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:

• The Administrative Office of IL Courts (AOIC) is paying the county for probation officers (including juvenile), but slowly. Cook County is owed over $30 million and  the costs are about $3.7 million/month. 
• There was discussion from the interim director of Homeland Security (the last director was removed by Preckwinkle in November), regarding a grant from federal Homeland Security. Comm. Suffredin questioned the rules and budgeting of the grant.  He referred to a grant from last year, poorly managed, that resulted in the county having to come up with a significant amount of money to make the grant whole.  Homeland Security will monitor the new grant closely and will supply quarterly reports.
• Monitoring of the merger of the offices of the County Clerk/Recorder of Deeds was moved to the legislative committee. 
• Comm. Boykin’s resolution urging suburban-neighborhood innovation partnerships  is being expanded and will be reintroduced next month. (Agenda Item 17-2736)
• John Yonan, Superintendent, Dept of Transportation and Highways, answered questions from Comm. Suffredin regarding the request for $1,120,000 for 1.1 miles of road in Palatine that divides the oldest Forest Preserve in Cook County.  As the original request dates back to 7/12/2005, Superintendent Yonan explained that the bid includes an environmental and engineering study, which were never done. As I live within 5 miles of this forest preserve and understand the sensitivity of the area, I was very interested in the discussion.  The forest preserve is in Comm. Goslin’s district. He asked no questions.
• Approved a contract request from the Public Defender for the Safer Foundation that provides confirmation reports to judges that defendants are safe to be released.  Safer Foundation verifies information regarding defendants with low bonds and gives confidence to the judges. This is in collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation, the Justice Advisory Council and the Public Defender Office, to provide services for individuals with low bonds who have remained in jail for extended periods due to failure to post bond.
• Approved as substituted the $36m technology contract for Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County - Dorothy Brown’s office - that includes money for outside oversight of the contract. 

 
Observer - Laura Davis                                                              Meeting:   9:45 to 12:45

Cook County Board Finance Committee - Departmental Budget Hearings
Day #5 of Budget Hearings - October 21, 2016

Office of County Clerk - presented by David Orr, Cook County Clerk
Proposed Budget: $31 million down from about $34 million
Proposed FTEs: Currently 275 down from 310 4 years ago.
Key Information Presented:

• Decrease in personnel was through strategic planning and not layoffs
• Ballots requested by mail for this election is 3 times over 2008
• Early voting sites have grown from 43 to 52 as there has been a huge increase in early voting
• Election day registration will continue for this election
• The Clerk’s office is offering a new “Running for office” starter kit
• New voting equipment will need to purchased in 2017
• In order to improve communication, a new website is planned for 2017

Questions/Comments from Commissioners:

• Mainly revolved around the integrity and security of the voting system, hacking of voting lists, and concern about “rigged” elections.
• The commissioners were assured that protections against fraud were in place and the Clerk’s office is working with the FBI and Dept of Homeland Security, backed up with a lot of testing and risk assessment. The voting machines have a paper backup for additional security and an audit trail to prevent fraud.
• There was some discussion regarding the voting rolls being cleaner than they have been in years and the value of passing the Automatic Voter Registration bill. In the meantime, the voter registration data base is constantly being updated and cleaned up. With 1.5 million voters and an estimate of 10% of folks moving, it is important to keep cleaning records. The key to clean voter lists is people voting from where they live.
• The key to safety at the polls is well-trained judges and every step of the process having both parties represented. The arming of judges was downplayed.
• David Orr responded positively to the question regarding merging the offices of Recorder of Deeds and Clerk’s Office. He stated that he thinks a minimum of $2 million can be saved by the time the merger happens in 2020. He also stated that he believes there would be no layoffs if strategic planning is used and reassignment of talent occurs during and after retirements.

Chicago Board of Elections
Key Information Presented:

• Presenters stated that the electoral franchise is sound.
• There has been a last minute rush to register to vote and the expectation is for an additional 100,000 registrants. There is a push to offer early voting in order to decrease long lines.
• The most often asked question is where do I vote, and there are problems with people arriving at the wrong voting place.
• Expect no net increase in expenses and holding the line on costs through technology. 
• The need for upgrade on voting equipment was brought up. I did not hear the budget number.

Questions/Comments from Commissioners:

• Included protections from “rigged” elections. The response was the voting equipment is solid, the web server is solid, and there is a paper trail.
• The biggest problem is list maintenance and having access to death records. The problem is greater when a Cook County resident moves out of Cook County and into another county.
• As of Thursday, Oct. 20, there were 20,000 early voters and 55,000 requests to vote by mail. 

Commissioners present were Garcia, Suffredin, Morrison, Schneider, and Sims

Bureau of Technology  - presented by Simona Rollinson, Director
Presentation lasted 15 minutes and the prepared slides did not work.
Proposed Budget:
FY17 - $31.5M
FY16 - $32.1M
Decrease of about $600,000
Proposed FTEs:
FY17 - 151
FY16 - 150
Increase of 1 FTE
Key Information Presented:

• The budget for 2017 is moving away from capital costs to operating costs.
• FTEs of 16 will remain almost the same in 2017. 
• Accomplishment for 2016 was a new service oriented web site.
• 2017 goals are to target under-utilized software on county computers, and move to just-in-time service. 

