Category: Cook County Board

Current Social Issues on Agendas at Cook County Board Committee Meetings

7/11/2019

Cook County Board of Commissioners - Committee Meetings - June 26, 2019

Human Relations Committee:
Human Rights Ordinance amendment - Amendment Passed.
(Agenda Item 19-3462 - sponsor K. Morrison)

The amendment changes the word meaning of “sex” to include gender and also gender identity in public accommodations. No one would need to show proof of gender in public areas with certain exceptions such as single sex schools, sleeping areas, etc.

Criminal Justice Committee:
Charitable Bond Fund Ordinance substitute. Substitute passed and final approval deferred to next Criminal Justice Committee meeting
(Agenda Item 19-0768 - sponsor Suffredin)

The substitute to the ordinance would include family members bailing out defendants—, but the ordinance still is awaiting input from fiscal impact note and other details.
The Ordinance as a whole would enable charities, groups and individuals to donate money for a Bond Fund to bail out defendants who are awaiting trial and can’t afford their bail. There are currently about 400 individuals who are being held in jail with bond amounts of $5,000.00 or less.
This charitable fund would be replenished by the refunds defendants would get for showing up to trial.
Definite criteria of who would qualify for these funds needs to be fully developed and presented to the Board.
Excluded from these funds would be defendants in de-tox programs and mental health treatment because they would benefit from the programs in the jail.
No court fees or fines could be taken from these funds, including the $100.00 processing fee.
The entire ordinance is deferred and will stay in committee until home-rule restrictions and other issues can be worked out. The fiscal impact to the courts of not charging fees will also be determined.

Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee:

Resolution supporting equality and equal rights act for LGBTQ individuals throughout the United States - Resolution passed. (Agenda Item 19-3961 - sponsors L. Suffredin, K. Morrison)
The committee passed a resolution supporting the US House bill proposing Medicare for All throughout the United States. (Agenda Item 19-3838 Medicare for All Act)
Several Board members and other individuals were appointed to the Complete Count Census Commission.

Observed online by: Karin Hribar

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Cook County Board Approves Resolution in Support of The Medicare for All Act - HR1384

6/15/2019

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Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - June 6, 2019
Commissioner Absent: Stanley Moore

What did the Board Decide:

The Board approved a Resolution in Support of HR1384 - The Medicare for All Act.
Rationale:

The United States spends nearly twice as much per capita on health care as all other comparable countries, yet ranks only 35th by global health standards.
The uninsured rate for U. S. adults has risen for four straight years up to nearly 30 million uninsured.
More than 40% of all U.S. adults under the age of 65 forego needed medical care, fail to fill a prescription or take less than the recommended dose of their medication.
The inability to pay medical bills continues to be a leading cause of personal bankruptcy.
55% of the uninsured are people of color.
Due to their profit incentive, private insurance companies deny up to one-fourth of all claims for care.

The Medicare for All Act supposedly will:

Establish guaranteed, universal health care to all U.S. residents, eliminating all costs for premiums, deductibles, copays and other out of pocket costs.
Ensure genuine patient choice of any doctor, hospital or clinic a patient chooses.
Reduce the cost of prescription drugs by authorizing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices.

Other Items of Interest:

The meeting began with three public speakers, nurses at Stroger Hospital, in support of the above bill.
The Board referred to the Criminal Justice Committee a proposed ordinance to change the hours of the Law Library, to make it more accessible to the public for the purposes of legal research.
The Board approved the authorization to renew a Cook County States Attorney’s Office grant to provide funding for a total of 21 victim specialists to provide services to all crime victims throughout Cook County. - Grant amount: $2,250,000.00

Observer: – Beverly Graham Meeting Length: 55 minutes

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Cook County Board Approves Intergovernmental Agreement with MWRD for Independent Inspector General Services

5/2/2019

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Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting- April 25, 2019

Notable Items Passed:

The Board approved an amendment (Agenda Item 19-3024) to the ordinance covering the Office of Independent Inspector General (OIIG) that will allow the OIIG to provide services pursuant to any intergovernmental agreement approved by the Board of Commissioners to which the OIIG is a party (Cook County Code, section 2-284 #14) and to provide services pursuant to a memorandum of understanding to any agency funded by the County Board to which the OIIG is a party and the OIIG determines that a memorandum of understanding is applicable or preferred (Cook County Code, section 2-284 #15). The Board then approved the proposed intergovernmental agreement with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) for the OIIG to provide services to the District (Agenda Item 19-3027). The League testified in support of this intergovernment agreement at the MWRD the week before, and sent a letter of support to the Cook County Board prior to the vote.
The Board approved a proposed amendment to the Human Relations - Housing section of the Cook County Code that will require landlords to determine if someone can qualify for a property before the landlord can ask about criminal history, and delayed the effective date for this amendment for 6 months. Commissioners discussed the importance of clear guidelines for small landlords in the rule making process in order to make clear what is needed for compliance. A question was raised regarding whether “rules” come back to the Board for review, and the answer was yes. (Agenda Item 19-2394)
The Board approved the Report and Amended Resolution from the Litigation Subcommitte following the Committee’s hearing on the status of the Shakman cases in the Offices of the Assessor, Clerk of the Court, and Recorder of Deeds. (Agenda Item 19-2242) Court-appointed oversight of these offices has been ongoing for 9 years for the Assessor, 7 years for the Recorder, and since last year for the Clerk. Much work needs still to be done before they can be found to be in substantial compliance with the Shakman decisions, which prohibit political considerations with regard to the hiring, firing, promotion, or pay of all but a few “exempt” employees. These cases have cost the County millions of dollars. The Commissioners at the hearing on Tuesday emphasized the need for these offices to come into compliance as soon as possible. The Subcommittee amended the hearing resolution to provide for quarterly hearings on these matters. The League testified in support of such regular oversight by the Subcommittee, and the Subcommittee utilized the questions submitted by the League during the hearing on April 23

