle has approved the System's new Retention and Recruitment Plan.
• COVID has led to the wide-spread adoption of telehealth and telemedicine.
•  The System's new Change Institute priorities are cancer, stroke, diabetes, behavioral health and mental health. Food and housing insecurity programs will be added and expanded.
• Provident Hospital - $5 million has been budgeted for early conversations with institutions that are interested in partnering and funding a new Provident Hospital.
• The System has already served close to 2,400 undocumented people aged 42 and up; and the CCH Foundation has supplied needed clothing, diapers, etc. for the newly arrived undocumented persons.

Commissioner Questions:
Miller:  Addressing the issue of the new Change Institute, said that she was pleased to see more focus on "preventive vs reactionary" care, and noted the increase of 44 new positions in this new Department.  She particularly asked for goals and metrics from each of the Institute's funding sources [ARPA, Grants, County] and any other new programs using ARPA and County funding.

CEO Rocha responded to a question about the behavior health goals using ARPA funding stating that there are two big categories:

• External:  The System will create an organization to expand the safety net for the Behavioral Health community and its services to secure in the long term all elements of Behavioral Health needs.  Will use impact funds to do an analysis of the current community safety net.
• Internal:   The System will expand "trauma informed" outpatient therapy and will create a 16-bed inpatient unit and crisis stabilization unit.

Responding to Miller's inquiry and support for more emphasis on equity and inclusion across the System's services, Rocha said that he is hiring a Chief Equity Inclusion Officer, and two Associate Inclusion Officers - one responsible to/for the System and one to/for the Public Health Department.

Next came Miller's question on the Juvenile Justice Care Coordination Program to be funded by ARPA.  Two Care Coordinators will be hired for reentry and transition stabilization.

When asked about the ongoing long-time issue of low patient satisfaction ratings, Rocha noted that the HIV Core Center has a great reputation and rhetorically asked "how can we use its experience?"

Degnan:  Wants the system to communicate more broadly that CCH is a safe home for reproductive health.  Said that a specific brochure is needed focusing on the System's services.  Rocha responded that he would send her the communication tools currently in use.

Anaya:  Responding to Anaya's concern about the length of the hiring process, Rocha said that the System has hired 350 individuals in the last 150 days and that turnover is at its lowest level in 18-20 months.

Several other Commissioners noted that their questions had been covered by previous colleagues and also commended CEO Rocha on his command of the System's needs and his vision for CCH.

Assessor’s Office -– Presented by Assessor Fritz Kaegi

• The biggest news is that the office expects to be found in “substantial compliance” with Shakman by mid-November.
• Assessor Kaegi next noted that the North suburban counties’ reassessment will be completed by the end of the year, and the office is waiting for the Board of Review to be in a position to accept the data.  
• 2023 priorities includes a new implementation phase of the Tyler technology system to ensure an on-time assessment cycle; the office needs to continue to maintain in parallel the old main frame system until the Board of Review transfers to Tyler; and it will implement new tools for tracking exemptions.  Expects March 2023 assessment data transfer to be on time.
• To date in 2022, hired 31 employees to fill vacancies due to retirements - 25% of new hires are customer service positions, and added strategic hires to build capacity in HR and Legal.  The office is not using temporary help; is hiring data science and evaluation majors, and also hiring from real estate schools. 
• Commissioner Gainer wants to work with the Assessor’s office to reset outstanding taxes on scavenger sale properties to zero thereby helping properties to be sold and neighboring properties to maintain their values.  She also wants to work with the FHA to change the rules so that Land Bank developers can get access to the FHA uniform appraisal data base and qualify for FHA loans.     

Carrying over from the meeting with the Assessor earlier, court oversight of the offices of the Clerk of the Circuit Court and the County Clerk under the Shakman cases (which prohibit political considerations regarding most County personnel) was raised during these two meetings.  

• Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez said she has been working closely with the court-appointed administrator, and expects her office to be found in “substantial compliance” with Shakman by November, 2022!  
• Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough criticized Shakman oversight of her office as not being necessary, and she has filed to end such supervision, expecting it to also end in November.  

