Cook County Board & Finance Committee Meetings
November 24, 2020

The Board

• Unanimously passed the $6.9 billion budget, as amended (Agenda Item 20-4595).
• Unanimously passed an amendment to the Property Tax Relief Ordinance which provides that late fees will not be assessed for any payments of the 1st installment of the property tax bill, still due by March 2, that are made on or before May 3; and that late fees will not be assessed for any payments of the 2nd installment, still due by Aug. 2, that are made on or before Oct.1.  This amendment is in recognition of the pandemic and the financial toll it has taken on many residents and businesses (Agenda Item 20-5643).

The Board met immediately after the Finance Committee, which passed 19 amendments unanimously to amend the budget.  Many of these amendments were “technical” in that they simply made budget neutral changes to reflect either corrections to the Executive Budget or to reflect new information since the Executive Budget was presented in mid-October.  The following changes were the most substantive:

• As a result of identifying additional revenues from the State, 48 positions were restored to the Chief Judge’s budget, including positions in the Adult Probation Department, and 41 positions were restored to the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (also under the Chief Judge).
• Funding to continue to operate the Morton East Clinic under the Cook County Health's (CCH) budget was found by making some adjustments to other line items in that budget.  Commissioner Anaya, one of the sponsors, stressed that this Clinic has been a vital health center for the high school and the surrounding community, and is an entry point for other CCH services.  Commissioner Anaya emphasized that there should not be a single model for providing health care within the County, but that different models are needed for different communities.  Key is to engage the public in each community to find out what their needs and preferences are.  Many of the other Commissioners thanked Commissioner Anaya and Commissioner Aguilar, the other sponsor, for finding the money to keep this clinic open.  During the public comments at the various hearings on the budget, this was among the issues raised the most often by those seeking its continuation.

Following the budget passage at the Board meeting, some of the comments included:

• President Preckwinkle stressed that the 2021 budget, which contains no new taxes or fees, was possible because of many years of hard work and hard votes by the Board.  The Administration and Board have stuck to a long-term financial plan, rather than look to one-time solutions.
• Commissioner Sean Morrison cited the past actions which included extra payments to the Pension Fund of $2 B (which led to a higher bond rating for the County;) the increase in the Fund Balance over the past years from $30 M to $479 M, which allowed this year’s budget to be balanced by taking some money from that Fund Balance; and the Board’s funding of technology which has allowed the County departments to continue operating remotely during this pandemic.
• Commissioner Kevin Morrison reminded everyone that the Administration presented a balanced budget after having to close a $400 M deficit.

Observer:  Priscilla MIms

Cook County Board Finance Committee Departmental Budget Meeting
Friday, November 6, Morning Session

State’s Attorney Budget:
$176,585,418 (2021)-$161,837,454(2020) = increase of $14,747,964
1,401.4 FTE’s (2021)-1,362.2 FTE’s (2020) = an increase of 39.2

Cook County Clerk Budget:
$58.590M (2021)- $58.070 M (2020-includes Recorder’s Budget from 2020) =increase of $520,000
350 FTE’s (2021)- 386.8(2020- includes Recorder’s FTEs from 2020) =decrease of 36.8

Chicago Board of Elections Budget (note: the City of Chicago provides a large portion of the monies for this Board’s operation during even years, and all but the cost of the 4 FTEs during odd-numbered years):
$1,248,144 (2021)-$22,770,124 (2020) =decrease of $21,521,980
FTE’S 4.0 (2021)-4.0 FTE’s (2020) =no difference

Highlights of the State’s Attorney Budget Meeting:
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx highlighted work done in fiscal year 2020:

• There were 38,6900 offenders charged in felony cases
• 33,990 were charge but not yet disposed meaning their cases are still making their way through the system
• 1/3 of the cases or 35% were charges for unlawful use of guns
• Of those cases 90% conviction rate.

The reason for slowdown in convictions was due to COVID-19 as the State’s Attorney office shifted the way they work to working remotely - in addition the Courts are virtual. They are working slowly but steadily to catch up. 
The State’s Attorney’s office is well aware of the budget restraints during these difficult times and they are working to prioritize prosecuting violent crimes especially unlawful use of guns. 
The Commissioners did not ask many questions about the budget. Commissioner K. Morrison wanted to know why there was a nine-person reduction of personnel in the Felony Review Unit (this Unit works with law enforcement agencies to review felonies cases.) Kim Foxx stated that they went from a two shift 12-hour seven day a week to three shifts. They found that they did not need as many personnel in each shift as they did when it was a 12-hour shift, so they were able to cut positions but not the effectiveness of the Unit. Commissioner Degnen commended the State’s Attorney’s office for a well-organized budget. She questioned the increase in operating funds. Kim Foxx stated that this was due to Grants they received for programs. 

