Cook County Board Finance Committee – Mid-Year  Budget Hearings
July 25, 2023 - Afternoon Meetings

Inspector General – Steven Cyranoski, Interim IG.  
$2.3 million Preliminary 2024 budget

• At midterm, 15% below 2023 budget.  Year-end projection:  Under Budget
• Budgeted for 19 FTE’s.  Currently: 3 vacancies [IG, Deputy IG, Investigator]
• No commissioner questions

Public Administrator – Louis Apostal.   $1.7 million self-funded 2024

• 738 investigations to find rightful inheritance ownership
• 70 properties under management
• 15 full-time staff – unionized office.  5 outside attorneys
• 2024 budget will increase by $137,000 – primarily increased compensation costs

Cook County Clerk – Karen Yarborough.   $20.6 million Preliminary 2024 budget

• Chief Election Officer and responsible for maintaining and providing vital records
• No longer under Shakman and received several compliments for achievement
• Increased vacancies of between 25-30 due to retirement and termination
• Elections:  Additional language ballots will be offered along with information sheets in that language.
• Commissioner Aquilar asked why a pension deduction was taken out of Election Judges checks. Ans:  there is a glitch in the system which is being addressed.  
• Availability of Election Judges was a question:  Ans:  The shortfall has been filled by veterans, community college students that can earn a credit for taking a course on being an election judge, civics, and cyber security.
• Question:  Security of elections and voting by mail.  Ans:  Election ballot drop boxes are located at early voting sites and are monitored.

Board of Review [BOR] – Cardenas, Steele, Rogers.  
$18 million Preliminary 2024 budget

• Currently, analysts are working 20 hours mandatory overtime to get appeals processed and sent to the next office for mailing out the 2022 tax bills which are already late.
• The BOR asked for money to bring each of the 3 Districts to 50 analysts.  Currently a total of 105 analysts.  Daley asked if granted, could the Board guarantee that the tax bills will go out on time.  Ans:  No as there are too many other offices involved in the process.  Said it is anticipating 400,000 appeals in 2024.  The previous analyst ratio was 1-1200 appeals.  Now 1-1600 appeals.
• Steele, who has 17 years in the Assessment Industry including the CC Assessor’s office, noted that the Assessor looks at properties in comparable groups while the BOR reviews each property individually.  
• Steele published a BOR report for 2022 and is in the process of working on a Standards Manual.
• February’s request for a cost comparison between switching to or fully integrating with the Tyler system should be ready in late August.  Cardenas noted that the BOR has just two IT employees.
• Cardenas said that transparency is at the front of the BOR’s mission, and that it has already reduced the appeal time by 6 weeks.  He also said the website has been improved as have FOIA responses

Land Bank – Jessica Caffrey, Executive Director.  Primarily self-funded
Ms. Caffrey is relatively new to the Land Bank having worked for the County in previous roles including coordinating the development of the Old Stroger Hospital and the building of the Cook County Health’s Administrative Building on Polk.

• The Land Bank’s goal is to “create the market” by acquiring 4-5 houses per block in a blighted area which can change the entire block and market
• It acquires vacant, available property through tax sales and other means
• 96% of all its properties are resold to homeowners
• $9.8 million in real estate value has been created in Inglewood
• Created $2.5 million in revenues as of May 1, 2023
• Reduced aged inventory which is property that is on the books over two years
• Staff:  13 positions including 3 vacancies.

​Observer:  Diane Edmundson

Cook County Board of Commissioners Committee Meetings
July 19, 2023

​Legislation & Intergovernmental Relations Committee

• Item 23-3320   Recommended for approval  The Committee approved an amendment to the Inspector General selection ordinance  which required a bipartisan committee of equal number of Commissioners from different parties.   Since there is only one Republican commissioner now, the ordinance had to be changed.    The change was that if there is not enough representation of both parties, the President can appoint another commissioner.  
• Item 23-3719  Recommended for approval   Amends the ordinance covering sick leave to add that it may be taken for mental health issues.

Finance Committee

• Item 23-3116  Deferred  The item was for the approval of the use of $20 M in ARPA funds to assist suburban Cook County residents pay water bills. Money could go to pay directly for a person’s water bill. The plan was to use  CEDA (The Community and Economic Development Association) as they currently help individuals with their water bills.    CEDA is about to lose its federal funding.   The funding would also go to help a municipality  with a high-water burden. That program is to be managed by Elevate, a private company.   Elevate would need to negotiate with the municipality to ensure that the funds would go to pay for water, that fees and rates would be modified for residents, and that resident water would not be turned off.  At this point it is not known which suburbs would participate and what the conditions would be.  Commissioner Daley asked what suburbs would be targeted and what reports would there be.  Commissioner Degnen suggested a smaller amount be authorized to initiate the programs and when more details were available, more money could be given.  Since there were so many unknowns the item was deferred.
• The second part of Item 23-2116 was authorization of $1.24M to implement a Community Information Exchange Program to share client profiles among healthcare and social services.   This would allow more holistic care to an individual and build connections among providers.