Commissioner Sean Morrison focused on the failure of some County departments to respond to remedial recommendations, as required by County ordinances, during the meeting with the Inspector General.  
Following are more details from these meetings, along with the one with the Treasurer, who announced that she is expecting to receive the information for the 2nd installment property tax bills by November 11.  If so, she said she would have bills posted on her web site and available for downloading and payment by November 15.  
Treasurer -  Presented by Treasurer Maria Pappas 

• By posting the 2nd installment property tax bills on the Treasurer’s web site (hopefully by Nov. 15), this will facilitate payment prior to the end of 2022 for those wishing to take a deduction for property taxes on their 2022 income tax returns.
• Only 5% of the Treasurer’s budget is financed by taxpayer dollars.
• Says her workforce comes into the office - no working from home.
• Quickly went through her slide presentation, focusing on the many studies published by her office, included the latest one, the Sales in Error, which Comm. Gainer praised.  All of the studies are available on the web site, https://www.cookcountytreasurer.com/. 

Office of the Independent Inspector General -– Presented by Acting IIG Steven Cyranoski

• Responding to Comm. Morrison’s questions, Acting IIG explained that if an investigation results in remedial recommendations, the applicable department has 45 days to respond, with the ability to request 30 more days under County ordinances.  The department does not have to accept the recommendations, and Mr. Cyranoski said that there may be good reasons for not accepting.  In each quarterly report from the IIG, at the end there is a list of cases for which no response has been received.  These quarterly reports are submitted to the Board, which in turn can refer for further consideration by the Litigation Subcommittee.  Comm. Suffredin noted that the League of Women Voters has pointed out these failures to respond.
• When the open slots for the IIG and the Deputy IIG are filled, the office will have 19 FTEs, same as authorized for 2022.
• Over the last 5 years, there has been an 85% increase in number of complaints.  Have been able to handle because of the high quality of the personnel in the office and increased use of technology.
• 85% to 90% of the IIG’s recommendations have been adopted. 
• In response to Comm. Suffredin’s questions, Mr. Cyranowski explained that there are 2 investigators assigned full time pursuant to the intergovernmental agreement to provide inspector general services to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (“MWRD”).  The current agreement ends mid-2023.  The MWRD has gone to Springfield to obtain legislation that would authorize the MWRD to have its own IG in-house.  In anticipation of this happening, the current budget adjustment (called an “appropriation transfer”) has been reduced from $650,000 in 2022 to $250,000 in 2023.  Part of transfer is also due to the work the IG does for the Forest Preserve.

Clerk of the Circuit Court - Presented by Circuit Court Clerk Iris Y. Martinez

• Has hired more than 150 people to fill open spots this past year.  Currently there are 280 entry level union vacancies, many due to 200 promotions.  Cross training is now being provided so clerks can staff Criminal or Civil courtrooms as necessary.
• 2023 budget includes 30 more FTEs so that every court can be staffed to meet the needs of the new SAFE-T Act and the expected increase in the hours when domestic violence orders of protection can be obtained.  A pilot for extended hours is currently running through early Nov.
• Hopes to be fully integrated into the Odyssey system by the end of the year, reducing reliance on the County’s mainframe.
• Has launched a new call center for 200 different languages to make information more readily available.
• Overall, the budget has increased by 2%.
• In response to a question from Comm. Miller, Clerk Martinez said that the court documents can identify the number of continuances, but not the reason.  Comm Miller and Daley emphasized that they need a report on who is requesting continuances in order to understand (and potentially tackle) the issue of defendants being held in the jail for long periods of time.

County Clerk - Presented by Clerk Karen Yarbrough

• To help alleviate the critical need for Election Judges for the Nov. 8 election, the office reached out to retired military and had 2,000 respond.  More judges are still needed for the 1,439 precincts (which need 5 judges each).
• Early voting and vote-by-mail ballots accounted for 40.1% in the June primary.
• Said that Cook County is recognized nationally for its cyber-security for voting.
• Said that the bulk of revenues from this office is from the recording of deeds area.  A new cashiering system should be rolled out in 2023.  There is a help desk now for recordings.
• Land records from 1871-1974 will be digitalized.

Observers:  Diane Edmundson and Priscilla Mims

Cook County Board Committee Meetings
October 19, 2022
Note:  All items approved in Committee are expected to be passed at the Oct. 20 meeting by the Full Board concurring with the recommendations of the Committees.

Business & Economic Development Committee

• Approved a new property tax incentive for a new grocery store or retention of an existing grocery store in a location included in the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Illinois Food Deserts Annual Report.  The property owner receiving the incentive will be assessed at 10% of market value for 10 years, with an opportunity to renew once for an additional 10 years. (Item 22-5345)
• There were a number of public comments from municipalities and realtors applauding this proposal as a way to bring healthy food to areas that lack such options.
• Kudos were given to Commissioner Donna Miller by fellow Commissioners.

