Cook County Board of Commissioners Finance Committee - Departmental Budget Hearings
November 2, 2017 - 9AM Capital Budget Commissioners Present from the beginning at 9AM until the end at 11AM Daley, Morrison, Suffredin,Silvestri, Garcia, Boykin, Gainer, Schneider Commissioners Present only for the Q and A : Arroyo, Deer, Simms, Moore Commissioners Absent:Tobolski,Fritchey,Butler, Goslin, Moody The Capital budget is mostly about big, long-term projects. Their overriding principle guiding this department has to do with assessing the county’s needs and matching each project with the necessary funding. They must decide between short-term and long-term financing. Short term financing mostly deals with their operating fund, while long term financing deals with funding through debt. Amman Rizki, as head of the department, gave the main presentation., Ann Kalayil also spoke as Assets Manager. And John Yonan spoke for the transportation issues. All three (and their staffers) answered questions. Some Highlights from their presentations include:
Question and Answer:
(At this point there was a break in the discussion. I was seated behind Comm. Suffredin and asked him about the branch court closings. He said that the most underutilized branch was located at Belmont and Western. If closed, those proceedings would move to Grand and Central. Talk of closing a court like Bridgeview was a whole different matter, he said. Bridgeview represents a whole judicial district, not a branch.) There was much discussion at the end about the Oak Forest Hospital complex. Many commissioners weighed in on what to do with the 340 acres and 60 buildings, plus a church and a cemetery. Department officials admitted that a feasibility study was needed and one is being planned. Questions remained about how much could actually be saved, given the enormity of closing this complex and planning for the future. Observer - Jan Goldberg
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Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - June 28, 2017
Significant Topics Discussed: After a series of Chicago Tribune articles calling out the Cook County Assessor’s office for failure to provide assessment fairness between high and low valued properties, several Commissioners called for Cook County Assessor Barrios to attend a Finance Committee hearing made up of all board members to explain, defend, and take questions on the current process. One commissioner said he wanted the hearing held in July. Nancy Marcus, Cook County League of Women Voters Co-President, testified that it is past time for the Commissioners to use the County’s Performance Standards in evaluating the elected offices, and the Assessor's office should be focused on doing accurate assessments in the first instance, and not opening up more avenues to contest property appraisals. Issues Referred to Committee:
Other Items of Interest:
Observer: Diane Edmundson Meeting Length: 90 minutes Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - May 10, 2017
Significant Decisions Made:
Significant Topics Discussed and/or Referred to Committee:
Other Testimony:
Other Comments or Observations:
Observer: Syvia Tillman Meeting Length: 5 hours including committee meetings Cook County Board of Commissioners Board Meeting - April 12, 2017
At the end of the Finance Committee that preceded the Board Meeting, a report from the Cook County Health and Hospitals System (CCHHS) CFO stated that the state owes $45 million to the county for FY16. There is a match that the county makes to the state that is required to meet the federal match and CCHHS makes expedited payments to the state in order to get the money back from the federal government. The money is actually driven down by the CFO and hand delivered to the state office in order to prevent the continued delay from the state regarding not yet receiving the match money from the county! Comm. Boykin asked Dr. Jay Shannon, CCHHS CEO, to explain the status of the gun violence reduction study being done by CCHHS. Dr. Shannon said that the study continues, but preliminary results show major stresses on families and communities are similar to the stresses that researchers are finding with children in Syria! Trauma Informed Care is showing that the trauma of living in a continued state of stress leads to chronic behavioral problems and ultimately to physical disease. He described it as a cascading problem. CCHHS is targeting community based care which will offer social and mental health support in the affected communities. The goal is for CCHHS to get into the community, and better results will occur. Comm. Steele suggested looking at mental health awareness. Comm. Sims then offered her own experience of visiting with families and educating families about resources available. Dr. Shannon explained that almost anything can be accomplished if the resources are available. Comm. Sims then said that she thought they all would agree to find a way and she suggested that the Dept of Human Services should take the lead. There are other models in the country where communities have put through referendums to tax the affected community in order to financially support the needed services. During Public Comment two women from the violence impacted communities provided emotional testimony and one stated that she was with the Warriors on the Watch. They described needed services and support for neighborhoods filled with liquor stores and abandoned houses. They expressed anger about guns and gangs and kids dying in the street. They asked for work “in our communities, so we don’t have to duck and die." One called out Comm. Sims and said she is in the suburbs, not the west side. Both were verbally supported by comments from Mr. George Blakemore. Significant Issues Discussed and/or Action Taken:
Observer - Laura Davis Meeting: 9:45 to 12:45 Impending Real Estate Delinquent Tax Sale Brings Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. to Cook County Board Meeting3/23/2017 Cook County Board of Commissioners Board Meeting - March 22, 2017
Significant Issue Discussed: Real Estate Delinquent Tax Sale - Commissioners Gainer, Boykin, and Garcia along with Treasurer Maria Pappas brought the issue to Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., who spoke at the CC Board meeting. He asked all commissioners to inform their constituents about Real Estate Tax Delinquency buyers:
Other items of interest discussed: Cook County Health and Hospitals System (CCHHS)
Observer - Amy Little Cook County Board of Commissioners Board and Committee Meetings - March 8, 2017
Significant Actions Taken:
Other Actions Taken:
Other Discussion of Interest: Cook County Health & Hospitals System (CCHHS) Issues During the Finance Committee’s consideration of a monthly report from CCHHS:
Observer: Priscilla Mims Length of Board Meeting: 1 hour |
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