Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting
January 16, 2020

Items of Interest Considered by the Board:

• An amendment to the Medical Examiner Ordinance that includes the elimination of the Medical Examiner Advisory Committee was referred to the Legislative and Intergovernmental Relations Committee. The Medical Examiner office is performing well relative to 2012 when there were a series of burial scandals and overcrowded coolers.  The office rarely has unclaimed cases over 90 days, and disposition of deceased persons is orderly and dignified.  Coms. Kevin Morrison and Daley were very complimentary of the high standard of performance.  (Agenda Item 20-0626)
• The Performance Management Ordinance Amendment was referred back to the Finance Committee to make sure that Cook County Health was included. (Agenda Item 20-1076)
• All the transportation expenditures were passed with many of the projects exceeding the Women and Minority Owned Business requirements.
• Com. Bridget Degnen asked what kind of cars the Sheriff was leasing, and wanted to make sure that whenever possible, the selection is hybrid cars, not full emission.  She is very interested in encouraging the County to become more sustainable. (Agenda Item 20-0018)
• The Cannabis ordinances were all passed with Coms. Silvestri, Degnen, Moore, and Sean Morrison voting present, in all cases regarding cannabis. 
• Com. Suffredin will revise the amendments to the Ordinance on the General Powers of the System Board to ensure that severance payments for Cook County Health (CCH) employees are in line with Illinois state law.  Comm. Suffredin discovered that there are several CCH employees with severances promised in excess of what is allowed by law.  All commissioners were added as co-sponsors and the item was referred to the Health and Hospitals Committee.  (Agenda Item 20-1229)

 Amy Little, observer

Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - June 28, 2017

Significant Topics Discussed:
                                                                                                        
After a series of Chicago Tribune articles calling out the Cook County Assessor’s office for failure to provide assessment fairness between high and low valued properties, several Commissioners called for Cook County Assessor Barrios to attend a Finance Committee hearing made up of all board members to explain, defend, and take questions on the current process.  One commissioner said he wanted the hearing held in July.  

Nancy Marcus, Cook County League of Women Voters Co-President, testified that it is past time for the Commissioners to use the County’s Performance Standards in evaluating the elected offices, and the Assessor's office should be focused on doing accurate assessments in the first instance, and not opening up more avenues to contest  property appraisals.

Issues Referred to Committee:

• An Interagency agreement between the city and the county to require recipients of tax incentives to enter into an agreement to give the city/county first option to provide job applicants.  Two commissioners felt it over bureaucratic and wanted more discussion.  Referred back to the Workforce Committee.  
• The Cook County Health and Hospital System (CCHHS) wants to move its patient billing, call center, and public health employees from the Oak Forest Hospital System to the Holiday Plaza on the South Side citing savings of over $5 million per year.  Commissioners noted that Homeland Security still resides in the current complex which could negate savings.  They also expressed concern about the 10 year lease.  The item was referred to the Asset Management Committee.  (Agenda Item 17-3913)
• Commissioners Arroyo and Tobolski asked for an executive session of the Homeland Security and Emergency Mgmt. Committee along with the Department of Homeland Security to discuss current security protocols at all County facilities and identify gaps and security issues.  

Other Items of Interest:

• As of June 30, the State of Illinois owes Cook County $170 million.  It was $140 million at the end of April. 

Observer: Diane Edmundson                                                              Meeting Length:  90 minutes

Cook County Board and Committee Meetings -  July 13, 2016

Issue of Concern:
Twelve Committee Meetings beginning at 8:15 am were scheduled today prior to the 11am Board Meeting. Total time spent meeting was 7 hours, 15 minutes - 2 meetings held after that time in Executive Session and not open to the public. Comm. Suffredin decided to reschedule the  Legislation & Intergovernmental Relations Committee hearing on the impact of the Family Medical Leave Act on staffing and the County budget when it became apparent that the meeting scheduled for 1pm would not begin until closer to 5pm, and those waiting to testify would probably not still be available. 

Putting this issue into some context:
For the past 5 years, the League has been talking and writing letters to the Commissioners and President recommending that:

1. The Consent Agenda, which deals with honoring people, which often takes an hour or longer, be moved from the beginning of a Board meeting to another time so that the business of the meeting is not delayed
2. The majority of Committee meetings be held on a day selected by the Commissioners prior to the day of the Board meeting so that the full Board has time to review what the Committees have approved prior to accepting the Committees’ recommendation, and so citizens have the opportunity to provide any comments they may have to the full Board. 

Perhaps as a result of what occurred at this meeting, the Commissioners may now be ready to act on the League’s recommendations. The July 13 meeting schedule was totally unrealistic and was aggravated by the fact that there were several times when there was an insufficient number of Commissioners present to establish a quorum.  While some Committees still had to meet, the Board Meeting was begun 30 minutes late in order to deal with the Consent Agenda (when people are honored) and take public testimony.  An hour was spent on the Consent Agenda, which was not unusual.  Public testimony took 45 minutes (see below).  The Board Meeting was then recessed in order to allow the remaining Committee meetings to be held, prior to resuming the Board meeting at 3:00, which ended at 3:30.

As a result, the Finance Committee did not begin taking public testimony until 2 pm, four (4) hours after the scheduled time.  Only a handful of Commissioners were present when League Co-President Karin Hribar began to speak regarding the proposed amendment to Performance Based Management and Budgeting (see the first item below under “Actions Taken”).  Ms. Hribar started by saying how disappointed she was that more Commissioners were not present to hear what the League had to say after having to wait so long to speak.  