Transportation Committee

• Item 23-3259. Recommended for receiving and filing. This was a report on  a pilot program in South Cook, The Fair Transit Program, that is subsidizing fares on Metra and Pace to encourage the use of public transportation in the south region.   The Metra Electric has seen ridership return to pre-Covid levels.   The Commissioners approved the continuation of the pilot. 

Health & Hospitals Committee

• Behavioral Services Reports from CCH, Sheriff, Office of the Chief Judge, State’s Attorney, and Public Defender were reviewed.   The Committee recommended for receiving and filing.      
• Much of the conversation focused on substance abuse programs.  CCH is finding that recovery coaches who continue a relationship with a patient after they leave the hospital have shown to help the patient stay clean.    They are also implementing emergence naloxone vending machines in neighborhoods, where residents can get this to help with overdoses.  
• The Sheriff’s office reported that the jail does individual assessments on new inmates and it has its own substance abuse programs that are offered to the inmates.   They also give released prisoners naloxone if indicated.  

Asset Management Committee 

• Item 23-3313 Recommended for approval  This contract contained several capital projects. 
• Earl Manning, Director of the Office of Capital Planning and Policy ,  has established a pre-qualified program for small minority firms to make it easier for them to participate in smaller projects.    The businesses do not have to submit the paperwork for each potential job as in the past.

Contract Compliance Committee

• Item  23-0820 Recommended for receiving and filing.   This was the annual diversity report.    Nicole Mandeville, Director of Compliance, reported on the past 4 years of county spending on contracts.   32% of contracts in 2022 went to M/W/DBE  owned companies.

Audit Committee

• Items 23-3381 & 23-3378  Recommended for receiving and filing   Outside Audit of Cook County for fiscal year 2022.  The auditors did see errors in accounting entries for CC and CCH which required adjustments for the financial statements.  There were weaknesses in the controls on the Oracle accounting system such as not deleting terminated users. The auditor recommended allowing more time to close the books at year end to find needed corrections.  
• Item 23-3382  Recommended for receiving and filing   Report on Federal Awards There were  findings of non-compliance with Federal Grant Awards requirements.   Commissioners Degnen and Daley noted this was more than usual.     Commissioner Degnen will be meeting with the department to discuss improvements in process.

Observer - Kathleen Graffam

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 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING
January 13, 2022-10:00 a.m.

The one and a half hours of public comments at the meeting focused on two main areas: those advocating for continued/increased funding to social agencies and to those opposed to the Cook County Health Department mandate pressing for vaccination and for masking/social distancing.

• Social agencies’ remarks concentrated on the need for continued work against violence, particularly gender-based domestic violence. It has increased a great deal during the pandemic. Several speakers requested funds to be used for work with the abusers themselves, emphasizing the need to stop the violence at its source.
• All the people commenting on the health mandate spoke against the vaccine and against the enforcement of masks and social distancing in public areas.
• ​Commissioner Sean Morrison, after the speakers finished, emphasized that the Cook County Board of Commissioners did not create nor did they vote on this mandate. The policy came from the Cook County Department of Health.

President Preckwinkle then invited Dr. Rachel Rubin, senior medical officer of the Department of Health, to explain the rationale for the policy. She said the order was based on science and on how covid is transmitted. The current severe outbreak made this a necessity. Two things have been shown to mitigate the disease: 1) masks work. 2) vaccinations prevent the disease, or at least temper the severity of the illness. She invited citizens to visit the Cook County Health Department website for more detailed information on the subject.

The remainder of the agenda was passed without a great deal of discussion. 

