Cook County Board of Commissioners
Committee Meetings
December 18, 2024

Criminal Justice Committee
The meeting began with 45 minutes of Public Comment from advocates and family members of those persons who have died while incarcerated at the Cook County Jail. Comments focused on the need for better procedures to ensure the health and safety of persons while they are incarcerated. Also requests for more transparency and better notification procedures when deaths occur. 

​Public Comment was followed by a presentation from representatives of the Sheriff’s Office and Cook County Health (Cermak Hospital) to educate the County Board about the policies and procedures in place to address the health and safety of detainees. (Agenda Item 25-5416) The following points were made during the presentations:

• 40,000 people per year cycle through the Cook County Jail System
• In 2023 44% of inmate deaths involved drug soaked paper
• Initial assessments for health risks and medications are done on all individuals when they go through intake
• The Sheriff’s Office has programs for individuals with Substance Abuse and/or Mental Health Issues as well as anti-violence and anger management programs. 
• Naloxone is available across the compound and training of personnel is done. 
• Attempts are being made to review all mail so that drug soaked paper does not get into the jail. 
• Cermak does initial assessments on approximately 82 persons per day

Commissioner Questions and responses:

• Comm. Quesada asked for the numbers of deaths and cause of death. In 2024 there have been 10 deaths and in 2023 there were 18 deaths. In 2024 2 were natural causes, 1 overdose, 1 suicide, 2 homicide, 1 accidental overdose and 3 undetermined to date. In 2023 there were 6 from natural causes, 8 overdoses, 1 suicide and 3 homicides. He also asked about the procedure known as “cross watching” which is when staff have to oversee more than one unit. Response was that it does occur when staffing is not adequate. It is not prohibited but also not ideal and is used judiciously when necessary.
• Comm. Anaya asked how the jail and the health system collaborate to ensure that individuals receive the care they need while incarcerated. Inmates are assessed for health needs when they enter the system and can request health services anytime if they want to. Cermak îs not an emergency facility but they will respond as necessary but also outside emergency services are enlisted when necessary. 

Legislative and Intergovernmental Relations Committee

• An amendment to the Board Rules was proposed requiring that any reports and documents pertaining to board agenda items must be attached to the original filing of the item. If not attached initially they must be filed 48 hours prior to a meeting or the item must be withdrawn, deferred or referred to committee. (Agenda Item 24-6376) The item was approved. The League of Women Voters of Cook County did submit written comments to the board supporting this amendment. 
• A technical amendment to the Paid Leave Ordinance was approved to address some of the concerns that school districts have been raising with this ordinance. (Agenda Item 24-6496) Comm. Britton stated that he has been attending municipal meetings over the past few weeks and more entities are opting out of the County's Paid Leave Ordinance. He said that by not excluding Park and School Districts from the ordinance it has probably resulted in fewer people being covered than was originally intended. Comm. Morita said that they will continue to work with the school districts to ensure that their concerns are addressed. 
• A representative from the Assessor’s Office presented an Update on “split-classed, commercial mixed-use properties” -  a new definition for the sub category of 3-18 under multi-use Class 3 property assessments. (Agenda Item - 24-6504) This classification addresses properties that have commercial space as well as residential space and considers square footage as well as % of living space vs commercial space.  Several speakers spoke during the Public Comment at the beginning of the meeting about the tax burden being placed on certain small business owners due to the reclassification of 3-18 properties in the last assessments. The presentation outlined the process the Assessor’s Office used to change the definition of the 3-18 to address the concerns of the 30 property owners in the south suburban area and the city who will benefit from this change. In the next assessment of the northern suburban area there could be more properties that will be affected.  

Finance Committee

• During the Cook County Health Financial Report, CCH reported that there has been a 14% decrease in the utilization of agency workers throughout the system, an initiative that Comm. Degnan and  Anaya have been pursuing. Comm. Gainer asked whether this was a sustainable decrease and what factors changed to allow this to happen. CCH staff stated that salary adjustments and reassessing staffing needs/requirements were key. Also some agency employees are converting to County employees which is expected to result in a savings. Comm. Gainer also requested information about how much the agencies are paying their contracted employees and how much the agency is keeping. CCH said they would attempt to get that information.

Observer - Cynthia Schilsky

Cook County Board of Commissioners 
Committee Meetings 
​March 13, 2024


FINANCE SUBCOMMITTEE ON LITIGATION
During the public comment period, the League of Women Voters of Cook County expressed its concern that the position of the Cook County Independent Inspector General (“IIG”) has not been filled on a permanent basis for 17 months.  

