Cook County Finance Committee Meetings on the Budget
October 26, 2022, 9 am to 2:30 pm

The Sheriff said there should be little impact on the jail population in Cook County as a result of the SAFE-T Act going into effect on January 1, 2023.  The Chief Judge explained the differences between the criteria for holding people in jail prior to trial in criminal cases now and after January 1.  

Following are more details of the meetings with these two officials, as well as the meeting on the Capital Budget.

Office of the Sheriff -– Presented by Sheriff Tom Dart

• Because of the changes in the way bail has been set in Cook County courts since 2018 he expects that the SAFE-T Act will have little impact on the jail population.  Estimated maybe 100 current detainees will have their bail reviewed, and thinks there may be some more people accused of domestic violence ordered detained.
• Says that he still thinks there are more people being released (mainly on electronic monitoring, “EM”) than should be because there is not enough distinction among those charged with gun violations.  (See more on this below in the Chief Judge’s section.)
• Wants to have budget amended to fund purchase of a new helicopter to help in fighting crime across the County.  Says only have 2 now (from 1994 and 2006), with the ability to borrow another from the County’s Homeland Security department at times.  Another helicopter would reduce dangerous, high-speed pursuits.  Contrasted the larger number of helicopters for New York, LA, and Harris County, Texas.  The Budget Department is analyzing the request and looking where money could be found.
• Explained that jail population has changed.  Majority now are there accused of violent crimes, rather than substance abuse, as in the past.  Many of the past efforts and programs were directed to helping those released from jail to successfully go back to their communities.  Now, however, most of the detainees are leaving the jail after trial to go to prison and not back to the community.
• Says that 2 main proximate causes of violence now are (1) availability of guns, and (2) social media where people’s rhetoric escalates and there is no cooling off period.  (These causes apart from all the social issues.)
• In addition to policing the unincorporated areas and Robbins and Ford Heights, and providing services for a number of other suburbs pursuant to agreements, the Sheriff has focused on violence in Chicago.  Since opening an office in Austin on the west side of Chicago, there has been a 20% reduction in shootings in that neighborhood.  More recently, opened an office at 500 N. Clark, and will be moving into larger quarters at State and Chicago.  Besides providing a police presence, also have a unit to deal with homelessness, another to deal with people in crisis, and a K-9 unit to help patrol El platforms.  Roll call for eviction and service of process has been moved from the Daley Center to Chinatown to provide a greater police presence there.
• Has about 400 vacancies.  Recently went to Kentucky and North Carolina to recruit military veterans with some success.

Office of the Chief Judge -– Presented by Chief Judge Timothy Evans

• Said that under current law, the State’s Attorney must file a petition to hold a criminal defendant in jail prior to trial.  Then the judge at the bail hearing has to hold there is at least one of these situations to grant the petition: (1) that the proof has to be evident or the presumption is great that the preponderance of the evidence points to the defendants and that they pose a clear and present threat to a person or community and there are no mitigating factors; and/or (2) there is clear evidence the defendants are a flight risk.
• Under the SAFE-T Act, there are certain felonies that are excluded from consideration of the first situation, and in those cases, defendants can only be held if a current flight risk.  The other difference is that if there is a petition to hold, there is a separate hearing on whether to detain presided at by a second judge.
• Responding to Comm. Sean Morrison’s questions, said that approximately 86% of those defendants that go to trial are found guilty.  The average sentence for murder is 35 years.  As a result, the overwhelming number of cases end in a plea deal.  Said would provide data from the last 12 months on the number of murder and attempted murder cases where the charges are downgraded.
• Comm. S. Morrison also provided some statistics from the Sheriff that of the over 2,000 people on electronic monitoring, 970 are accused of gun offenses.  Comm. Morrison asked whether there should be some kind of blue-ribbon commission to review these cases to see if policies regarding electronic monitoring should be changed.  Judge Evans said that many of these defendants are charged with “unlawful use of a gun,” but that charge does not mean that the gun was actually used. It could be that the person had a gun without the proper permit.  So Judge Evans would welcome such a commission and would like to revise the terms used to distinguish among the different situations.
• Because of the Early Resolution Program to help deal with eviction cases, there has been no huge number of evictions as the Judge feared at last year’s budget meeting.  Under this program, there are mediators and legal advisors to work with both sides to try to resolve the situation, including find other housing since in some cases the landlords want to get rid of the tenant as opposed to getting back rent.
• Provided some codes that can be used to generate reports on continuances, including whether the state’s attorney or defense counsel sought them.  Commissioners Miller and Daley noted they have been seeking this information for the last year.  Judge Evans said that his office will work with the Clerk of the Court to add codes for general reasons on why a continuance is sought. Expects to start on this after the Odyssey System is fully operational, which should be by the end of Nov.
• There was discussion concerning confinement/isolation of juveniles at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.  Commissioner Gainer asked that the following be considered as the policy continues to be fleshed out:  (1) more clarity on how someone ends up in confinement; (2) clear direction that confinement is the last resort; and (3) mental health sign-off by a professional before someone can be confined (like in NY and LA).

