Category: Cook County Board

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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Cook County Board Honors the Seven Retiring Commissioners for their Service

12/8/2018

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Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - November 14, 2018

All commissioners were present except Commissioner Garcia who was in Washington DC, for Congress Orientation. Commissioners Boykin, Butler, Fritchey, Garcia, Goslin, Moody and Schneider were honored for their service on the Cook County Board.

What did the Board decide?

The Annual Calendar of regular and consent meetings for the calendar year 2019 was approved. Click here to see schedule of meetings.

The regular Board meetings will occur on Thursdays, at 10:00 am. - approximately monthly (13 meetings scheduled)
The Consent Calendar meetings will take place on Wednesdays at 9:00 am. - monthly the day prior to the Board Meeting (11 meetings scheduled)
The Finance Committee and Rules Committee will meet on Wednesdays, at 10:30am - following the Consent Calendar Meetings
The Zoning and Building Committee and Transportation Committee (formally known as Roads and Bridges Committee) will meet at 10:30 am on the following Wednesdays - January 23, April 24, July 24, and October 23.

President Toni Preckwinkle, said there will be no committee meetings held on the day of the regular Board meeting.

What else did the Board decide:

Proposed Ordinance amendment, that would amend the Land Bank ordinance to prohibit Land Bank from conveying any property to an employee of the Land Bank or the County to their immediate family members was passed with no discussion.
Proposed ordinance from Commissioner Suffredin to increase the GIS fees from $15 to $20 was withdrawn.
All Collective Bargaining agreements were approved without discussion

Committee Items Requiring Board Action:

Workforce Committee: An Intergovernmental agreement with Cook County as lead, and 16 suburban communities to develop a regional assessment of Fair Housing. Approved.
Law Enforcement Committee: Commissioner Moore calling for a hearing on electronic monitoring, Meeting was cancelled
Legislation & Intergovernmental Relations: item proposed by Commissioners Boykin and Suffredin that would change the age to purchase tobacco product from 18 to 21 was deferred. Note that there were students from Proviso High School urging the commissioners to pass this.
Business and Economic Development Committee: Proposed Resolution establishing an Emergency Fund to address the citizenship question in the 2020 Census was tabled.

Watch for in the Future

Proposed ordinance amendment requiring a Fiscal Impact note for pending Legislation was withdrawn, look to see if re-introduced. (18-4207)
Proposed ordinance substitute changing the age from 18-21 to purchase tobacco products. Commissioner Suffredin said it will be deferred to a later date but will be discussed.(18-6109)
Item proposed by Commissioner Suffredin , to increase GIS fee from $15 to $20 was withdrawn, look to see if re-introduced. (18-6982)
See if Commissioner Moore’s proposal for a hearing on electronic monitoring, as it relates to Juveniles, (15-5343) is re-introduced.

Observer - Nancy Marcus Meeting Length: About 3 ½ hours

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Cook County Board Approves $5.9Billion Budget for 2019

11/21/2018

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Cook County Board and Finance Committee Meetings - November 15, 2018

By unanimous vote (15 to 0, with Commissioners Butler and Garcia absent), the Cook County Board approved the budget for fiscal year 2019 that begins on December 1, 2018. Prior to that vote, the Finance Committee (a committee composed of all the Commissioners) approved 16 amendments which are incorporated into the final budget.
These amendments include one which increased the Revenue for the General Fund amount by $11.4 million based on (1) higher surplus in TIF accounts released by Chicago, (2) higher projected revenues by the Treasurer, and (3) projected increases in reimbursements from other governments. This additional $11.4 million was disbursed by several amendments which

Increase General Fund expenditures by $5.6 million through a “Technical Amendment.” In the past, these Technical Amendments generally did not increase the total expenditures, but simply moved amounts around from what had originally been proposed. The League thus far has not been able to identify where the additional funds are to be spent.
Add 10 employees to the Board of Review for $661,102 for the purpose of defending assessments before the Property Tax Appeals Board. During the meeting with the Board of Review, Commissioners were told that such additional employees would more than pay for themselves with the savings achieved by successfully defending assessments.
Add 43 new positions to the Sheriff’s area to add patrols to help stem violence on the south and west sides of Chicago and in the southern suburbs, for a total of $1 million.
Use $1 million to provide and coordinate reentry services for formerly incarcerated. Such services will include mental health and substance abuse services.
Add 16 Assistant State’s Attorneys and a clerk for $1.4 million for the Civil Division of the State’s Attorney’s office. Again, it is expected that this expenditure could pay for itself by enabling the County to seek damages/amounts owed in civil cases and/or to do more work in-house at a lower cost than hiring outside counsel.
Utilize $500,000 to fund services for pregnant and postpartum individuals awaiting trial.
Utilize $1.25 million to fund outreach marketing efforts to increase participation in the 2020 census. Obtaining an accurate count is critical to the County and State obtaining their appropriate share of government funds based on population, as well as appropriate Congressional seats.
Utilize $70,000 to increase funding for the office of the Commissioner who will serve as President Pro Tempore.

Commissioner Fritchey gave a warning about using these potentially one-time funds for creating positions, even as he voted for the amendments and resulting budget.
Two other amendments:

Would create up to 11 analyst positions at the Board of Review for assessment appeals, but only to the extent there are actual receipts from the newly enacted Board of Review Bulk User Fee to cover the costs.
Would allow newly elected officials (the Recorder, Clerk, and 5 new Commissioners) to create new positions by transferring amounts from other accounts within their budgets (so no overall increase in their budgets).

The Finance Committee meeting lasted less than 1 hour, the shortest budget amendment meeting since the League began observing in the mid-2000’s.
Observer - Priscilla Mims

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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

Cook County Board Honors the Seven Retiring Commissioners for their Service

Cook County Board Approves $5.9Billion Budget for 2019

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