• The prior Inspector General retired in October of 2022.  The League said that the General Council of the Office of the IIG has ably served as the Interim IIG.  However, the League stated that having this top position along with one of the two Deputy positions not being filled on a permanent basis for so long must be having a detrimental impact on both the work and personnel in this small, but critical office.
• The League said it would like to know that the process of filling these two positions has been moving forward and that the public will soon be hearing about the appointment of a new IIG. 
• Commissioner Britton, Chair of the Subcommittee, said he will follow up to see where the process stands.

Observer:  Priscilla Mims  

AUDIT COMMITTEE:
County Auditor Mary Modelski presented her report on Grant Administration and general Management at the Justice Advisory Council (JAC) in fiscal year 2022.  No audit had been done in at least 10 years.  The report (item 24-1025) included only grants administered through the operating fund budget (about $14 million in 2022) and excluded any ARPA grants, which will be looked at later.
    Issues brought up in the report or by Commissioners included the following:

• JAC did not use their own rubric for grant distribution, instead used their own discretion, so some higher ranked applicant organizations were not fairly considered.
• Documentation of grants, reporting mechanisms, mis-filing of information, fund tracking, and payment procedures are concerns.
• Site visits to check on grant funds use needs to be regularly done with a check list and agenda.  Also visits need to check on accuracy and effectiveness of the service provided by the organizations—validation.

Four recommendations were made by the Auditor:    *

• need to update, from 2018, the policies and procedures they use regarding the grants distributed
• ensure funding documentation is collected, stored, and retained appropriately—currently not consistent
• improve tracking of funds distributed
• structure a fraud awareness program

These were accepted by the JAC—to be completed by May, 2024.  JAC will also use the Federal Government ARPA’s (more strict) standards on all grants going forward.

The Audit report of ARPA on the Small Business Grant Program showed adequate controls on the $50 million distributed to 3,000 small businesses in Cook County.  $18 million more will be granted out by 2026.

Building Healthy Communities ARPA grants of about $5 million were also audited.  Because of a change in designation of recipients (from sub-recipients to beneficiaries), these grants were not required to be monitored. Commissioners were concerned that no metrics, risk assessments, or financial monitoring was done. The Public Health (PH) department wanted to get the funds out upfront and quickly as COVID was prevalent at that time.  The grants were intended to increase access to healthy foods, youth development, mental and behavioral health.  PH department was told by Commissioners they should establish base-line monitoring so the county knows where the funds went and what the outcomes of the programs were.

RULES AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE:
    There was a lot of discussion among commissioners and the staff of the Dept. of Human Rights & Ethics (HR & E) regarding the rules for the public to follow on the recently passed Paid Leave ordinance—effective for private businesses since January, 2024.  Concerns by some Commissioners were

• The public local governments that will have to follow this ordinance by January, 2025, have not had time to give their input on these rules. HR & E wants the rules made public now so businesses have knowledge of how to follow the ordinance; changes can be made later. 
• There was concern that the rules were not contained in the ordinance when passed (quickly) last year.  This ordinance goes further than a similar law at the state level, which did contain the rules.
• Questions arose on how specifically to amend these rules at a later date—Counsel explained process.
• Several commissioners noted they had numerous complaints about the ordinance, especially from school and park districts that hire part time employees for only part of the year. 

The vote to accept the public-facing rules (24-1181) was very close:  4 Yes, 4 Present and 1 absent.  PASSED in committee.

ASSET MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE:
    Item 24-1056 regarding a lease in Sauk Village for a new restorative justice court was passed in committee.  Both the Public Defender and a representative from the States Attorney office seem to have smoothed over any concerns by commissioners from 2 weeks ago when those offices sent a letter stating they could not staff a new court this year.  All involved will “continue conversations,” so it seems to this observer that behind the scenes agreements were made that the lease go forward and any problems would be dealt with later.