Capital Budget Overview – Presented by Acting CFO Lawrence Wilson, Bureau Chief of Asset Management Elizabeth Granato, Director of Transportation Jennifer Killen, and Deputy CIO Adam Clement.

The 2023 Capital Budget is $505.2 M composed of 

• $248.4 M (49.2%) for capital improvements for County facilities; 
• $136.2 M (27%) for County maintained road, bridges, and highways; and 
• $120.6 M (23.8%) for capital equipment for County departments that includes primarily information technology (71% composed of costs for hardware and implementation), plus the remainder for vehicles, fixed plant assets, institutional equipment, furniture, and medical lab equipment.  
• Note:  some of these expenditures show up in the overall budget as expenditures from special purpose funds (including the Transportation and Highways fund), and grants.  As a result, these sources of revenues for capital projects are not included in the Capital Improvement Budget, which is $352.6 M (just about the same as 2022).

Part of the presentation focused on the process of determining how much could be directed to capital projects, including how much debt to incur, as well as how the County prioritizes projects.  The County currently has investment grade bond ratings of A2 from Moody’s; A+ from S&P Global Ratings, and AA- from Fitch Ratings for General Obligation Bonds; and AAA from Kroll Bond Rating Agency and AA- from S&P Global Ratings for Sales Tax Debt. 

Among the projects included in the Capital Budget are

• Renovation and consolidation at the County building, including making the 5th floor Board Room ADA accessible and adding technology improvements (the entire 5th floor, which also houses the President’s and Commissioner’s offices are expected to move to the 10th floor in Nov. or Dec.)
• Major renovations at Stroger Hospital
• Completion of the Court Utilization Study for the civil division (the criminal division has been completed0
• More work on the Integrated Property Tax System
• The State’s Attorney’s Case Management System
• A number of transportation projects
• Continued work as part of the Green Buildings Program, which is reducing the County’s carbon footprint, but also reducing energy costs

​Observer:  Priscilla Mims

Cook County Board Finance Committee Meetings on the Budget
October 25, 2022

Cook County Health (“CCH”) – Presented by CCH CEO Israel Rocha. Jr.

• Addressing Payroll expenses, particularly for nurses, has been devasting for the System and remains its top priority.  Agency contract rates have declined but still historically high. President Preckwinkle has approved the System's new Retention and Recruitment Plan.
• COVID has led to the wide-spread adoption of telehealth and telemedicine.
•  The System's new Change Institute priorities are cancer, stroke, diabetes, behavioral health and mental health. Food and housing insecurity programs will be added and expanded.
• Provident Hospital - $5 million has been budgeted for early conversations with institutions that are interested in partnering and funding a new Provident Hospital.
• The System has already served close to 2,400 undocumented people aged 42 and up; and the CCH Foundation has supplied needed clothing, diapers, etc. for the newly arrived undocumented persons.

Commissioner Questions:
Miller:  Addressing the issue of the new Change Institute, said that she was pleased to see more focus on "preventive vs reactionary" care, and noted the increase of 44 new positions in this new Department.  She particularly asked for goals and metrics from each of the Institute's funding sources [ARPA, Grants, County] and any other new programs using ARPA and County funding.

CEO Rocha responded to a question about the behavior health goals using ARPA funding stating that there are two big categories:

• External:  The System will create an organization to expand the safety net for the Behavioral Health community and its services to secure in the long term all elements of Behavioral Health needs.  Will use impact funds to do an analysis of the current community safety net.
• Internal:   The System will expand "trauma informed" outpatient therapy and will create a 16-bed inpatient unit and crisis stabilization unit.