Commissioners Aguilar, Suffredin and Degnen  questioned the expungement of marijuana cases. Foxx stated that due to COVID there has been a slowdown of these cases. But they are making progress.  To date they are working to process 300 cases, working twice a week. 
Commissioner Sims wanted to know about the issue concerning retail theft and whether people are being prosecuted. Foxx is trying to work with local municipalities to handle some of these cases as it takes a lot of time for the Assistant State’s Attorneys to prosecute and sometimes the defendants do not show up in court.  She emphasized they are being prosecuted despite what was heard in the news. Foxx stated they would rather focus on gun cases.

Commissioners Suffredin and Britton both praised the Civil Division of the States Attorney ‘s office. They both said it does not get noticed like the Criminal Division.

Of interest Foxx stated that Cook County Attorney’s office is the second largest office in the US, LA County being the largest. LA only handles felonies. Cook County handles Felonies, misdemeanors, Civil cases, child support cases and Juvenile Delinquent cases. A big case load to handle.

Highlights of the Cook County Clerk’s Budget Meeting
This was a challenging year for the Election. Despite COVID-19, Clerk Karen Yarbrough reported that her  office worked tirelessly to make sure this election went well. Clerk Yarbrough thanked Toni Preckwinkle  and the Procurement staff for all of their help to make sure there was PPE and equipment available at all polling places. This was a record-breaking election. Yarbrough divided her discussion into two parts:  the Election and the Assumption of the Recorder of Deeds’ duties into the Cook County Clerk’s office.
Election

• 570,000 VBM ballots were processed and mailed out, 50,000-70,000 ballots mailed daily. This is in comparison to the last elections where only 96,000 were sent
• 430,000 VBM ballots were received and processed. They processed 25,000 to 50,000 per day at the Election Operation Center in Cicero
• 20% increase in Early voting from the previous election
• 7 supersites were created for suburban use including a super site at Union Station
• Ballots and election materials were translated into 12 languages
• All election Judges will be invited to a virtual meeting to discuss the election

Assumption of the Recorder of Deeds’ duties into the Cook County Clerk Office.

• Final stage of the assumption. Yarbrough stated that this will be completed by December 7, on schedule
• Cook County Clerk will provide  4 key services

1. Elections
2. Tax Services
3. Vital Records
4. Recording 

• The Vital Records office will be moved to the First Floor of the Cook County Building and will share space with the Recording function to better serve the community. 
• Projected saving of the merger equals $1.4 M per year with $6.7M projected savings over the next years
• Increase in Budget is due to the merger
• All of the Commissioners present commended Karen Yarbrough and staff on the election. Especially on the fact that ballots and election material were available in 12 languages
• Commissioners Britton, Moore K. Morrison, Sims, Anaya, and Aguilar all were concerned about the hiring and/re-hiring of former employees of the Recorder of Deeds. They hoped that former employees could keep their job as institutional knowledge would be helpful. They were also concerned that if hired they might not be hired at the same salary or rank. The County Clerk’s office said that those re-hired will not lose rank, salary or benefits.
• A number of Commissioners were concerned about the backlog of documents at the Recorder of Deeds office. Commissioner Suffredin stated that they are especially concerned about the backlog of Transfer of Death forms and Mechanical Liens that were presented and not filed.  County Clerk’s office said that they are working on this. The Recorder of Deeds office is not open to the public and employees are working from home. This has caused a problem. Relators have also voiced a concern. 
• Commissioner Degnen mentioned the League of Women Voters Questions that were sent to the Clerk’s office and to all of the Commissioners. Chairman Daley asked that the Clerk’s office respond in writing to these questions. 
• Commissioner Suffredin stated that at the next Board meeting proposed item 20-4415 will be on the agenda. This amends the Cook County Code to replace the name of Recorder of Deeds to Cook County Clerk
• Commissioner Suffredin also stated that he had constituents call his office concerned that their ballots were not received at the Election Center due to the tracking system not operating correctly. Deputy Clerk Michalowski stated that they used a third-party contractor for this process, there were glitches, and they are being worked out. Suffredin also asked if the Clerk’s office is prepared for the next election since it is a Consolidated Election, local elections and many different ballots would have to be printed for each municipality. Michalowski said they would be ready. Suffredin commented that the program to use lawyers in the city and suburbs at polling places worked well and they should consider using lawyers again.

