Cook County Board Finance Committee Budget Hearings
October 25, 2023 - 1pm 

​Cook County Clerk - Karen Yarborough
2024 Request Total:    $76,772,474              2023 Approved:    $65,849,554
2024 Total FTEs:    349                                   2023 FTEs:        351    
Key Items from the Meeting:

• Regarding Revenue generation the Clerk’s office is working on digitizing the records from 1871-1974 to provide access to these records to the public through a Scan on Demand program
• With the termination of Shakman oversight in her office Clerk Yarborough said this will now allow her HR department to do their job.
• The office is piloting a project in Palatine Township for online services to place an order for documents from her office.
• When asked about the integration of the Tyler System in her office she said that it still needs to integrate with their cashier system and she estimates the cost at about $400,000. There has been years of delay with this integration and she indicated that $150,000 was spent on an interface with the mainframe prior to the Tyler system.
• Comm. Morita asked about the consolidation of election results between the County and Chicago - wanting to know if the process for consolidation will be expedited by the March election and the Clerk indicated they hoped that would be the case.

Office of the Independent Inspector General - Interim IIG - Steve Cyronoski
2024 Request Total:    $2,456,335                       2023 Approved:    $2,307,093
2024 Total FTEs:    19                                               2023 FTEs:        19

Key Items from Meeting:

• Mr. Cyronoski indicated that the number of cases the office investigates has increased and he thinks this is probably due to an increased knowledge about the office. He also indicated that 85-91% of their recommendations are adopted.
• Comm. Degnan asked if there should be a fresh look at the way the reports from the office are reviewed by the Board. Instead of being referred to the Finance Litigation Sub-committe (they usually meet in Closed Session) perhaps there should be a committee designated just for review of the reports or they should come to the Finance Committee as a whole and be reviewed in public. Comm. Degnan indicated that the public (in particular the LWVCC) wants to know that the reports are read and there is follow-up on the recommendations. Mr. Cyronoski indicated that the report is a public report and does not need to be discussed in private.
• Comm. Anaya asked why there was not 100% compliance with their recommendations. Mr. Cyronoski indicated that there can be disagreement with their recommendations and that would be indicated in their report. The office of the IIG has no authority to require that a department comply with their recommendations.
• The office is budgeted for 19 positions and at present 16 positions are filled. They are looking to fill an investigator position and the Deputy IIG position is being left open until the new IIG position is filled so they will be able to appoint their own deputy. At that time Mr. Cyronoski will resume his role as Legal Counsel in the office.
• Comm. Morita asked about whether the office went beyond their investigative function to do program review. Mr. Cyronoski indicated that the office served a “good government function” and was not really charged with program review.

Assessor - Fritz Kaegi
2024 Request Total:    $35,848,794        2023 Approved:    $35,000,768
2024 Total FTEs:    296                              2023 FTEs:        286
Key points from the meeting:

• The Assessor said that appeals to his office have declined. The office has done 250 Outreach Events and they will continue with outreach and also continue to expand the number of languages used in these efforts. The office is about to finalize their 5 year strategic plan.
• Comm. Aguilar asked about the timeline for next year’s tax bills and the Assessor said he thought that next year the bills would be on a better timeline. 
• Comm. Anaya asked about the mechanism for keeping track of the various tax incentives granted by the board (6A, 6B, Class 8 etc) and also questioned the effectiveness of the incentives. Assessor Kaegi said that the Assessor role is a ministerial role concerning tax incentives. Granting of a tax incentive begins with the municipalities and once approved at that level the Economic Development Advisory Council (EDAC) verifies that all criteria are met, in particular the job creation criteria. Then the tax incentive is approved by the Board of Commissioners. If a property is still vacant after 2 years the incentive can be withdrawn. Comm. Anaya further said that tax incentives are an issue that needs further discussion at a different time.
• Comm. Trevor asked if the decrease in appeals was for residential and commercial properties and the Assessor said the decrease was more on the residential properties. 
• Comm. Moore wanted to know about the timeline and the funding to get the office off of the mainframe. Assessor Kaegi said that about $150,000 has been allocated for consultants to help get the information transferred from the mainframe into their system and that should be done by April and no more funding should be required.
• Comm. Stamps asked for information about lists that were sent to the commissioners with the names of seniors who had not reapplied for their Senior Freeze exemptions. Kaegi said that these individuals had been contacted by their office but many had still not reapplied. They need to apply every year. He also said that his office is having a Train the Trainer program to instruct people in how to help people get the exemptions they are entitled to.
• Comm. Moore requested that the Assessor explain how Appraised Value and Assessed Value are used within the Assessor’s office. Kaegi said the Appraised Value is the Market Value for a property and is used for purposes other than taxation. Once that value is established the Assessed Value in Cook County is determined as 10% of the Appraised Value for residential properties. For commercial properties the Assessed Value is 25% of the Appraised Value. Location and size are the biggest drivers of determining value and his office makes every effort to watch out for bias to keep from over or under valuation.