What to watch for:

• ARPA funding monitoring
• Paid Leave ordinance rules and any amendments to the ordinance

Observer :Karin Hribar

Cook County Board of Commissioners Committee Meetings
June 28, 2023

The Commissioners had a full day of Committee meetings filled with much substance. Highlights below include

• Approval of the 12-week paid parental leave for offices under the President (not for employees who work for the other County Elected Officials)
• Differing views about the conditions inside the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center
• Updates on the status of revenues vs. expenses for this fiscal year and on the long-term revenue forecast
• Update on what the different County offices are doing with respect to domestic violence cases

12-week paid parental leave

• The Finance Committee voted to direct the Bureau of Human Resources to put together a policy for paid parental leave for 12 weeks.  To qualify, the employee must have been full-time for at least 12 months and must be a birth parent, non-birthing biological parent, intended parent of a gestational surrogacy, parent of adopted child, or foster parent placed with a foster child of 17 or younger.  Employees will be limited to 1 such leave per 12 months.  
• Commissioner Degnen, the principal sponsor along with President Preckwinkle, explained that the policy would for now only cover employees under the offices of the President.  Each other Elected County Official must take their own steps to adopt such a policy.  Commissioner Degnen said the Board can and should encourage such steps by assuring the Electeds that the Board would make sure the money was there to cover the costs of such a policy.
• Commissioner Gainer said that she had left the City of Chicago’s employment years ago because it had no such policy.  She expects that having such a policy now at Cook County will enable many good employees to remain at the County.  
• Commissioner Kevin Morrison stressed that people who opt to take this leave should know there will be no retributions as a result - particularly that they will not miss out on promotions.
• Commissioner Miller emphasized that this policy should assist in improving the significant maternal mortality and morbidity rates that the Commissioners heard about the previous day by allowing birth mothers to have the time to obtain the care they need.  Commissioner Miller also said that this policy was another plus for attracting and retaining good workers at Cook County (again referencing yesterday’s meetings where they heard about the challenges of hiring).
• The Board approved this item (#23-3117) at the Board meeting on June 29.

Conditions at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (“JTDC”)

• The Audit Committee held a hearing to discuss Equip for Equality’s report on conditions inside the JTDC, which is under the authority of the Cook County Chief Judge.  The Chief Judge did not speak, but was present throughout.  
• Equip for Equality (“EFE”) is the private not-for-profit legal advocacy organization designated by the Governor to operate the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (“P&A”) System for people with disabilities in Illinois.  EFE conducted observations and interviews with staff and detainees at the JTDC and the Chicago Public School that operates there from late 2021 thru early 2023.  The full report can be found at https://www.equipforequality.org/files/jtdc_report.pdf
• EFE recommends ending the practice of isolating youths and the use of a “holding” pod for those who either act up in the school or refuse to go to school.  EFE also recommends the end of the policy of having youths in the holding pod sit “on the wall” while they are given packets of work and utilize overturned chairs as desks, all the while not being able to talk to anyone.
• JTDC Superintendent Dixon and other supervisory JTDC staff stated there was no such “policy,” but admitted that this practice is used.  Supt. Dixon explained that this is used to prevent harm to others, as well as for the youths themselves.  There are serious gang issues within the JTDC, and the youth detained there are generally accused of serious crimes, including murder and attempted murder.  
• EFE is particularly focused on those detained in the JTDC who have special needs and the failure to accommodate that in the school.  However, Supt. Dixon explained that the staff are not advised by the Chicago Public Schools (“CPS”) as to when any of the youth there have special needs.  The prior memorandum of understanding between CPS and the JTDC lapsed a long time ago and a new one is just now being negotiated which presumably would provide for such information to be given to the JTDC.

Current Fiscal Year and Long-Term Revenue Forecast

• The Comptroller reported to the Finance Committee that both the General Fund and Health Enterprise Fund have positive balances due to revenues exceeding expenses:  $162 M for the General Fund and $108 M for the Health Fund.
• Dean Constantinou, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, presented the quarterly update on the long-term revenue forecast developed by the County’s Independent Revenue Forecast Commission.  The forecast is for slow economic growth into 2024, which should have a positive impact on revenues, particularly the sales tax which, as of April, is projected to be 1.3% over budget.  As a result of projected small surpluses going forward over the next 5 years, the County’s Fund Balance should continue to be above the maximum desired under the County’s policy, resulting in additional funds being available.
• The forecast is also for revenues to exceed expenses in the Health Fund going forward.  County Care membership is expected to peak in June and then drop off.  After November of 2024, the forecast is for membership to remain flat.