Responding to Miller's inquiry and support for more emphasis on equity and inclusion across the System's services, Rocha said that he is hiring a Chief Equity Inclusion Officer, and two Associate Inclusion Officers - one responsible to/for the System and one to/for the Public Health Department.

Next came Miller's question on the Juvenile Justice Care Coordination Program to be funded by ARPA.  Two Care Coordinators will be hired for reentry and transition stabilization.

When asked about the ongoing long-time issue of low patient satisfaction ratings, Rocha noted that the HIV Core Center has a great reputation and rhetorically asked "how can we use its experience?"

Degnan:  Wants the system to communicate more broadly that CCH is a safe home for reproductive health.  Said that a specific brochure is needed focusing on the System's services.  Rocha responded that he would send her the communication tools currently in use.

Anaya:  Responding to Anaya's concern about the length of the hiring process, Rocha said that the System has hired 350 individuals in the last 150 days and that turnover is at its lowest level in 18-20 months.

Several other Commissioners noted that their questions had been covered by previous colleagues and also commended CEO Rocha on his command of the System's needs and his vision for CCH.

Assessor’s Office -– Presented by Assessor Fritz Kaegi

• The biggest news is that the office expects to be found in “substantial compliance” with Shakman by mid-November.
• Assessor Kaegi next noted that the North suburban counties’ reassessment will be completed by the end of the year, and the office is waiting for the Board of Review to be in a position to accept the data.  
• 2023 priorities includes a new implementation phase of the Tyler technology system to ensure an on-time assessment cycle; the office needs to continue to maintain in parallel the old main frame system until the Board of Review transfers to Tyler; and it will implement new tools for tracking exemptions.  Expects March 2023 assessment data transfer to be on time.
• To date in 2022, hired 31 employees to fill vacancies due to retirements - 25% of new hires are customer service positions, and added strategic hires to build capacity in HR and Legal.  The office is not using temporary help; is hiring data science and evaluation majors, and also hiring from real estate schools. 
• Commissioner Gainer wants to work with the Assessor’s office to reset outstanding taxes on scavenger sale properties to zero thereby helping properties to be sold and neighboring properties to maintain their values.  She also wants to work with the FHA to change the rules so that Land Bank developers can get access to the FHA uniform appraisal data base and qualify for FHA loans.     

Carrying over from the meeting with the Assessor earlier, court oversight of the offices of the Clerk of the Circuit Court and the County Clerk under the Shakman cases (which prohibit political considerations regarding most County personnel) was raised during these two meetings.  

• Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez said she has been working closely with the court-appointed administrator, and expects her office to be found in “substantial compliance” with Shakman by November, 2022!  
• Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough criticized Shakman oversight of her office as not being necessary, and she has filed to end such supervision, expecting it to also end in November.  

Commissioner Sean Morrison focused on the failure of some County departments to respond to remedial recommendations, as required by County ordinances, during the meeting with the Inspector General.  
Following are more details from these meetings, along with the one with the Treasurer, who announced that she is expecting to receive the information for the 2nd installment property tax bills by November 11.  If so, she said she would have bills posted on her web site and available for downloading and payment by November 15.  
Treasurer -  Presented by Treasurer Maria Pappas 

• By posting the 2nd installment property tax bills on the Treasurer’s web site (hopefully by Nov. 15), this will facilitate payment prior to the end of 2022 for those wishing to take a deduction for property taxes on their 2022 income tax returns.
• Only 5% of the Treasurer’s budget is financed by taxpayer dollars.
• Says her workforce comes into the office - no working from home.
• Quickly went through her slide presentation, focusing on the many studies published by her office, included the latest one, the Sales in Error, which Comm. Gainer praised.  All of the studies are available on the web site, https://www.cookcountytreasurer.com/. 