There were no questions asked by the commissioners. 
Commissioners present included Garcia, Morrison, Sims, Schneider, Moody, Tobolski.

Observer - Laura Davis 

Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - August 3, 2016

Significant Topic Discussed and Deferred:
November Ballot Referendum - Commissioners in favor of having voters decide this November if the office of the Cook County Recorder of Deeds should be consolidated with the County Clerk’s office, dodged a challenge! A new resolution (Agenda Item #16-4660) that would remove the question from the ballot and replace it with an impact study was “deferred”, although public testimony was allowed. Protestors charged that racism motivated the referendum.  Commissioners for and against pushed back vigorously on the charge. It is not clear whether deferred means “dead” or if the matter will be taken up again before the November election.  

Other Significant Topics Approved or Referred to Committee:

• An ordinance  to establish the Cook County Health and Hospital System’s “Direct Access Program” which in essence is designed to provide on-going care, a medical home for primary and preventive services, and a centralized system of administration was referred to the Workforce, Housing, and Community Committee.  This program is for those who do not qualify for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act and who make up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. Testimony was given on the need for these services for the un/under-insured as well as undocumented workers in the county. No cost estimates were included with the resolution. (Agenda Item #16-4392)
• A $2 million grant from HUD covering a 3-year period for removal of lead based paint in homes in high risk areas in suburban Cook County was approved.
• The board approved Connecting Cook County: 2040 Long-Range Transportation Plan. The plan is the result of a  $1.4M study that has been very well received, and long overdue. The plan is a comprehensive look at transportation in Cook County and incorporates rail, bus, car, and bike travel as well as freight. View the plan on the Cook County Website.  (Agenda Item #16-3634).
• A resolution in support of the White House’s Data Driven Justice Initiative was approved.  There is a broad coalition across states and counties to gather data and also to use Best Practices and data driven strategies to break the cycle of incarceration in jails.  President Preckwinkle is the Cook County sponsor and is encouraging all CC public safety stakeholders including the Chief Judge, Clerk of the Court, Public Defender and Sheriff and State’s Attorney as well as the CC Health and Hospital system to work collaboratively through the CC Justice Advisory Council to further the goals of the initiative. (Agenda Item  #16-4488)

Meeting Rules Changes Under Consideration:

• Proposed Ordinance Amendment to change the Consent Calendar day and format.  The consent calendar consists of resolutions offering formal recognition of persons and groups in the County for their work or achievement or retirement, etc. The practice itself can run for up to two hours and currently is the first order of business on the  CC board agenda.  Under the proposed Ordinance, items from the Consent Calendar could be addressed in a separate meeting prior to the Forest Preserve Board Meeting:  “Such meeting shall have as the only agenda items the reading of the resolution, discussion of the resolution, and the taking of a photo.”  The CC board members also make up the board of the Forest Preserve so they would already be present for a meeting, however, there are several committee meetings also held on this same day and this meeting would not replace the consent calendar on the Board agenda. It would only provide an opportunity to address any items in a separate meeting.  LWVCC believes the Consent Calendar process needs to be significantly shortened, and we urge the Commissioners to find a reasonable and agreeable solution. This item was referred to the Rules and Administration Committee. (Agenda Item #16-4645)
• Proposed Ordinance Amendment to “establish decorum guidelines for public speakers”.   Commissioner Steele, fed up with what he believes are rude and even defamatory comments, is asking the Board to amend the rules governing public speakers to more specifically spell out what shall not be acceptable language or conduct.  However, his proposal also includes the striking of an enforcement provision[s].  I.E., Expulsion from the meeting or being banned from giving further testimony – perhaps because these provisions have been found to be legally unenforceable.  (Agenda Item ​#16-4708)

​Observer - Diane Edmundson

Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - June 29, 2016

Significant Decisions Made:
The Board  voted (10 to 5) to place a Referendum on the November ballot asking voters to decide whether the Office of Recorder of Deeds should be combined with the Office of County Clerk.  Proponents of the Bill, sponsored by Commissioner John Fritchey, said now begins the period, before the election, when we must educate the public on the necessity of combining the offices.  Fritchey said eight of the largest counties in the United States have combined the offices of the Recorder of Deeds with the County Clerk for financial savings. (Agenda Item 15-6190)

Gun Violence resolutions passed by the Board: 

• An ordinance calling on Congress to repeal the Dickey Amendment that prohibits government funding for research on gun violence. If repealed the Center for Disease Control could move ahead with such research. (Agenda Item 16-3977)
• A resolution, sponsored by Comm. Boykin and Comm. Arroyo, calling on the Illinois General Assembly to enact and the Governor to sign a statewide ban on assault weapons.(Agenda Item 16-4039)
• An ordinance supporting the American Medical Association’s recognition of gun violence as a public health crises. (Agenda Item 16-4072) 

A resolution calling for the creation of Gun Violence Research Consortium as a project of the CCHHS Collaborative Research Unit was referred to the Board’s Health & Hospitals System Committee for review. (Agenda Item 16-4064)

Other Observation:
A proposed ordinance amendment on Performance Based Management was referred to the Finance Committee. (Agenda Item 16-3977)

Observer - Eleanor Prince