Category: Criminal Justice

Cook County Board Looks to Provide Tax Breaks for Families of First Responders Killed in the Line of Duty

7/26/2019

Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - July 25, 2019

Pre Meeting Press Conference:
As I stepped off the elevator there were many people in the lobby with lots of press coverage. Commissioner Daley was explaining an ordinance he hoped would pass at today’s meeting. 19-4797 is an ordinance allowing for property tax breaks for the families of First Responders who had perished in the line of duty. This ordinance did pass!

The meeting was called to order at about 10:15 AM with all 17 Commissioners present and on time. The gallery was packed with observers. 20 seats were reserved for guests of Commissioner Miller.

Public Speakers:

There were 10 speakers in all. Most of them were speaking in favor of the above mentioned ordinance or another ordinance that was sponsored by Commissioner Anaya. This was Resolution 19-4750, opposing a rule recently imposed by HUD (Housing and Urban Development) at the federal level. HUD has enacted a new rule for recipients of housing assistance that mandates proof of their immigration status. This rule would target mixed status families, those where some members are citizens, others are residents, and others are undocumented. This would cause significant hardship for many families according to housing experts who testified. This opposition resolution passed.
Two speakers who drew much attention were George Blakemore and former Alderman Wallace Bradley. Mr. Blakemore condemned Cook County’s health system for being discriminatory towards black people, while helping immigrants. President Preckwinkle and Commissioner Daley both stated that the county’s health system never turns anyone away. Mr. Bradley complimented President Preckwinkle for Criminal Justice Reform and hoped that comments by Police Superintendent Johnson would not deter her from furthering this reform.

Items Approved by the Board:

19-4588, A contract proposed by the Justice Advisory Council (the justice arm of the President’s office) to give grants worth up to $500,000 to Catholic Charities and and the Haymarket Center for helping pregnant and post-partum arrestees before trial.
19-4820 An ordinance proposed by Commisioner Suffredin to have the Board Secretary post all meetings of advisory boards, task forces, special committees, etc. on their website.
19-4438 A contract proposed by Chief Judge Evans worth approximately $1.5 million over a 4 year period to Westcare Illinois for behavioral treatment services. These would be available to pretrial defendants in order to reduce recidivism.
19-4285, a resolution proposed by Commissioner Deer to recognize Health Equity in Cook County. He cited some unequal life expectancy statistics: 60 yrs. of age in Englewood and 90 yrs of age in Streeterville.

Items That Were Sent to Committees:

19-4656, the Report on the progress of the merger of the Recorder Of Deeds and Clerk’s offices was sent to the Legislation and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, as proposed by Commissioner Suffredin.
19-4770, a resolution for Just Housing, allowing for no discrimination in the rental or sale of housing, to the Rules Committee, as suggested by Commissioner Johnson.
19-4849, a resolution to continue Criminal Justice reform, sent to that committee by Commissioner Johnson ( He also told me as an aside that the CJ committee would be considering a no-monetary bail ordinance in Sept.)

The meeting went over agenda items very quickly with very little discussion. President Preckwinkle adjourned the meeting around noon. She wished everyone a happy summer as this was the last summer meeting. She said that the meetings would resume in September.

Observer - Jan Goldberg

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Current Social Issues on Agendas at Cook County Board Committee Meetings

7/11/2019

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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 Meeting Lasts Less than an Hour!

3/15/2019

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Cook County Board of Commissioner Meeting - February 21, 2019

Comm. Suffredin & Arroyo were both absent. All others present

Board Action:

Deferred - Proposed resolution to discuss Cook County and Forest Preserve Employees’ and Officers’ Annuity & Benefit Fund.
Approved - Items/ordinances that had been sent to committee, including the Predictable Recording Fee Ordinance (Finance) and Regional Gang Intelligence Database (Criminal Justice)
Approval of new leases for office space of commissioners Britton, Deere, Morrison, Britton, met with welcoming applause of group.
Superintendent, Cook County Dept. of Transportation and Highways, John Yonan spoke in support of the supplemental improvement Motor Fuel Tax Project (+$335,000) affecting Chicago, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village & Unincorporated Elk Grove, and its funding for Phase II Design Engineering, related to cost of design change.

Of Interest: Meeting was speedy!

Observer - Mary Ann Benden

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Cook County Board Eliminates Regional Gang Data Base

2/21/2019

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Cook County Board of Commissioners Committee Meetings - February 20, 2019

Criminal Justice Committee

After several amendments and substitutions, the Criminal Justice Committee voted to prohibit the use of Sheriff Dart’s Regional Gang Data Base (Agenda Item 19-0687).
The Sheriff has already decommissioned the data base, but this ordinance seeks to prevent a future use by other officials and to prevent a re-commissioning of any future data base.
The ordinance also provides that this committee will hold a public hearing within 90 days on this issue.
Public speakers brought up issues of discrimination, due process and fairness. 84% of the people on the gang data base are African-American or Latino.

Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee

Approved an ordinance that gives a preference on county contracts to businesses owned by people with disabilities—physical and mental. (Agenda Item 19-0604)

Asset Management Committee

Deferred an item that sets up a new procedure for awarding Capital Planning contracts. Commissioners S. Morrison and Silvestri were concerned that the Board is left out of contract oversight with this new procedure. Since so many questions were brought up, further meetings between Procurement and commissioners will be held before a vote. (Agenda Item 19-1074)
Also Deferred at the request of the sponsor, Comm. Moore - a resolution that would hold a hearing to discuss the various projects and programs run by the Bureau of Asset Management. (Agenda Item 19-1358)

Other Items of Interest

Apparently over the last two days, one regular speaker has been derogatory in speaking against the Human Rights Committee formation and against immigrants. The Board will seek a legal opinion on what can be done about abusive speakers during the public testimony time.
This observer came at the designated time for the beginning of all these committee meetings—10:30am. However, the lengthy Consent Calendar, whereby residents and other groups are honored for various accomplishments, was only partially completed so the committee meetings did not begin until 12:50pm. The committee meetings all adjourned by 3:15pm. The League has long proposed that the Consent Calendar business be conducted on days other than Regular Board meeting and committee meeting days so that more time can be spent on the business of the County.

Observer - Karin Hribar

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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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Cook County Board Looks to Provide Tax Breaks for Families of First Responders Killed in the Line of Duty

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 Meeting Lasts Less than an Hour!

Cook County Board Eliminates Regional Gang Data Base

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

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