Office of the Independent Inspector General -– Presented by Acting IIG Steven Cyranoski

• Responding to Comm. Morrison’s questions, Acting IIG explained that if an investigation results in remedial recommendations, the applicable department has 45 days to respond, with the ability to request 30 more days under County ordinances.  The department does not have to accept the recommendations, and Mr. Cyranoski said that there may be good reasons for not accepting.  In each quarterly report from the IIG, at the end there is a list of cases for which no response has been received.  These quarterly reports are submitted to the Board, which in turn can refer for further consideration by the Litigation Subcommittee.  Comm. Suffredin noted that the League of Women Voters has pointed out these failures to respond.
• When the open slots for the IIG and the Deputy IIG are filled, the office will have 19 FTEs, same as authorized for 2022.
• Over the last 5 years, there has been an 85% increase in number of complaints.  Have been able to handle because of the high quality of the personnel in the office and increased use of technology.
• 85% to 90% of the IIG’s recommendations have been adopted. 
• In response to Comm. Suffredin’s questions, Mr. Cyranowski explained that there are 2 investigators assigned full time pursuant to the intergovernmental agreement to provide inspector general services to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (“MWRD”).  The current agreement ends mid-2023.  The MWRD has gone to Springfield to obtain legislation that would authorize the MWRD to have its own IG in-house.  In anticipation of this happening, the current budget adjustment (called an “appropriation transfer”) has been reduced from $650,000 in 2022 to $250,000 in 2023.  Part of transfer is also due to the work the IG does for the Forest Preserve.

Clerk of the Circuit Court - Presented by Circuit Court Clerk Iris Y. Martinez

• Has hired more than 150 people to fill open spots this past year.  Currently there are 280 entry level union vacancies, many due to 200 promotions.  Cross training is now being provided so clerks can staff Criminal or Civil courtrooms as necessary.
• 2023 budget includes 30 more FTEs so that every court can be staffed to meet the needs of the new SAFE-T Act and the expected increase in the hours when domestic violence orders of protection can be obtained.  A pilot for extended hours is currently running through early Nov.
• Hopes to be fully integrated into the Odyssey system by the end of the year, reducing reliance on the County’s mainframe.
• Has launched a new call center for 200 different languages to make information more readily available.
• Overall, the budget has increased by 2%.
• In response to a question from Comm. Miller, Clerk Martinez said that the court documents can identify the number of continuances, but not the reason.  Comm Miller and Daley emphasized that they need a report on who is requesting continuances in order to understand (and potentially tackle) the issue of defendants being held in the jail for long periods of time.

County Clerk - Presented by Clerk Karen Yarbrough

• To help alleviate the critical need for Election Judges for the Nov. 8 election, the office reached out to retired military and had 2,000 respond.  More judges are still needed for the 1,439 precincts (which need 5 judges each).
• Early voting and vote-by-mail ballots accounted for 40.1% in the June primary.
• Said that Cook County is recognized nationally for its cyber-security for voting.
• Said that the bulk of revenues from this office is from the recording of deeds area.  A new cashiering system should be rolled out in 2023.  There is a help desk now for recordings.
• Land records from 1871-1974 will be digitalized.

Observers:  Diane Edmundson and Priscilla Mims

Cook County Finance Committee Meetings on the Budget
October 24, 2022, 12:30 pm-3:30 pm

Public Defender (“PD”) -- Presented by Public Defender Sherone R. Mitchell Jr.  
                        2022         Proposed 2023
Budget            86.2 M              96.9 M
FTE                   747                     803
Mr. Mitchell’s main issue was the need to hire more attorneys so that the caseload for each lawyer can be reduced.   Now it is above the average of other large city public defender offices.  This office uses the County HR department, and it is taking 4-6 months from posting to start date for new attorneys.   The PD  has started an Immigration Unit Pilot program to help non-residents in immigration removal proceedings.  The PD will establish a pretrial division to handle the extra work required by the Pretrial Fairness Act.

Commissioners Degnan and Gainer expressed concern about the length of time in the hiring process.   Commissioner Gainer asked if the ARPA or Equity Funds could be utilized to help the situation.   She also suggested the PD get its own HR hiring department like the State’s Attorney has.  Commissioner Daily pointed out that the State’s Attorney was a separate office.

State’s Attorney -- Presented by Kim Foxx, State’s Attorney
                        2022         Proposed 2023
Budget            195.7 M              194.1 M
FTE                  1,432                  1,475
Ms. Foxx said the Office was ready for the Pretrial Fairness Act.  She said that there has been a lot of mis-information about the law.   Ms. Foxx is working with legislators to clarify the statute, and they hope to get the changes in during the veto session.  The attrition in the Office is high but on a par with other State’s Attorney Offices.  There are 107 vacancies out of 746 attorney positions.   There are 237 total vacancies.   It takes 3-4 weeks from job posting to a candidate starting.