Other items of interest:

The Board approved a contract with the Adult Probation Department, Circuit Court of Cook County and Loyola University to develop and implement a recidivism reduction program for high-risk probationers. This plan will “include an in-depth implementation fidelity review plan, a process evaluation plan, and an outcome evaluation plan”. The contract period is 5/01/2019 - 9/30/2021. (Agenda Item 19-2519)
Com. Kevin Morrison questioned a contract for disposable kitchen supplies for the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. Com. Morrison asked if the contract looked at compostable, biodegradable or reusable supplies.

Future items:

A proposed ordinance regarding establishing civil fees and criminal and traffic assessments collected by the Clerk of the Circuit Court Cook County was referred to the Finance Committee. The Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act restructures criminal, traffic and civil fees in the circuit courts in Illinois in order to consolidate fees into unified schedules. (Agenda Item 19-2843)

Observer - Laura Davis. Meeting Length - 2 hours and 10 minutes when observer left - ongoing

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Cook County Board Votes to Request Hearing on Shakman Compliance

3/24/2019

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Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - March 21, 2019

NOTABLE RESOLUTIONS PASSED:

There was a resolution passed to secure a memorial to document the location of the 1924 lynching of William Bell. This will be done in partnership with the DuSable Museum and the University of Illinois (Chicago). Counties throughout the nation are cooperating with the Equal Justice Initiative/Memorial Museum in Montgomery, Alabama to shed light on this part of American History.
A unanimous vote was cast requesting a hearing of the Litigation Subcommittee to discuss the status of Shakman compliance in the office of the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court, the Cook County Recorder of Deeds and the Cook County Assessor. Violations have cost the county tax payers millions of dollars.
There was a resolution to urge the Illinois General Assembly to amend the property tax code regarding the senior citizen homestead exemption. Currently each senior must request this annually, which the commissioners deemed to be unnecessary.

COMMITTEE ITEMS REQUIRING BOARD ACTION:

The commissioners concurred with a proposed resolution from the Human Relations Committee urging the U.S. Congress to provide emergency legislation to prevent the deportation of recipients of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and TPS (temporary protected status).
Commissioners concurred with Finance Committee’s proposed amendment to the Predictable Recording Fee Ordinance.
Commissioners concurred to Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee’s resolution requesting a hearing to discuss the status of the Cook County Sheriff’s Prescription Drug Take Back Program.

With the exception of a few minor questions to clarify, there was no discussion of items, and the board moved quickly through the agenda. Even with an extensive public comment period to support the DACA resolution and to oppose a power plant in Glenwood, Illinois, the meeting adjourned at 12:20 pm.

Observer - Georgia Gebhardt Meeting Length: 2 hours

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Cook County Board Raises Age to Purchase Tobacco Products to 21, but only Applies in Unincorporated Areas

1/28/2019

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Cook County Board Meeting and Board Committee Meetings
January 23 and 24, 2019

Meeting Length: Board Meeting lasted 2 hours on Jan. 24. Committee meetings lasted approx. 3 hours on Jan. 23, and started 3 hours late because of length of Consent Agenda meeting.

What did the Board decide?

