Cook County Board of Commissioners Finance Committee - Departmental Budget Hearings
October 25, 2017 Office of the Sheriff of Cook County Commissioners absent for all or most of the meetings: Butler, Goslin, & Schneider. Commissioners present: Arroyo, Boykin, Daley, Deer, Fritchey, Gainer, Garcia, Moody, Moore, Morrison, Schneider, Silvestri, & Tobolski. Suffredin and Sims arrived at about 11:35am. Comm. Daley, Finance Committee Chairman, presided over meeting. Items of Interest:
The Sheriff’s big ideas for reducing the budget were:
A few discussions:
Observer - Amy Little (left shortly before end of meeting)
0 Comments
Cook County Board of Commissioners Finance Committee Hearing - July 18, 2017
Purpose: To discuss the alleged unfairness in the Cook County Property Tax Assessment System - an issue recently raised in a series of articles in the Chicago Tribune. County Assessor Berrios and five senior professionals from his staff testified in front of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Also supplying testimony were Christopher Berry from the University of Chicago, Robert Weissburg, and seven spokespersons representing various community groups from low income neighborhoods within the city of Chicago. Assessor's Office Testimony: Assessor Berrios and his staff testified regarding the methodology used to determine real estate assessments. The following points were made:
Those testifying for the assessor’s office emphasized their high degree of professionalism and their dedication to do whatever they could to be fair and uniform in their assessments. Assessor Berrios called for an independent body to be created to examine their practices and to recommend changes that would improve the system. Other Expert Testimony: Christopher Berry from the University of Chicago and Robert Weissburg, an expert in modeling, gave a different perspective.
Following the testimony, Board commissioners asked clarifying questions and inquired as to when the independent group would be formed and ready to begin its analysis of the current system. There was no commitment as to the date that would happen. Additional Finance Committee Business: Cook County staff came back to the board for a change order to receive additional funds for the Measurement & Maintenance segment of a $60 million contract already approved by the Board.
Observer - Georgia Gebhardt Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - June 7, 2017
Significant Decisions Made:
Significant Topics Discussed and/or Referred to Committee:
Items to watch for in the future:
Observer: Karin Hribar Meeting length: 2 1/2 hours including the committees (9:30-12:00) 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 Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - October 26, 2016
Significant Decisions Made:
Topics provoking discussion:
Items of Interest:
Observer - Karin Hribar Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - May 11, 2016
Major Items Discussed: Withdrawal of Resolution to Petition the State Legislature and Governor to Change the Office of Cook County Circuit Clerk from Elected to Appointed. The Board Room was crowded with people who had come to protest this motion. However, prior to the public comment period, Commissioner Peter Silvestri, who was the named sponsor of this resolution, announced he was withdrawing the item. He explained that this resolution was one of the outcomes of an initiative undertaken by his office to look at the roles of a number of currently elected Cook County positions. He said that the resolution was not directed at Clerk Dorothy Brown, and, in fact, specifically called upon any action by the State not to take effect until December 2020, following the end of the term that will begin after the November election. While a number of people who had signed up to speak had left by the time public comments began, those who did remain expressed support for the withdrawal, as well as support for Clerk Brown. Some in the room clearly took this resolution as an attack on the African American community. Several urged that the Clerk’s salary be increased, as she herself had requested in a recent letter to the Board. Commissioner Steele explained that the salaries for Cook County elected officials are set by State statute, so the Board cannot increase any salaries without State action. Board approves Construction Agreement for New Central Health Center and Redevelopment Agreement for Old Cook County Hospital and Nearby Land. Under the agreement approved with Clayco, a new 9-story ambulatory health and administrative facility will be built with a connection to Stroger Hospital for $112 million, plus additional “soft costs” for a total of $118 million. This building will replace the 1959 Fantus Clinic, the 1931 Polk Administrative Building (originally built as a nurses’ dormitory), and the 1964 Hektoen Administration Builidng. Design of the new facility will continue through the remainder of 2016, with construction proposed to begin in January of 2017 and expected completion by the third quarter of 2018. (Agenda Item #16-2503)
Resolution by Commissioner Boykin to Reduce the President’s and Commissioners’ Salaries by $10,000 for the purpose of funding public works projects and creating meaningful jobs for residents of Cook County failed for lack of a second. Other Actions/Discussion:
Items from 9 am Finance Committee Meeting of May 11: Commissioner Boykin deferred several items regarding a proposed special use gasoline and fuel tax and proposals on how to utilize the resulting funds. (#16-2566, 16-2567, 16-2569, 16-2570, 16-2571) His motion to approve a local business preference ordinance failed for lack of a second. (#16-2614) Observer - Priscilla Mims Length of Board Meeting: 2 hours, 45 minutes (Consent Agenda: 20 minutes) |
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