Domestic Violence

• The Criminal Justice Committee heard from representatives from the offices of the State’s Attorney, Sheriff, Chief Judge, and Clerk of the Circuit Court on what is going on with respect to domestic violence cases.  The Public Defender was not available.  Prior to the meeting, Commissioner Anaya, the sponsor of the item (23-2711) calling for the hearing, had met with each office explaining what she wanted covered.
• The State’s Attorney’s representative talked about the Domestic Violence Mental Health Court pilot that started in February.  The focus is on familial conflicts with outpatient and inpatient treatment for both defendants and victims.  So far, there have been 50 cases and 5 graduates. 
• The State’s Attorney is recommending (1) technology upgrades to the domestic violence court at 555 W. Harrison, (2) creation of a shared screening data base among agencies, and (3) the elimination of paper communications.  
• The Clerk of the Court’s representative reiterated the need for a single system among the criminal justice offices, and said that there is one that all offices have access to:  the Clerk of the Court’s Case Management System.  What needs to be done now is make sure all offices are trained on using it.  The representative explained that each office still needed its own system to manage its work load – other offices, for example, should not have access to the State Attorney’s case management system.  
• Honorable Judy Rice, the Acting Presiding Judge of the Domestic Violence Court, reported that there are 1500 new cases each month, both criminal and civil.  There are monthly meetings among all the entities (DV advocacy, Sheriff, Clerk of the Court, State’s Attorney, DV Judges, etc.) and the Chief Judge’s office supports increased staffing for all.  Since the pilot program for “After Hours” Domestic Violence Court (9 pm to 3 am on weeknights and 1 pm to 6 pm on weekends) there have been 543 cases.

​Observer: Priscilla Mims

Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - October 5, 2016

Significant Decisions Made

• Effective July 2017, all but construction workers are to be covered under a new paid sick leave law approved without a single Republican vote.  More than twenty public speakers told their stories as to why paid sick leave would help or hurt them or their constituents.  The ordinance largely mirrors the city of Chicago’s [also effective next July], and allows employees to earn one hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours worked up to five days per year.  About 40% or 840,000 private sector workers in the county do not have sick leave – primarily in the service industry and primarily low-wage earners.  A provision allowing employers to restrict employee use of sick hours for up to six months after hire could exclude many temporary or seasonal workers.  One commissioner said that home rule municipalities might be able to “opt out”, but no details were offered.   (Agenda Item 16-4229).
• Commissioners also approved new clarifying and tightening provisions to the County’s Ethics Ordinance.  Commissioner Silvestri objected to the requirement that individual elected officials cannot, on public time, lobby for/against resolutions, ordinances, or other positions after they have been approved by the Board.  A majority voted to strike the sentence, and the remaining changes were approved. (Agenda Item 16-5326)
• The Board approved a resolution (approved previously by the CCHHS Board) calling for the creation of a Gun Violence Research Consortium as a project of the Cook County Health and Hospitals System’s Collaborative Research Unit.  (Agenda Item 16-4064) 
• As a part of an annual Intergovernmental Agreement for shared services, the Board approved a payment to the Cook County Forest Preserve District of $1,942,000. (Agenda Item 16-5045) 

Items Referred to Committees:
Referred to the Legislative and Intergovernmental Relations Committee:

1. An Ordinance Governing the Safe Disposal of Pharmaceuticals was referred because the proposed substitute had not been seen by non-sponsoring Commissioners.  The substitute will be re-introduced with more time for review by the commissioners and the public. (Agenda Item 16-1983)
2. Living Wage Ordinance  - If approved in 2016, it would require CC employers to pay a living wage of at least $10.50 per year for covered employees with increases to occur in each of the following three years. (Agenda Item 16-5768)
3. A rule requiring that Substitute Ordinances or Substitute Changes to Ordinances, once presented to the full board, must wait for a follow up Board meeting for discussion and a vote. (Agenda Item 16-5778) 

An ordinance for Establishing Guidelines for Managing Consent Calendar Items and an ordinance for Establishing Decorum Guidelines for Public Speakers were both sent back to the Rules Committee for further refinement.  

Other Observations:

• Look for a sugar tax to be part of President Preckwinkle’s proposed budget for 2017.  Opponents are already airing radio ads against the tax.
• An Amendment to the CC Amusement Tax was deferred amidst concern that it is not in harmony with the City of Chicago’s covered venues. (Agenda Item 16-5102)
• A Ride-Share tax of .50 cents per trip was referred to the Finance Committee. (Agenda Item 16-5634)

Observer - Diane Edmundson