Highlights of The Chicago Board of Elections Budget Meeting
It was announced that Lane Gough, Executive Director of the Board of Elections will be retiring. His assistant, Charles Holiday will be replacing him. All commissioners wished him well.
Marisol Hernandez, Chair of the Board of Elections reported the following:

• 13,500 Chicagoans served as Election Judges for this election; that is 2,000 more than served in 2016
• 425,000 Vote by Mail Ballots were returned either by mail or by placing in secure drop boxes
• 370,000 Chicagoans voted early
• 800,000 ballots were received before the election
• 51 drop off boxes were available to voters through November 3

Looking ahead for 2021

• The Board of Elections will maintain voter registration
• Work includes the canvasing and remapping of wards precincts, and Congressional districts etc., once the census numbers are available and redistricting occurs 
• Handle objections for petitions for the 2022 election.

Commissioner Daley wanted to know if in the future the results from Chicago and Cook County could be combined. It was stated that this is a possibility.
Commissioner Degnen questioned a line item, Contingencies & special Purposes page B-4 of the budget. It shows $900,000-line item taken out of the budget. Executive Director Gough stated that he believed this was a Grant that is finished but he will get back to the Board.

Observer: Nancy Marcus

Cook County Board Finance Committee Departmental Budget Hearings
November 2

​Board of Review 
Proposed Budget for 2021 $14.073M  
2020 Budget $13.473 MM
Difference -  increase of $0.6 MM
Proposed FTES for 2021 - 142 FTEs
2020 FTEs – 142 FTEs
Difference - 0

Highlights from the Board of Review Proposed Budget:

• The fact that the Board of Review (BOR) spent money several years ago on IT systems meant that March 13 they were all able to unplug their laptops and take them home to continue working seamlessly on tax appeals.  The overwhelming good news is the BOR employees are trained and using their IT programs correctly.  BOR re-assigned a few people to work on PTAB appeals, since the county was losing lots of money to state appeals wins.  Now BOR says it has fought many of these appeals and retained $110 million for school districts that are the first ones to pay money for successful property tax appeals.

Treasurer
Proposed Budget for 2021 - $13.588M
2020 Budget - $13.286M
Difference -  increase of $.302M
Proposed FTEs for 2021 - 86.5 FTEs
2020 FTEs - 86.5 FTEs
Difference - 0

Highlights from the Treasurer's Proposed Budget:

• Maria Pappas, as always, delivered a lively and combative budget presentation.  As with the BOR, the overwhelming good news is that due to the coronavirus, taxpayers have learned to avoid physical offices and begin to feel comfortable paying their taxes on line.  Website usage has increased dramatically as homeowners print out their tax bills and interact with the website successfully.  She has 58 active employees with half of them in IT.  She currently has 20 open FTEs that she hopes she won’t need but will include in the budget depending on the end of the virus and customer behavior.
• Unpaid taxes are mostly from commercial properties and hotels.  Hilton and Drake hotels are past due at this time, along with many other large properties like Sears.
• Pappas appears on WVON (1690 AM) each week in a segment called “Black homes Matter”.  She answers questions about exemptions and explains how to apply for refunds and how to learn about possible 3rd party tax sales.  She plans to buy 2 vans in 2021 to do visits to communities where people are too scared to venture out.  The van personnel will assist in refunds, exemptions, and getting people off the tax sale lists.

Observer - Amy Little

Cook County Board Finance Committee Departmental Budget Hearings
November 6

CHIEF JUDGE -  TIM EVANS

Proposed 2021 Budget: $267,492,961                Proposed 2021 FTEs - 2783
2020 Budget:  $277,958,472                              2020 FTEs - 3029
Difference:  ($10,465,510)  decrease                  Difference - decrease 246 

Highlights of Presentation and Questions:

• Two more restorative justice courts “opened” but not yet being used—Englewood and      Avondale.  For 18-26 year olds to get “second chance” and  to stay out of Criminal Justice (CJ) System.  Involves the making the victim whole, dismissal of the case if completed.  12 new “peacekeepers have been hired and 12 more to be hired soon.  Difficult to set up more of these courts as they need to be in “gang-neutral territory” and the costs lower.  There will be an increase of judges available for these courts, but often prosecutors, defense attorneys don’t show up
• Length of stay (in jail) question (carry over from Dart budget hearing)  There were 9421 pending cases active since August.  85% (7945) of these were completed within 2 years, another 9% within 3 years.  About 2-3% are very serious cases involving multiple murders, etc. and after 9 years they have not been completed.  Some are on appeal, others require a lot of background investigation for trial (DNA, witness location, etc.), some awaiting sentencing.  Evans stated that this long length of stay is “blown out of proportion.”  Comm. Miller requested a public hearing on Length of Stay with all CJ departments.
• Some delays in court proceedings  are occurring due to the Clerk of the Court’s office having difficulty getting employees to work during COVID, so judges staff did that work.  This is mostly a problem at the suburban sites and the Daley Center.  He suggests sharing staff with the Clerk of the Court in the future.
• Another glitch in the court system is that Odyssey Technology isn't working as it should to track cases.  Mostly used in criminal cases; Evans suggests NOT using in civil cases.
• In the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC)  (175 juveniles currently) there has been a cut back on some programs. For other at risk juveniles, there are other programs which appear not to be currently going on, or to a lesser extent—(after school gym, homework help, mentors, dinner, ride home).  Low COVID rate at JTDC (less than 3%), as they are quarantined on arrival pending testing.
• Reduction of 100 employees from Electronic Monitoring, probation, etc.  Use of GPS saves money and staffing needs in the long run.
• An evictions system will be in place when the moratorium on evictions is over.
• Miller asked for data on mental health programs and other programs that are under the Chief Judge or others.
• $6.3 million in budget for overtime, but Evans expects this to be reduced once more staff is hired.  This is mostly in JTDC and mostly due to FMLA leave.
• A concern by Comm. Johnson on the slow pace of expungement cases.  Evans said the Clerk’ of the Court's office isn't sending petitions to the judge (Leroy Martin) for months—even in uncontested expungements.  For contested expungements, there is a problem finding lawyers who would represent for free, having asst. states attorneys there, and only a small number of clerks trained to do the processing.
• According to Ritzki (budget) there is a budget in Economic Development office to deal with CARES money and new programs in the criminal justice system—unclear what those are.
• Bond court is “back to normal” (held within 24 hours of arrest), but that means all hearings are done on Zoom.  They are live-streamed (audio only) on You-tube.

Evans indicated he plans to bring forth several amendments to his budget to restore probation officers and increase programs.  Comm. Daley reminded all that this is an “extremely tight budget” and all amendments need to be budget neutral.

​Observer - Karin Hribar

Cook County Finance Committee Departmental Budget Hearings
November 4, 2020

Cook County Health (CCH)

Proposed 2021 Budget - $3,387B                             Proposed FTES for 2021 - 6743
2020 Budget Amount -  $2,824 Billion                   2020 Budget FTEs - 6601
Difference - Increase of $653M (20%)                     Difference - Increase of 142
​
Highlights of Presentation and Questions:

• The increase in the 2021 budget is primarily due to the increase in County Care membership which affects both revenue and expenses and the staff increase for the County Jail due to Covid-19 requirements. Layoff’s occurred in the summer of 2020 to reduce the year’s deficit. Any additional union job cuts will likely result in filling openings in other areas.
• The increase in the 2021 FTE's is due to Covid-19 requirements at the jail, managed care, and hiring 91 permanent employees to replace Agency temporary hires.  . Commissioner Degnan asked that the projected savings by bringing agency positions in house be tracked to include not only compensation but benefits.  
• County Care Revenues for 2021 projected at $2.2 billion due to increased enrollment due to Covid-19 and employer layoffs.
• Overtime costs are expected to come down from a 9% of payroll high in 2020 to 6% in 2021.  And Commissioner Suffredin highlighted the System’s focus on improving the “prior authorization process” to reduce denials and thereby increase revenues.
• During this four-hour meeting, there were surprisingly few questions about budget numbers.  Most of the Commissioners were very concerned about service impact to their constituents.  There is only one service elimination.  The in-patient pediatrics which averages a little over 2 patients per day is suspended for fiscal year 2021.  Originally, CCH said it would be eliminated, but has now changed to suspended, likely due to internal and external pressures.  Interim CEO Carey and Interim Budget Chief Gibson held their ground on the necessity for and the reasoning behind service cuts.  
• Most of the questions were about clinical care especially mental health services and the consolidation of south side’s two ambulatory clinics into the Provident Clinic affecting approximately 9,000 patients.  
• Interim CEO Carey gave a clarion call that something has to be done about charity care stating that CCH cannot continue to absorb the more than $312 million in charity care costs [$320 in 2020 due to COVID and people staying home].
• The reversal of the Affordable Care Act was also a topic  In its budget presentation, the System estimated a loss of approximately $600 million annually in County Care capitation revenue, another at least $100 million annually from other Managed Care providers, and an increase of $700 million annually in uncompensated care costs.  
• Regarding the public’s concern about the Morton School Clinic, Carey said the System is very close to closing on an agreement to transfer services.  And the Lurie Partnership is taking over the services at the Child Advocate Center.  
• All Physical Therapy services will be centered in space developed in Harrison Square, which is the name now given to the old Stroger Hospital Building.
• Of the approximately 5,000 inmates at Cermak, it is estimated that 2,000 are listed as having mental health issues.  Very little discussion on the COVID-19 contact tracing but a hearing has been requested I believe by Commissioner Suffredin on this issue.
• An unknown for 2021 is the potential impact on the CCH System if Mercy Hospital closes for both regular and charity care patients.