Commissioner Gainer asked if there would be enough State’s Attorneys to handle the additional work required by the Pretrial Fairness Act.   Commissioner Morrison asked how the process will be different in January.  Ms. Foxx explained the changes and that the judge still has the power to hold an offender if he is a threat or a flight risk.   Commissioner Morrison also asked Ms. Foxx to review the prosecution discretion policies that she has established in regard to retail theft and low-level drug offences.  He also asked that she set up a commission with suburban police chiefs to discuss the policies, and she agreed to do that.  

Commissioners Aguilar and Daley expressed concern about the high crime rate and its affect on the public.   Ms. Foxx reviewed the high conviction rate of her office and said the issue is that there are low arrest rates.   

Board of Review (“BOR”) -- Presented by  Larry Rogers Jr. and  Michael Carbonargi, two of the BOR Commissioners.  Commissioner Tammy Wendt did not participate
                        2022         Proposed 2023
Budget             16 M               17.8 M
FTE                    151                  156
Mr. Rogers stated that the 2nd installment property tax bills will be issued by Thanksgiving and due by December 30th. He also stated that the BOR asked for an increase of 26 FTE, but were only approved 5 FTE.  He said the appeals process for the BOR takes 10 months.   Since they got the final township assessments in December instead of July last year, the tax bills were delayed for this year.  Rogers expects the bills will be delayed next year, too.   Mr. Rogers says that the BOR needs the extra staff to help with the processing delays.

Commissioner Dailey asked Finance Officer Annette Guzman to review the request for more staff.   Commissioner Gainer asked about the progress in the adoption of the Tyler system and both Mr. Rogers and Mr. Carbonargi said she should ask the Bureau of Technology.  Commissioner Daily pointed out that the BOR did not participate at the Technology Committee meeting last week.  Mr. Rogers said they submitted an updated report.

Land Bank Authority --Presented by  Director of the Land Bank Eleanor Gorski
                        2022         Proposed 2023
Budget            10.7 M              5.2 M
FTE                   15                      15
Ms. Gorski reviewed the activities of the Land Bank.   1200 properties were put back on the tax roles.   The agency has a goal to reduce its aged inventory.    It also has a grant of 5M from the Equity Fund to establish affordable housing on current Land Bank property.   Commissioner Morrison asked who will make the decisions about those funds and it will be the Board of Directors of the Land Bank with community input. 


Secretary to the Board of Commissioners -- Presented by Secretary Lynne Turner
                        2022         Proposed 2023
Budget            1.8 M              2.0 M
FTE                   11                     12
The office provides legislative support and information to County Offices and the public as well as maintains the County Archives and Records Office.   There were over 1000 public comments to the Board meetings this year.   They will begin closed-captioning of meetings and are exploring electronic voting, which is contingent on in-person meetings.

Observer:  Kathi Graffam

Cook County Finance Committee Meetings on the Budget
October 24, 2022, 10 am to 12:30 pm

During the overview of the proposed 2023 budget by the Bureau of Finance and the presentation concerning the Offices under the President, Commissioners Daley, Degnen, Gainer, and Miller focused on the need for an independent evaluation of the programs being funded by the Equity Fund (funds from the County) and by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA funds from the Federal government).  The Commissioners suggested regular meetings (quarterly or every two months) to get status reports and to have opportunities for the public to weigh in.  The Commissioners noted that the $1 Billion in ARPA funds provides the County with an unprecedented opportunity to make lasting positive changes.  But the Commissioners said that there will  undoubtedly be ways to improve and the County needs to identify those sooner rather than later.  In that regard, Commissioner Degnen suggested there might be a possible budget amendment to add 1 to 2 FTEs to the County Auditor department.

Bureau of Finance/Budget Overview - Presented by Interim CFO Lawrence Wilson, Budget Director Annette Guzman, and Deputy CFO Dean Constantinou.

