Category: Criminal Justice

Cook County Board Meeting Begins With 90 Minutes Of Public Testimony

4/29/2020

Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - April 23, 2020

Because of State COVID-19 guidelines restricting larger meetings, the Board held its April meeting via a virtual media platform. Public Speakers were allowed to submit up to three-minute comments which were read by the Secretary of the Board. Of the 36 comments submitted, 23 dealt with the issue of COVID-19 safety within the Jail and Juvenile Detention Center. Another 7, primarily from suburban mayors and first responders, were supporting the sharing of addresses of COVID-19 residents. Public Comments accounted for 90 minutes of the 3½ hour meeting.

Board Decisions

The first action of the board was to waive the meeting rules to allow resolutions to be approved without going to committee.
Agenda Item #20-2363. Amendment to the Rules of Organization & Procedure to allow for remote meetings during the duration of the Governor’s order pertaining to COVID-19 - approved.
Agenda Item #20-2364. Allowed for the calendar to be changed to provide for remote meetings.
Agenda Item #20-2075. Unanimous appointment of Mr. Otis L Story, Sr. to the Cook County Health Board. Mr. Story was hired in February of 2020 as a deputy chief of staff to President Preckwinkle and will serve as her representative on the Cook County Health Board. He is known as a turnaround expert and previously served as Chief Executive Officer of East Orange General Hospital in New Jersey.
Agenda Item #20-1578. Request by the William Everett Group to increase its $1 million 2020 Census contract by an additional $125,000 was approved. The contract calls for the management and oversight of grants to agencies doing census outreach. Four commissioners expressed “little faith” in the contractor to execute its responsibilities based on performance to date. Another three voted present. Commissioner Sims voted yes stating that it is too late to start over, and asked the responsible parties to work out the issues.

Referred to Committee

Agenda Item #20-2389. Referred to the Criminal Justice Committee. It called for representatives from the Chief Judge’s office, Cermak Health, and the Sheriff’s office to report at this meeting on the status of protective measures in the CC Criminal Justice System during COVID-19. No discussion occurred and no reason was given for the delay.
Agenda Item #20-2378. Proposed by Commissioner Britton, 14th District, and referred to the Health & Hospital Committee. It called for the County Health Department to share the addresses of people who are known to have tested positive for COVID-19. Britton requested the resolution be sent to committee in part because of a lawsuit filed April 20 by the Northwest Central Dispatch System seeking a judge’s order to require the county to provide the names and addresses. He also wants more time to analyze the issue and address commissioners’ questions. Several commissioners expressed civil liberty and immigration concerns.

Other items of Interest

Agenda Item #20-1114. The Quarterly Report from the Department of Public Health was accepted and filed. Commissioner Deer said it included the status of several projects including eight that have been completed. He mentioned a new project directed at long-term care facilities including more coordination and focus on health and safety issues.
Commissioner Gainer asked to have more discussion at the May meeting on COVID-19 back to work guidelines.
All Commissioners were in attendance, and Mr. Frank Aguilar was welcomed as the new Commissioner for the 16th District replacing Jeffrey Tobolski who resigned effective March 31, 2020.

Observed by: Diane Edmundson

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Cook County Budget Hearings End with Review of the Capital Budget and Review of Chief Judge's Budget

11/23/2019

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Cook County Board of Commissioners Finance Committee
Last Day of Departmental Budget Hearings
Public Hearing, Review of The Capital Budget and the Chief Judge’s Budget
November 4, 2019

Public Hearing on 2020 Executive Budget: There were about 20 speakers over a 2-hour period. The main subjects were

Concerns about the plan for transitioning patients receiving mental health services from outside entities to those services being provided by Cook County Health (“CCH”) directly. Commissioner Deere pledged to set up a meeting between these speakers and CCH personnel so the transition plans could be discussed.
Concerns about the elimination of funding for Access to Care, which provides health services at discounted rates to patients primarily in suburban Cook County. The representative for Access to Care stated that about half of the patients seen are not eligible for CCH’s County Care program for those on Medicaid. As a result, if these patients went to CCH, rather than Access to Care, this would add to the already large and growing amount of charity care provided by CCH. Commissioner Sean Morrison said he has long supported helping to fund Access to Care because that funding is much less than the costs CCH would incur to provide the services. Commissioners Sims and Suffredin appeared supportive of again funding Access to Care, but warned that this would likely be the last time.
Support by several entities and individuals for CCH and the services it provides and the partnerships it has.