Finance Committee

• Approved a reduction in court adoption fees to $89, which is consistent with the corresponding fees in the surrounding counties, from $265.  Commissioner Suffredin explained the Presiding Judge Taylor had noticed that the number of adoptions in Cook County had fallen while the numbers in the other counties were rising.  The presumption is that Cook County’s higher fees is the cause.  Some other related fees were also reduced.  (Items 22-5510 and 22-5512)
• Approved a substitute resolution from Commissioner Miller for the “Cook County Justice40 Infrastructure Fund Initiative.”  The “Justice40 Initiative” is a whole-of-government intitiative to ensure that Federal agencies work with state and local communities to deliver at least 40% of the benefits from Federal investment in climate and clean energy to disadvantaged communities.  This resolution states that Cook County is committed to applying for federal monies under the Federal Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), that the County shall adhere to the County’s Procurement Code with regard to equitable participation of minority and women business enterprises for any such IIJA or IRA grants received, and that the Budget Director shall report on IIJA or IRA grants received and on American Rescue Plan Act programs that incorporate Justice40 principles on a quarterly basis.  (Item 22-3910)

Technology & Innovation Committee

• The Committee met to hear reports from the Chief Information Officer Tom Lynch on the Major Technology Projects in the county and on the Integrated Automated Criminal Justice Systems Report, as well as from the County offices.  Generally, CIO Lynch was positive.  He also reported on the status of moving the remaining applications off of the main frame.  As he explained, there are fewer and fewer people who have the expertise to maintain these applications and the cost is high.  
• No one from the offices of the Board of Review or the State’s Attorney were at the meeting to provide the required reports, much to the irritation of the Commissioners.  As a result, the Committee deferred the item on the Major Projects Report to a later meeting when those offices would be present.  Comm. Degnen wants to know when the Board of Review will commit to moving from the main frame to the Integrated Property Tax System. (Item 22-5023)
• Comm. Daley asked whether the technology issues that helped cause the delay in the 2nd installment property tax bill this year would also impact next year’s 2nd installment.  The Assessor’s office stated that there should not be such a significant delay next year.
• Comm. Daley also inquired why no report had yet been produced on the number of criminal cases delayed and whether at the request of the State’s Attorney or defendant’s attorneys.  The Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office explained that while that information is available for each case by reading each file, there is no data coding to capture it and produce a report.  That office is currently working on the new Traffic Court applications, and will turn to adding the data codes that will allow future reports for the Commissioners.   

Emergency Management & Regional Security Committee

• Heard a presentation from the new Executive Director of the Cook County Emergency Management & Regional Security, Theodore (Ted) Berger, who had previously worked as the Deputy Director prior to taking other positions with the County.  
• Mr. Berger presented the organization chart (which has 2 key openings for the Chief Deputy Director and Deputy Director for Operations). 
• The Department assists municipalities with emergency situations; has built mutual aid capacity to loan equipment and materials so each municipality does not have to purchase them, and provides expertise and helps secure grants to benefit all of Cook County.

Observer:  Priscilla Mims

Cook County Board Finance Committee Meeting
May 11, 2022

The Commissioners agreed to consider a Substitute to replace the original version of a proposed ordinance to increase the salaries of all County elected officials.  However, the Commissioners further agreed to delay voting on the merits of the Substitute to a meeting of the Committee to be held later this month.  The League of Women Voters of Cook County, both in written and verbal testimony at this meeting had urged this delay in order to provide the public more time to review and provide input on this proposal.  (Item 22-2825)

Under the Substitute

• As set forth in a chart, the salaries of all County Elected Officials will be raised by 10% as of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 which begins in December 2022 when the new terms begin (December 2024 for the Clerk of the Court).  After the initial year, the salaries will be further adjusted by the lesser of 3% or the change in the Chicago Consumer Price Index for FY 2024, 2025 and 2026.  Such salaries have not been raised in 20 years.  The League supports these increases.
• The Substitute also provides that such yearly adjustments shall continue after FY 2026 until and unless there is a vote by the Board to eliminate or amend such increases.  The League urged the deletion of this provision stating that there should be a review and a vote for any further increases.

Also at this meeting

• Commissioner Anaya questioned the amount the County is to pay to the Court-Appointed Administrator for the Shakman case in the Assessor’s office.  Comm. Anaya noted that the amount is much higher than in the past, which surprised her as she understands that the oversight is nearing its end.  The representative from the State’s Attorney said that that office has questioned the Court-Appointed Administrator, who said that there was additional work involved to finish the case.  Comm. Silvestri suggested that the detailed bills could come before the Litigation Subcommittee for further discussion.

Observer:  Priscilla Mims