Overall budget is $8.75 B (including Capital and Grant funds)

• 7.8% increase over 2022, mainly due to federal funds
• $7.23 B of total is Operating Funds, with 78% of that for public health and safety
• While budget has grown by $5.21 B (a 10.6% compound annual growth) since 2014, the core services have grown by a compound annual growth rate since 2011, in line with revenues.  Much of the growth in the overall budget is due to the growth of CountyCare (the managed care program funded by Federal and State funds for Medicaid recipients).  
• Proposed FTEs (full-time equivalent employees) are 23,731, the highest level over the past 10 years.

The General Fund portion of the Overall budget of $1.97B is slightly less than 2022.  The projected increase in sales tax revenues partly offsets the transfer of Transportation Home Rule Taxes from the General Fund to a Special Purpose Fund and the transfer of Canabis Taxes to the Equity Special Purpose Fund.

• Sales Taxes now make up 55% of the General Fund, with the next highest source being Property Taxes at 15%.
• 54.5% of the General Fund goes to Public Safety, 32.2% for Fixed Charges and others, 10% for Finance and Administration, 3.6% for Property and Taxation, and 0.8% for Economic Development.
• Key Priorites for the General Fund are (1) to increase personnel to implement the Pre-Trial Fairness Act (effective Jan. 1, 2023), (2) contribute funds to the Land Bank, (3) support the delivery of property tax bills through technology and funding for the Property Tax Bridge Fund due to late 2nd installment bills in 2022, and (4) additional funding from the General Fund to the Equity Fund.

The Health Enterprise Fund portion of the Total Overall Budget is $3.99 B. a 3% increase over 2022. 

• County Care membership is projected to decline from over 425,000 to about 366,000 by the end of 2023 due to people having to re-qualify for Medicaid.

There are also Special Purpose Funds that make up the Overall Budget.  The presentation focused on 4 of these:

• The Equity Fund is proposed to utilize $74 M this year for Justice Advisory Council grants (violence prevention and returning residents) and Taskforce initiatives to reduce systemic barriers
• The Transportation Fund (new) of $237 M that will go toward Public Safety offices
• The Covid-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Fund, currently proposing $18 M, but additional grant money from the Federal government is expected so this could increase.  Since this fund started in 2021, $144 M has been distributed.
• ARPA, with the County now in Phase IV (implementation and monitoring) with Phase V (reporting and evaluation beginning in the summer of 2023).  Over $270M in community investments are slated for 2023.  A new platform to track all aspects of the program and fiscal management is being developed.

The County is doing long-term fiscal planning, and projections thru 2027 are that the General Fund revenues are expected to keep pace with expenses and that the Health Fund revenues will be just short of expenses.  

Under the County’s Fund Balance Policy, the County is using the amount in excess of 3 months of General Fund expenditures to assign $231 M to the Pension Stabilization Fund, Self-Insurance Fund Reserve, Cook County Health Reserve Fund, the Infrastructure and Equipment Fund, and the Equity Fund, along with $30 M to spend in 2023 in the General Fund.

The County is also starting to plan for how to determine what ARPA funded programs should continue after 2026 and how to fund them.

Offices under the President - Presented by the President’s Chief of Staff, Lanetta Haynes Turner
The Offices include the 

• Bureau of Asset Management (35% of the General Fund Budget attributed to the President)
• Bureau of Finance (18%)
• Bureau of Administration (14.6%)
• Bureau of Technology (13.7%)
• Bureau of Economic Development (7.3%)
• Bureau of Human Resources ( 5.5%)
• Office of the President (3.4%), County Auditor (1%), Human Rights & Ethics (0.8%), and Administrative Hearings (0.8%)

Much of the presentation repeated and expanded on information provided in the Budget Overview,and the Commissioners reiterated the need for independent review and oversight of the Equity and ARPA funds.  Ms. Turner also presented some highlights of the proposed spending under the different categories of the Policy Roadmap.  There were no questions on those projects, nor were there information or questions on the individual budgets or performance of the individual Offices.

Office of the Public Administrator - Presented by the Public Administrator Louis G. Apostol

• This office administrates estates when the decedent leaves no will or the named executors cannot serve.  The office is funded by the fees for administrating those estates, and not from tax revenue. 
  
• Through fees, interest, court costs, and funds for unknown heirs, the office has generated over $4.5 M in revenues with expenses of only $1.5 M in 2022.