The Civic Federation has done an analysis of the proposed budget and overall supports it as a reasonable one-year plan. https://www.civicfed.org/CookCountyFY2020. However, there are concerns for the future; specifically:

The growth in uncompensated care at CCH, even as the Civic Federation supports the independent board and says it has had a transformative effect on CCH.
The plan to build a new Provident Hospital with inpatient care. The Civic Federation says there has been little public discussion of this major decision.
The need for more transparency by making the capital plans available, such as for the jail, and Phase I of the court utilization study.
The need for statutory authorization for the supplemental pension payments the County has been making, which the Civic Federation fully supports.

Review of Capital Budget:

Several Commissioners, possibly prompted by the Civic Federation’s comments, asked questions about the justification for $50 million for building the new Provident Hospital. The CCH Chief Financial Officer stated that the costs of operating the current facility are very high and the analysis showed that it was more efficient to build a new facility that could provide needed specialized and outpatient care than to try to rehab the current building.
There is some funding to start the process of redesigning the Board and Commissioner spaces, including making them much more accessible. Commissioner Anaya pointed out that a prior study on accessibility had been done and suggested that be looked at as a starting point.
Commissioner Suffredin asked what happens to the County’s share of the State Motor Fuel Tax fund should DuPage reach 1 million residents. In that case, the two counties would split the fund, thereby significantly decreasing the amount the County currently receives. The Commissioner suggested that there may be a need to seek new legislation in Springfield to revise the formula for disbursing money from the fund.
During the discussion of the Capital Equipment portion, Tom Lynch, the County’s Chief Information Officer, stated that currently there are good relationships between the Bureau of Technology and the IT functions under the other elected officials, a much needed improvement as compared to the past.

Review of the Budget for the Chief Judge:
Chief Judge Timothy Evans answered questions for the different areas under his supervision, including the Adult Probation Department (which encompasses pre-trial services such as electronic monitoring, as well as supervising some sentenced offenders), the Judiciary, the Public Guardian, Forensic Services, Social Services, Juvenile Probation, and the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (for those awaiting trial). The Chief Judge pointed to his web site, www.cookcountycourt.org where performance metrics and other data may be found.

The Chief Judge cited the large drop in the Cook County jail population as a result of the bail reform measures he has instituted. He also pointed out that the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts is now providing an additional $24 million to reimburse Cook County for the costs of the court system. This money is going into the County’s General Fund and is not earmarked for the Chief Judge’s budget. He is seeking more money than is currently proposed in the budget so that another 100 law clerks could be hired. There are currently 92 clerks for over 400 judges.
In a letter dated Oct. 3, the Sheriff proposed that the Chief Judge’s Probation Department take over the electronic monitoring that the Sheriff is now doing and merge it into the electronic monitoring the Adult Probation Department is doing. The Sheriff has offered to transfer positions and money from his budget to accomplish this. The Chief Judge says that there are a number of issues that must be dealt with first, including obtaining approval from the Illinois Supreme Court. When pressed by Commissioners, he said that it likely would take longer than 6 months to determine whether merging the electronic monitoring programs was feasible and then to effectuate such a merger.
Leonard Dixon, the head of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, said that the N.E. Casey Foundation has recently assessed the Center for the 3rd time and says that it is in the best shape the Foundation has ever seen. The average population is down to about 200, but these are the young people that need the most services. There are over 200 community programs that come into the Center.

Observed by Priscilla Mims

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Cook County Board Approves Homeland Security Department Name Change

11/16/2019

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Cook County Board of Commissioners Committee Meetings - Oct. 23, 2019
Board Meeting - October 24, 2019

The Cook County Board quickly passed an ordinance creating a name change for CC’s Homeland Security Department. The new name is: Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security. The renaming occurred after a CC Homeland Security vehicle created alarm among attendees at an Evanston street fair because they did not differentiate between the Cook County and the US Immigration Homeland Security vehicle signage and therefore were concerned that US ICE Agents were there to round up people with potential immigration issues.

Other Agenda items Passed:

19-5620, Ordinance requiring ballots to be printed in additional languages in time for the 2020 elections. Requires the County Clerk to determine by March 1, 2020, and at least every 3 years thereafter, limited-English-proficient populations of 13,000 or more Cook County residents and then produce special language ballots.
19-5845, The creation of the “Assessor GIS Fund” with language stating that the revenue collected for the Assessor by other County offices from providing GIS data shall go into this new fund. The County Board retains appropriation authority.
19-6117, The renewal of a Springfield lobbying contract. Commissioner Lowery asked for the lobbyist to come to a board meeting or hearing. Commissioner Suffredin responded that a meeting will be scheduled after the IL General Assembly veto session is over.
19-6389, The Human Relations Committee requested a hearing to discuss the final report from the CC Committee on addressing bias, equity, and cultural competency.
19-5830, A review of County policies as well as holding and incarceration practices in light of the recommendations from the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Global Study on children who are confined, jailed, and/or jailed in adult facilities.