Approved raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21. Comm. Degnen voted no and Comm. Arroyo voted present because they believe 18 is considered to be an “adult” for other purposes and adults should have the freedom to choose. During the Committee hearing, much to the surprise of the sponsors, a County attorney stated that the ordinance would only apply to unincorporated areas. The ordinance does not apply to “possession” of tobacco products because no one wants someone under 21 to get a “record” for possession. Comm. Sean Morrison said that it was good that when this same ordinance was introduced at the last meeting of the prior Board, it was decided not to rush but to instead reintroduce it with the new Board. He said he took the time to reach out to businesses in his district and found that there would be little impact because only about 4% of the tobacco purchases were from those under 21. With the extra time, he became a “yes” vote. (Agenda Item 19-0605).
Approved amendments to Inspector General ordinance that add penalties for disclosing information from Confidential Summary Reports that are sent only to President’s Office and the applicable elected official or department head. Penalties are up to 6 months imprisonment and up to $5,000 fine. Inspector General explained that these Confidential Reports differ from the summary public reports that are posted on his web site and which have far fewer details. (Agenda Item 19-0602)
Approved creation of a Complete Count Census Commission to be headed by Comms. Moore and Deer. Purpose is to create plan for reach-out to ensure everyone is counted because many federal and state funds are based on the census count. (Agenda Item 19-0733)
Approved a new contract for a “communication platform” for the Jail and Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. This covers phone calls (reduced from 12.5 cents a minute to 6 cents locally, 8 cents long distance within North America, and 13 cents for international calls), email exchanges (from and to detainee for total of 10 cents), and texts ($10 for up to 250 texts, or $20 for up to 600 texts). Also includes education component that provides tablets and classes for free to detainees. And this platform will eliminate a lot of paper that flows within the jail. Costs the County nothing and it receives no revenues. There was apparently some controversy over the awarding of the contract to Adobo in that the current provider of telephone service objected, but the head of Procurement explained the award was justified taking into account all the services to be provided at the specified fees. (Agenda Item 19-0005)
Approved a resolution requiring the development of a county-wide CPR and AED training awareness campaign and expansion of training access. The Cook County Health Department supported, and there were a number of speakers in favor. A date will be set for the Commissioners to be trained. (Agenda Item 19-0645)
Approved a resolution for the County to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030. (Agenda Item 19-1080)
Approved waiving fee for rabies vaccination for veterans and residents with disabilities. (Agenda Item 19-1234)

What to watch for:

Sent to Legislation & Govt. Affairs Committee: Hearing on impact of U.S. government shutdown on County. (Agenda Item 19-1368)
Sent to Economic Development Committee: Amendment to Ordinance that established a Commission on Social Innovation for Job Creation, Workforce Development, Entrepreneurship, Community Revitalization, and Individual Development. Comm. Suffredin expressed concern over the ordinance and fact that Chair and, under amendment, Vice-Chair has sole authority to appoint members. Comm. Gainer explained the only change to ordinance was to allow Vice Chair (Comm. Anaya) to appoint and run Commission’s activities, in addition to Chair, who had been Comm. Garcia and who is now Comm. Gainer. Will be interesting to see if any further changes are made to this ordinance in Committee. (Agenda Item 19-1382)
Comm. Moore will have hearings of Criminal Justice and Asset Management Committees which he chairs to discuss status of various programs of Sheriff and of Asset Management Dept., respectively. (Agenda Items 19-1338 and 19-1358)

Observer - Priscilla Mims,

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Parking App Tax Break Repealed by Cook County Board

12/20/2018

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Cook County Board of Commissioners - December 12, 2018
Committees: Rules and Administration, Zoning and Building, Finance
Meeting Length: 2 hours

What did the Board decide?

At a previous Board meeting, it was decided that starting in 2019, all committees will meet the day prior to the regular Board meeting instead of the same day. This was reiterated to the audience since one speaker complained.
Comm. Suffredin explained general procedures for approval of court cases, litigation and workers comp payments and encouraged new Board members to learn about these cases. Judges are pleased to discuss this with new Board members.
Unanimous approval by the Board to repeal a parking tax break (Ordinance 18-5789) for parking app users such as Spot Hero. The tax was scheduled to drop to 1.75% in January, but with the repeal the tax will remain at 6%.
Approved the creation of a Census Count Commission (Agenda Item 19-0733)

What else did the Board discuss or refer to committee?

The following items were referred to these respective committees:
Legislation & Intergovernmental Relations Committee

Ordinance to increase age for purchase of tobacco products to 21 (Agenda Item 19-0605)
Amendment to the Inspector General Ordinance that would enable financial and prison penalties for leaking confidential Inspector General reports information (Agenda Item 19-0602)

Criminal Justice Committee

Restrictions on the use of Gang Intelligence Data Base (Agenda Item 19-0687)
Create a Charitable Rotating Bond Fund (Agenda Item 19-0768)

Finance Committee

Fair Elections Program and Fund which would provide public matching funds of up to $1,500,000 per year for Cook County elected offices and commissioner elections (Agenda Item 19-0689)

Economic Development Committee

Historical Property Tax Exemption (Agenda Item 19-0688)

Observer - Karin Hribar

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<<Previous

Current Social Issues on Agendas at Cook County Board Committee Meetings

Cook County Board Approves Resolution in Support of The Medicare for All Act - HR1384

Cook County Board Approves Intergovernmental Agreement with MWRD for Independent Inspector General Services

Cook County Board Votes to Request Hearing on Shakman Compliance

Cook County Board Raises Age to Purchase Tobacco Products to 21, but only Applies in Unincorporated Areas

Parking App Tax Break Repealed by Cook County Board

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