Observer - Priscilla Mims

Cook County Board Finance Committee
Departmental Budget Meeting
October 27

State’s Attorney - Presented by Kimberly Foxx

Proposed 2022 Budget: $187,870,209            2021 Budget: $176,029.324
2022 includes $526,335 from the American Rescue Plan Special Purpose Fund

Proposed 2022 FTEs: 1,432                2021 FTEs: 1397.4

Highlights: 2021 Initiatives and Outcomes

• Given the pandemic, The Speedy Trial Act was suspended in late March of 2020 and restored on October 1, 2021.   
• Limited court proceedings meant a significant decrease in cases disposed, and although the gap is closing, we expect to finish the year under target.
• The number one charge remains guns, allowing a focus on public safety and violence.

Operational Opportunities: 2022 Initiatives and Goals

• The State's Attorney (SA) office will continue to expand alternative prosecution programs, and work with partners and community to decriminalize addiction, mental health issues, and poverty.  
• Additional initiatives include increased investigations of past wrongful convictions and preparing for implementation of the SAFE-T Act (the Omnibus Criminal Justice Act that the Illinois Legislature passed and the Governor signed early in 2021).

State’s Attorney Foxx’s Remarks

• In addition to the criminal cases, the SA is the lawyer of record for the county (civil side). $266 million were awarded to the County in a case regarding the failure of Sam’s Club to pay taxes on cigarettes.
• Cook County leads the country in vacating wrongful convictions. This work also helps build trust in the community.  
• A goal is increasing community engagement.  We welcome meeting with constituents in order to better explain the work of the SA.  
• The SA endeavors to be the most transparent SA office in the country and the website has a detailed description of the office’s work, accompanied by data. https://www.cookcountystatesattorney.org/ 
• The workload at Cook County exceeds that of Los Angeles County and New York.  LA County is the largest State’s Attorney office in the U.S. and Cook County is second. But LA County does not handle civil cases or misdemeanors.  NY does not handle misdemeanors.  
• In Cook County, felonies must get approval from the SA; but misdemeanors are directly filed by law enforcement.  In other major US jurisdictions, city attorneys deal with misdemeanors.

Foxx suggests that there are misunderstandings and even misinformation about how and when felony charges occur in Cook County.  She explains the procedure:

• The SA is only involved in a case when an arrest is made.
• Law enforcement (LE) investigates, talks with witnesses, gathers information, and makes an arrest. 
• LE takes the case to the felony review office in the SA office to evaluate whether there was a crime, whether the arrestee is the right person, and whether the evidence can be linked to the arrestee.
• When the case is lacking, the SA cannot indict the arrestee but asks LE to gather more evidence.  The case remains open while additional evidence is sought.
• Evidence gathering is done optimally before arrest since after an arrest is made, an arrestee can be held for only 48 hours.  
• Charges are often brought much later than the date of the crime. But once the case is charged, the SA can use only the evidence gathered at that point. 
• According to ABA Criminal Justice Standards:  “A prosecutor should not seek an indictment unless the prosecutor reasonably believes the charges are supported by probable cause and that there will be admissible evidence sufficient to support the charges beyond reasonable doubt at trial.” 

Commisioner Questions:

Q  Do you have any problem hiring staff?
A   We do well in hiring. We target law students.  There are challenges:

• Covid has caused problems in retention and hiring. 
• Cook County is a low paying office: $69,000 start for assistant.  Law firms pay $160,000. 
• Although many new hires come with a commitment to public service, others come, get the experience, but leave.  Student debt factors into staff leaving.  
• A concern is that many experienced people are retiring.  
• A Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion person has been hired to meet hiring standards.  

​Q  How is your budget striking the balance to help people feel safe but not criminalizing members of the community?
A  We prioritize crimes of violence.  In the past, resources were going to shoplifting and drug cases. For the last four years, we have focused on gun offenses.  Narcotics cases have shrunk because these should be diverted to treatment.  This allows more resources to go to violent crime. 

Q  There was a gunfight recently in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. There was a video.  Why was no one charged? The mayor used the term “mutual combatants,” indicating that both sides of the incident should be arrested.  Should they have been?
A  The video did not capture the beginning of the conflict.  Under the law, people do have the right to defend themselves—and so the beginning is important.  In this instance, all of the witnesses said, “I want a lawyer.”  The police and we agreed that we had not enough evidence. The mayor’s remarks were disappointing.  Frustration cannot lead us to make bad choices.  