After her testimony, Commissioner Suffredin vowed that the Rules Committee, which he chairs, would find a solution to how to deal with the Consent Agenda so people can be honored without delaying the business of the Board.  Commissioner Silvestri also urged that Committees, other than Committees of the Whole, be scheduled on a day prior to the Board meeting.  Commissioners Daley, Goslin, and Sims expressed support for these changes.

Any reforms will be reported in future Eyewitness Reports.

Significant Actions Taken:
1. Approval of an ordinance amendment on Performance Based Management & Budgeting. 

• The key to the success will be in the implementation. 
• Will all the Elected Officials in the County accept and embrace the new program?
• Will the Commissioners understand and exercise their oversight role?  
• Chief Financial Officer Ivan Samstein (in response to a question from Comm. Simms) stated that the spirit of the LWVCC recommendations from the 2015 Study on the STAR Performance Management System, centered on the actual implementation of the performance management system, were at the heart of the changes proposed in this amendment.  
• Hear the LWVCC Testimony on this issue from the Finance Committee Meeting

2. Appointment of Dr. Ponni Arunkumar as the new Chief Medical Examiner, to a 5-year term. (Item 16-3699)
3. Appointments to the Cook County Health & Hospitals System (HHS) Independent Board: 
  (Items 16-4179, 4180, 4181, 4182, and 4178)

• Mary Driscoll (thru June 30, 2017); 
• Sidney Thomas (to August. 1, 2020), 
• Virginia Bishop, M.D. MPH (to Dec. 17, 2018), and 
• Layla P. Suleiman Gonzalez, PhD., J.D. (to Aug. 1, 2020)
• Appointments effective Aug. 1, 2016 so as to allow existing board members, some of whom are being replaced, to vote on the pending new CCHHS Strategic Plan 
• Reappointment of Mary B. Richardson-Lowry effective July 13 to July 13, 2020.  
• In addition to these 5 people, there are 4 members of the HHS Board whose terms continue.

4. Passing of an ordinance amendment allowing County residents, who are currently required to report to the Sheriff whenever they have a lost, stolen, destroyed, or transferred firearm, to voluntarily file their proof of reporting with the Recorder of Deeds. (Item 16-4198)  It was stressed that this was a service to people, not a requirement.
5. Received for filing:

• Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports for Cook County and the Health & Hospitals System for fiscal year 2015. (Items 16-3886, 3887,3891, and 3893) - minimal discussion on the auditor’s findings, with only Commissioner Gainer asking any questions.  
• ​Independent Auditor’s Report of Financial Statements of the Clerk of the Circuit Court (16-3615)  
• Independent Auditor’s Report on the Treasurer’s Office for 2014 and 15 (16-3709). 
• Projected 2016 Year-End Revenues and Expenditures - Budget Director Tanya Anthony said that the County’s General Fund has an expected shortfall (revenues minus expenditures) of $23 million, while the Health Fund has an expected shortfall of $24 million.

6. Approval of a resolution to create a speaker’s bureau with the Chief Judge’s Office of current and retired members of the bar to reach out to students on the importance of responding to jury service. (Item 16-4199)

Significant Items Referred to Committee:

• Two different proposed ordinances to establish employee paid sick leave for residents of Cook County were referred to the Finance Committee. (Items 16-4229 and 16-4065)
• “Connect Cook County:  2040 Long Range Transportation Plan,” the first ever for Cook County, was referred to Roads and Bridges. (Item 16-3634)

Public Testimony at Board Meeting:
There were 15 speakers all urging that the Board take up a previously introduced proposed ordinance called the Responsible Business Act.  Among other things, this ordinance would require companies to pay the County an amount for each employee not being paid a “living wage” as defined in the ordinance.  The sponsor of the ordinance, Commissioner Steele urged its supporters to be respectful of the Commissioners with whom they were meeting, and said that he was working to get sufficient votes as well as to obtain a State law, which was preferable to a local County law.

Observer - Priscilla Mims

Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - June 29, 2016

Significant Decisions Made:
The Board  voted (10 to 5) to place a Referendum on the November ballot asking voters to decide whether the Office of Recorder of Deeds should be combined with the Office of County Clerk.  Proponents of the Bill, sponsored by Commissioner John Fritchey, said now begins the period, before the election, when we must educate the public on the necessity of combining the offices.  Fritchey said eight of the largest counties in the United States have combined the offices of the Recorder of Deeds with the County Clerk for financial savings. (Agenda Item 15-6190)

Gun Violence resolutions passed by the Board: 

• An ordinance calling on Congress to repeal the Dickey Amendment that prohibits government funding for research on gun violence. If repealed the Center for Disease Control could move ahead with such research. (Agenda Item 16-3977)
• A resolution, sponsored by Comm. Boykin and Comm. Arroyo, calling on the Illinois General Assembly to enact and the Governor to sign a statewide ban on assault weapons.(Agenda Item 16-4039)
• An ordinance supporting the American Medical Association’s recognition of gun violence as a public health crises. (Agenda Item 16-4072) 

A resolution calling for the creation of Gun Violence Research Consortium as a project of the CCHHS Collaborative Research Unit was referred to the Board’s Health & Hospitals System Committee for review. (Agenda Item 16-4064)

Other Observation:
A proposed ordinance amendment on Performance Based Management was referred to the Finance Committee. (Agenda Item 16-3977)

Observer - Eleanor Prince