• The monthly covid report was presented for CARES, FEMA, ERA, and ARPA. Staff reported that while administrative costs for such programs generally run about 10%, the costs here have been closer to 3%. (Agenda Item 22-1088)
• One of the more lengthy discussions involved the ongoing arbitration with the SEIU union related to pandemic pay. Staff is currently awaiting the arbitrator’s decision. This should be resolved in the first quarter of 2022. Staff reminded the Board that this agreement must be presented in its entirety. The Board cannot deal with it separately in sections.
• 2021 Annual Ethics Report was received and filed. (Agenda Item 22-0877)
• Amendment to the ordinance for Inspector General was referred to the Legislative and Intergovernmental Relations Committee. The proposed changes to the ordinance deal with the process of selecting an Independent Inspector General. (Agenda Item 22-1224)
• Commissioner Anaya presented an item that allows the public defender to represent noncitizens in court on immigration matters. Commissioner Suffredin spoke in support. (Agenda Item 22-1161)
• Appointment of Lynn Turner as the permanent secretary of the Board replacing Matt DeLeon was referred to the Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee. (Agenda Item 22-1238)

Meeting was adjourned at 3:59 p.m.

Observer - Georgia Gebhardt

Cook County Board Finance Committee
Departmental Budget Hearings
October 25, 2021, Part Two
​
Public Administrator presented by Louis G. Apostal
Proposed 2022 Budget:  $1,505,785         2021 Budget:  $1,412,029
Proposed 2022 FTEs:  15              2021 FTEs:  15
Presentation Highlights:

• Almost a self-supporting agency, since most collected fees go into the county treasury. 
• Is a quasi-state agency since it is overseen by the circuit court system. 
• Deals mainly with probate, selling of property, etc.

Office of the Independent Inspector General presented by IG Patrick Blanchard

Proposed 2022 Budget:  $1,945,869     2021 Budget:  $1,874,663
Proposed 2022 FTEs:  19               2021 FTEs:  19
Presentation Highlights:

• Budget includes additional funds requested for certification training for the 5 new employees (investigators).
• # of complaints received is leveling off to about 795 per year—most from the county and forest preserve district; about 30 of these are from sub-contracted Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD).  
• MWRD contract expires in 2022, but will most likely be renewed.
• This year an ordinance passed giving the Litigation sub-committee authority to review the quarterly reports from the Inspector General—mostly when recommendations were not being followed by departments and agencies.  This is a positive for this office.

Cook County Treasurer presented by Maria Pappas

Proposed 2022 Budget:  $11,951,584 (decrease of about $36,000)    2021 Budget:  $11,987,500
Proposed 2022 FTEs:  72.5  (decrease of 5 FTEs)                 2021 FTEs:  77.5

Highlights of Presentation:

• Main purpose of this office is to collect property taxes ($16.1 billion) throughout Cook County and then distribute the collected money to the 2,200 local government units—various taxing bodies (municipalities, schools, etc).  Also invests the revenues and others public funds according to law.   Conducts tax sales of delinquent properties.
• Productive use of technology and automation has made this office more efficient and less expensive over the years.
• This office has an extensive user-friendly website that contains almost all information any taxpayer needs or is interested in regarding taxes:  www.cookcountytreasurer.com. 
• The web site also contains several studies done by this office, including Scavenger Sale Study, 20-year Property Tax History, Debt Study, and Tax Bill 2020 Analysis.
• This office has a strong outreach service to help taxpayers get exemptions, avoid overpayments, obtain refunds, etc.
• Treasurer Pappas has not been pleased with the roll-out of technology by Tyler Technologies, especially as it concerns other offices with whom she works (Assessor, Clerk, etc.)

Some interesting facts on website:

• $72 million has been overpaid by taxpayers in duplicate payments or overpayment
• $43 million in missing exemptions for seniors (they haven't applied for the exemption)
• Property taxes are up 99% in the last 20 years
• 50% of scavenger sales are vacant properties
• Since 2018, $82 million in automatic refunds has been paid out
• The 547 primary taxing agencies have a debt of $153.4 billion (mostly pensions)

Cook County Assessor presented by Fritz Kaegi

Proposed 2022 Budget:  $33,778,110             2021 Budget:  $31,120,615
(2022 includes $1,000,000 allocated from the American Rescue Plan (ARPA)
Both years include about $4,605,290 in Special Purpose Funds
Proposed 2022 FTEs:  276                              2021 FTEs:  276