Items Referred to Committee:

To Business & Economic Development Committee:

19-6176, Requesting approval to enter into an Interagency Agreement to provide funding to launch and operationalize the Southland Development Authority for large scale and long term economic development in the South Suburbs. Initial amount of $300,000 used to hire an Executive Director for the SDA and based on the SDA’s ability to secure additional material funding.
19-5333, Resolution to establish an enterprise zone in a 15 contiguous square miles of a depressed area including the City of Chicago Heights and several more. Intergovernmental agreements will be required.
19-5632, The Bureau of Economic Development recommends the investment of $4 million in Community Development Block Grant Section 108 funds for low interest financing to support the long term redevelopment of two Housing Authority of Cook County (HACC) high rise properties with 226 units of affordable senior housing in the Village of Wheeling and the City of Niles.

To Legislative & Intergovernmental Affairs Committee:

19-6194, Amendment to the Ethics Ordinance that adds calendars, vehicles, and equipment to the list of items that may not have a name or image of an elected official paid for with public funds during an election year if that official is running for re-election.
19-5979, the proposed ordinance to dissolve the Injury Compensation Committee and Advisory Board as it is no longer needed. Appears to be an effort to clean up the Code to eliminate provisions that are no longer relevant.
19-6158, the 3rd quarter report from the Recorders office on its consolidation with the Clerk’s office. Commissioner Suffredin stated that a hearing will be scheduled.

To Rules Committee:

19-4770, Another Just Housing Amendment to a previously passed ordinance defining “demonstrable risk” and requiring landlords to rent to individuals with criminal records after a 5 year period of time with a clean record [sex offenders are not eligible]. Because landlords are very unhappy with the original ordinance, Commissioners continue to work on compromises.

Other Items of Interest:

Although approved without discussion, four public speakers attended the board meeting and asked the commissioners not to appoint Alderman, George Cardenas, to the Environment Committee. Mr. Cardenas was selected by Mayor Lightfoot to represent the City.
The States Attorney’s office received multiple grants from the US Department of Justice to add staff for specific purposes including investigating cold cases older than 3 years; hiring an intellectual property crime attorney and clerk; and increased trauma support for sexual assault victims.
The Justice Advisory Council received a 4 year $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to create a regional coordinated system for returning citizens to receive the appropriate pre and post release (from prison) services. Goal: to reduce recidivism. #19-6162

Observed by: Diane Edmundson

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Equipment Upgrades Approved for Cook County Sheriff’s Department

9/11/2019

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Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - September 5, 2019

Board Actions:

A Request to enter into and execute a contract with Axon Enterprise, Scottsdale, AZ Axon Enterprise provides law enforcement grade weapons and tech services. The contract is for 5 yr, 9/12/2019 - 9/11/2024. Explanations were provided for the Commissioners’ many questions. It was explained that this contract will provide upgrades and expansion of the existing body worn cameras and TASER weapons inventory that are needed to supply more Cook County Sheriff Department Officers with equipment. Axon is the only company that sells law-enforcement grade weapons which are sold strictly to law enforcement agencies. The TASER will activate their body worn camera; it is the only weapon that will activate the camera. The cloud storage system is unique to Axon. The cameras’ recordings will be sharable with the Public Defender’s Office. The contract was approved. (Agenda Item 19-5076)

The Fair Transit of South Cook County Pilot Study was referred to the Transportation Committee for a more detailed presentation. Commissioner Miller stated that the Public Meeting in the South Suburbs was well attended. Supt. Yonan explained that this 3 year Pilot Program is ready for implementation. The program has several goals, including modest service improvement and improved coordination with PACE, Metra, and CTA. Another benefit of the program should be facilitating access to employment. Yonan explained that Year 1 is the implementation phase. Years 2 & 3 are to evaluate the impact of improvements. (Agenda Item 19-4276)

Criminal Justice Committee - Charitable Bond Fund Commissioner Suffredin reported that the Criminal Justice Committee is waiting for responses from the State’s Attorney’s Office and from the County Clerk regarding questions of implementation of this program. The Committee will return with a completed proposal at the next meeting.

Observer - C. Cosentino Meeting Length - 2 hr. 25 min

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

7/26/2019

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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 Meeting Begins With 90 Minutes Of Public Testimony

Cook County Budget Hearings End with Review of the Capital Budget and Review of Chief Judge's Budget

Cook County Board Approves Homeland Security Department Name Change

Equipment Upgrades Approved for Cook County Sheriff’s Department

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

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