Q  How can we help address mental health needs?
A  Too many mentally ill people are in jail. The felony review team sees that these are mental health situations.  But when people go to Mental Health Court, they get more entangled in the system than they need to be.   People should be deflected out of the system entirely.  But the SA doesn’t have a mechanism to do that--we need robust treatment so that they don’t come to us at all. We have not been thoughtful about the role of trauma and mental health in gun violence.  Children who suffer trauma have no access to social workers, therapy.  They feel they are better off with a weapon. But a child with a gun easily overreacts, leading to tragedy. Our strategies have not been proactive but reactive   We need to figure out how to bring services on the front end.

Q What about the budget for dealing with carjackings?
A The PA office cannot do anything until the police bring cases to them.  The case-clearing by the police for carjackings is only about 12%.

Observer - Janet Kittlaus

Cook County Board Finance Committee
Departmental Budget Hearings
Oct. 26, 2021

The meeting scheduled for 9 a.m. was held at 10:30 due to CCH scheduling issues.  It continued until 1:15 for 2 hours and 45 minutes due to commissioner questioning and compliments. 

Cook County Health - presented by CEO Israel Rocha and former Interim Budget Officer, Andrea Gibson

Proposed 2022 Budget:  $ 3.889 Billion    2021 Budget:  $3.388 Billion
Proposed 2022 FTEs:         7,560                 2021 FTEs:       6,803 

CEO Rocha’s comments
Both internal and external factors were considered in developing the 2022 budget; and while he stated that this is a conservative budget, he also stated that is has taken into consideration the importance of meeting the needs of patients, staff, and growth challenges.  Health Equity runs through all budget allocations.

2021 Accomplishments

• Mitigated COVID at CC Jail
• Established a health line for employees
• 900,000 Covid shots administered
• Established an Office of Health Equity
• County Care again received the highest recognition from the State for its coverage and options.

The COVID Pandemic impact on the 2022 budget:

• FY 2019 patient volumes were used as a baseline as all volumes were down in 20-21.
• Medicaid has been expanded to those previously considered charity care which includes undocumented seniors 65+.  And beginning in January undocumented seniors 55+ will also be covered.
• The County Care Management Program has grown beyond expectations due to the state not requiring the usual annual re-determination of Medicaid eligibility.

Other Highlights of his presentation:

• County Care now has 415,000 members which has driven up both anticipated revenues and expenses for 2022.  Focus will continue to be on increasing the use of in-house medical care vs members using outside providers.  Emphasis will be on closing service gaps, investing in the nursing staff, and increasing emergency and dialysis services at Provident.  
• Neurology, Oncology, behavioral services will all be increased offerings at Provident, Stroger, and several of the community health centers.  The ultimate goal is to offer these services at all or most of the centers.  Also reported that a new state-of-the-art health center was opened in 2021 on W. Fullerton named Belmont Cragin.
• Public Health received funding from the Center for Disease Control and the County will increase its tax allocation by $10 million each year contingent on revenue.
• Surgical rooms are being increased and modernized at both Stroger and Provident. Provident is resuming emergency ambulance runs.
• There is the potential for national recognition of Provident Hospital’s Dialysis and Renal Center.

Commissioner Questions

1. When will the vaccine for ages 5-11 be available.  Answer:  expect vaccine on hand in two weeks.  To date every suburban school has been contacted.  Emphasis will be on schools and family doctors to answer questions and vaccinate.
2. Have outstanding accounts receivables improved.  Ans:  Yes.  In 2021 to date cash collection increased by $24 million.  Also, the System is establishing a claims reserve for County Care.
3. Commissioner Miller wants to see the ambulatory care clinics much more robust and all offering life style services.  She also wants more services provided in the Southland area.
4. Anaya asked that Telehealth be expanded.
5. A question on the pandemic effects on the staff was answered this way: There were many more retirements.  The System is asking itself “how do we energize our staff?” Need more patient education. Need increased emphasis on Mental Health. Mr. Rocha stated he will be offering a new Strategic Plan at the end of 2022. 

Diane Edmundson - Observer