Observer – Diane Edmundson                                                     Length of Meeting - 4 hours

Finance Committee Meeting - Departmental Budget Hearings
November 5

Capital Budget:    
FY2021 Capital Budget  $517.1 million 
FY 2020 Capital Budget  $491.5 million
Difference - increase of $25.6 M 
$264.6 million for the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for County facilities; 
$152.2 million for Transportation & Highway Program (THP) for County maintained road, bridges, and highways; $100.3 million for Capital Equipment Program (CEP) for County departments.

Highlights of Presentation:

• CFO Ammar Rizki explained the process for the creation of the Capital Budget.  They work with the departments to identify their requests.   Each project is evaluated to its relevance to the County’s Strategic Five-Year Plan, it’s life span, and how it will be financed.  Transportation projects are financed from the motor fuel tax, but most others are financed by debt (bonds).  They try to ensure funds are spread evenly over the various departments and offices.
• The County currently has $3.4 billion in outstanding debt.   Bonds have investment grade ratings.   The debt is managed so that payments do not adversely affect the operating fund—debt payments and do not rise more than 2% a year which is the projection for sales tax increase.  There is also a $400 million debt service ceiling.
• Construction projects focus on ADA requirements and extending the useful life of assets. They are working for county buildings to be carbon neutral by 2050.  They try to use in house trades for projects and tradesmen have been trained on solar panels.  As a result of Covid, they are looking at upgrading HVAC systems.
• Automation projects must comply with county IT standards and the ability to integrate with other systems.  They also focus on systems that allow for resident engagement. Systems are being moved away from mainframes to reduce maintenance costs.  The county has implemented its own network phone system.    The County Clerk is implementing an asset tracking system for election gear.
• A couple of commissioners noted that two years ago it was decided not to divert motor fuel tax to general projects and it is reserved for roads completely.   This has allowed for more road projects throughout the county.
• $53 million in project requests were denied.  Because of Covid, they were conservative in estimating future tax revenues.
• Commissioners commented on the ADA projects and expressed their importance to ensure residents can access county offices.

Clerk of the Circuit Court    

Proposed for 2021 Budget $120.471M                      Proposed FTEs for 2021 Budget - 1386
2020 Budget $ 123.646 M                                           FTEs in 2020 Budget - 1478.6
Difference - decrease of $3.175 M                            Difference - decrease of 92.6

Highlights of Presentation:

• The savings in the budget is a result of the ongoing automation initiatives in the Clerk’s office.  The Civil Division of the court was added to the Case Management System in 2020.  The County and Criminal Divisions were already on it.  This eliminates data entry work.  It is also moving the office systems off the mainframe.
• Volumes were down in the e-Filing system due to the Covid.
• Overtime costs increased because it was mandated that comp time be included in that line. Clerk Brown has negotiated with the unions that staff are given comp time instead of overtime pay.
• Office supplies went up significantly in 2021 (increase of $563,357) for PPE required for personnel who have to be in the office and courts in person.
• There is some savings in computer supplies because there is less need of printing.
• They have duplicated all electronic court documents in another state for disaster recovery purposes. 
• There are several initiatives remaining on the automation—adding criminal subsequent filings to the Case Management Systems, extending the use of the traffic ticketing system to the Chicago Police Department, working to have the Illinois Supreme Court make the e-files the official record.
• Commissioner Sylvestri asked about progress on the Shakman decree.  The judge required Clerk Brown to create a permanent employment plan which will be done by Nov. 19th.
• There were questions about the transition to the new Clerk.   Clerk Brown said she is putting together a transition file for the new Clerk.

Observer: Kathi Graffam