Highlights of Presentation

• Assessor Kaegi praised Tyler Technologies as being less expensive than alternatives at this point.  The office is pleased with the roll-outs, with iasWorld going live soon.  
• Goals this coming year include:  strategic hiring and cost efficiencies,  improved customer service, technology and modernization investments.
• Having difficulty hiring for 40 vacant positions, since other businesses pay more or have better perks.  Many retirements and COVID fears have increased vacancies.
• Digitization has lowered costs and lowered error rates.  A consulting contract is being used for customer service improvement.  Best practices in this field are being followed, although Cook County has a very unusual system of assessment.
• Commissioner Miller was concerned about Southland communities and their assessments.  Small businesses have high rates when residential properties are lowered.  Concern about drawing businesses to the Southland with such high property taxes.
• There are a large number of appeals in Cook County (33% of properties are appealed).  The reason is distrust in assessment accuracy and fairness,  Assessor is working on more accurate, uniform, equitable assessments.  Interestingly, appeals have been down even though the process to appeal is easier now.  Kaegi feels it will take a few years to rectify/change the distrust in assessments by home-owners and commercial property owners.
• Within about a year, the process of updating inaccurate assessments will carry-over to the next assessment in 3 years hence.  So once rectified, this should be ”permanent.”
• TIF Districts can negatively affect assessments (will be higher since some areas will have a tax break).  ARPA funding this year will go towards measuring the incentives given to property owners -—are they working as intended. Kaegi is working to get some changes to assessment process at the state level—with new laws.

Karin Hribar - Observer

Cook County Board Finance Committee Mid-year Budget Hearings
​July 21, 2021
Presentations by the Clerk of the Court, the Chief Judge, Independent Inspector General and Cook County Sheriff

​Commissioner Daley has asked all Elected officials presenting their mid-year budget information to also state what their office/department has learned from the COVID experience over the last year.

Clerk of the Court -  Iris Martinez

• Martinez’ main goal is to do a “comprehensive review of the whole operation” and make changes necessary for more efficiency and transparency.  She wants to “re-establish trust in the office.” 
• Two areas of concern are to complete the transition to the Odyssey Case Management System and to comply with any Shakman hiring issues.  By the end of October, 2021, the case management system transition should be completed and should be certified by the Illinois Supreme Court by January, 2022.  This will provide better access by the public and attorneys.  Hiring will be more transparent in accordance with any Shakman requirements.  Currently 218 more staff (mostly clerks) will be hired in two large groups.  The office will still be understaffed according to the Chief of Staff.
• Some general improvements to come are website improvement, easier access for Domestic Violence victims to get court orders, call center improvements including the calling of defendants to remind them of court dates.
• “Goals” include more e-filings by attorneys (2,200,000) and an increase in the number of cases filed (495,000).  Revenue is 10% higher than expected and expenditures are almost 9% lower than expected.  Much of this has to do with COVID shutdowns of courts and also more efficiency in operations.  Cost savings is a priority for Clerk of the Court Martinez.  More can be done using technology rather than in-person—learned from last year’s experience.

Chief Judge - Tim Evans
Some details from the Chief Judge regarding the current budget year:

• there is a 2% reduction ($5 million) in this year’s budget mostly due to COVID closures— under budget for hiring and contracts
• no jury trials have been held during COVID except for emergencies
• currently there are 76 courtrooms set up for jury trials and 10 for bench trials.  3 ft. social distancing will occur for jury trials  (should start in October)
• the AOIC (Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts) is giving $61 million to the courts—from COVID money at the federal level
• unusual expenses were for Zoom licenses (400) used for hearings
• during the past year, 128,00 “matters” were settled even though courtrooms were basically closed.  This includes 13,000 guilty pleas and bench trials.

Lessons learned from COVID experience:

• in-person court appearances are not needed for discovery,  some hearings; but in-person is required for any situations where “freedom is in jeopardy”

Commissioner Comments:

• Comm. Daley asked about the speedy trial requirement return and how many defendants are waiting. Also the number of defendants on EM or bail that have recommitted serious offenses. This was unclearly explained by Evans, however the gist was that there is “no proof” that the released do more crime.  He indicated that all the information is on his website dashboard.  This is cookcountycourt.org.  Later on it was mentioned that Preckwinkle’s office has a group interviewing Evans, Sheriff Dart, and others to evaluate the EM program.  A report should be released soon.
• Comm. Aguilar contradicted Evans “data” on crimes committed by released defendants and said his community was worried about crime.  Evans replied that all are presumed innocent until convicted.  Aguilar also stated that child support is not being enforced.
• Comm. Johnson was concerned about “isolation” use as a punishment for misbehavior at the JTDC (Juvenile Temporary Detention Center).
• ​Comm. Lowry asked whether the elimination of cash bail will increase court budget/costs.  No clear answer from Evans.
• Comm. Degnan advocated for virtual meetings for domestic violence situations.  This reduces trauma, time, etc. for women asking for court orders.
• Comm. Miller asked about restorative justice courts in the south suburbs.  These will be added soon.  She also asked for data on Veterans and other specialty courts and indicated that many veterans don't know about these specialty courts.
• Comm. S. Morrison questioned the $7 million increase in the budget.  Evans indicated this was needed for Zoom room personnel and other jury services. Evans office currently has 2,550 FTEs and 599 vacancies.  Evans desires a hybrid system using Zoom and in-person in the future. 
• Also asked was what the process is for deciding who gets out on bail, no-bail, or EM (Electronic Monitoring).  Evans said “mitigating circumstances”—presumption of innocence, proof not evident, no clear and present threat, no lengthy criminal record, self-defense, vulnerable to COVID are all reasons someone could be released even though they are accused of a violent or gun crime.  Stated that 1,287 defendants are in jail for murder and less than 100 murder defendants are out on EM.
• The issue of mental illness was brought up with regard to so many defendants needing mental health services.  Morrison advocated that this issue be addressed by the State of Illinois.

Independent Inspector General - Patrick Blanchard

• The office has filled 5 open slots (including promoting 1) and has just 1 unfilled position of the Deputy Inspector General
• Comm. Anaya asked whether the result is improved turn-around time for cases.  IG Blanchard said “yes.”  He reminded the Commissioners that his office has a triage system for determining which potential cases are the most important and which ones have sufficient evidence to warrant going forward.  Last year there were 800 contacts made to his office, and the office also can and does open cases on its own.
• The IG was asked about appeals from the cases included in his quarterly reports.  The IG explained that the office only has the authority to make recommendations to an official or department.  So if someone disagrees with the implementation of the recommendations of the IG, the person needs to contact the applicable department or official.

The Office of the Cook County Sheriff - Deputy Sheriff

• The office began with a presentation on the past and current status of COVID cases within the County Jail, which the office believes has been wrongly depicted as a “hot spot.”  In the Spring of 2020, there were 307 cases, which was 6.9% of the total Jail population, compared to much higher percentages in the general population.  Similarly, the highest number of cases was on December 13, 2020, with 375 inmates testing positive, or 6.8% of the Jail population.  As of July 21, 2021, the 7-day average was only 0.2%, or only 2 positive cases. And these two inmates entered the Jail with COVID.
• Currently, 55% of the Sheriff’s employees are vaccinated, despite many efforts to incentivize the staff to get vaccinated. 61% of the eligible detainees are vaccinated currently.  There is frequent testing of the non-vaccinated.
• The office expects to remain within the 2021 budget, thanks to the funds that came from the Federal government last year and this year.
• 752 detainees have been convicted and should be in the State prison system.  Of these, 394 are eligible for parole hearings, and the Sheriff wants those to take place.  Comm. Daley asked about the dollar amount owed by the State to the County for housing these inmates that have been convicted.  The Sheriff’s Deputy said that the State wants to establish a rate of $50 to $70 per day, but the Sheriff says it has to meet with the County’s Budget Dept. to establish the appropriate rate.
• The Sheriff’s employees are exhausted from the past year and a half.  It has been difficult to keep up with attrition through new hires.  The Deputy Sheriff emphasized the large number of positions that have been reduced over the years and more positions are needed, including more monitors for those released on electronic monitoring.  The office is working with the University of Chicago to identify ways to better manage the electronic monitoring.
• Comm. Britton said he would like to expand training within the Jail so people can connect to jobs upon release.  The Commissioner identified a large impediment to that is the issue of transportation from Chicago to the suburbs where some of these jobs are, particularly in the food industry.
• Comm. Johnson asked about whether there are metrics for evaluating policing efforts, particularly the Sheriff’s partnering with Chicago on drug trafficking.  The Deputy explained that the Sheriff had an internal research office that does such evaluations and there are weekly reports.
• Comm. Silvestri asked about what long-term costs might be expected.  The Deputy Sheriff explained that being able to open shuttered Jail buildings was critical for providing separate spaces for prisoners during this pandemic.  The office was very complimentary of the Asset Management Bureau for quickly repairing and bringing these shuttered buildings up to code so they could be used.  The Office said that having that capability to reopen buildings could be a continuing need.
• Comm. Anaya asked whether there is any evaluation of the effectiveness of electronic monitoring.  The answer was that Urban Labs is finishing up just such an evaluation, which report should be ready shortly.
• Comm. Anaya and Moore brought up the mental health facility in Roseland that was established in 2017 as an alternative to incarceration in the Jail.  Comm. Moore urged that the County look to establish similar programs in Chicago.

Observers  - Karin Hribar and  Priscilla Mims