Chief Judge (CJ) - Tim Evans
2024 Request Total:    $343,259,173                       2023 Approved:    $329,470,661
2024 FTEs:        3,031                                                  2023 FTEs:        3,020.3

Key points from the meeting:

• Chief Judge Evans stated that an analysis of the Restorative Justice Courts has been completed by his office and the report has been sent to the commissioners. The report indicates that the recidivism rate is much lower for persons going through these courts than those going through the regular court system. 
• Chief Judge Evans also reported on the institution of the no cash bail aspect of the Pre-trial Safety Act. He stated that from September 18 to October 14, 3300 cases had been filed and of that number SAs had petitioned for detention in 476 of the cases. Of that number 232 persons were detained pre-trial. Of those released only 3 persons were arrested again. He says that all is going well at this point but it has only been 1 month.
• The CJ reported what he is doing about the SCRAM situation. This involves a test that can be ordered by a judge that will test for alcohol in a person’s system and keep them from driving if their level is too high. This service was contracted to a company and his office wanted to expand the contract and before that could happen the contract expired. The company has continued to provide the service under the old contract when a judge ordered it for a defendant. This service is paid for by the defendant on a sliding scale payment system and not paid for by the county or the tax payer. The CJ has established a working group to write a report that will indicate how many persons are ordered to use this service and how much money the company is collecting for providing the service. A new RFP may also be forthcoming.
• Update on the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC). Equip for Equality gave a report to the CJ with recommendations for changes that are beginning to be instituted. There is no longer a 7pm bedtime. Programs are provided for the detainees in the evenings. Training in de-escalation procedures will begin in early November. There are 322 vacant positions. A Job Fair was held on Oct. 16 and 400 people attended and 386 applications were received. 35 positions have been filled and he is hoping to have all positions filled by the end of the year.
• The pilot program for DV Orders of Protection during non-business hours that began in September of 2022 has indicated that the service should be provided. The pilot provided for services on weekdays from 9pm-3am and on Saturdays from 1-6pm. During the pilot there were 917 petitions for emergency orders and 699 orders were issued by Judges. The CJ would like to expand it to 24/7 if possible, since the pilot program does seem to indicate a need. 
• Comm. Daley asked if anyone has been detained pre-trial without a request from the SA. The CJ stated that there is no constitutional requirement that a SA file a petition - a judge could make that determination on his own. Daley also asked about the continuances and what is being done about those. The CJ stated that there now is a system in place that will track why cases are being continued and the system is easy to use. Daley indicated that there may need to be a meeting to get more clarity about this issue.
• Comm. Degnan asked about enabling recording in court rooms in addition to court reporters. The CJ said he could support working on this. She also asked about the EMIT System that is the technology system that is supposed to connect the Judge’s order, the Clerk of the Court, and the Sheriff. He indicated he is open to working on the process. She also asked about when he will be able to get off the mainframe. He indicated that they are working to get off by June 2024. 

Capital Budget - Tanya Anthony/ Jennifer Killen/ Tom Lynch/ Elizabeth Granato 
2024 Proposed Total:    $539.1M
    $238.6M for Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for County facilities
    $154.3M for Transportation and Highways Program (THP)
    $146.2M for Capital Equipment Program (CEP) for County departments    

PowerPoint presented outlining all these programs.
Key Point from Questions:Comm. Miller asked Tom Lynch, Bureau of Technology, for clarification on cost and time frame for the various technology projects. He stated the following:

• The Property Project - the Integrated property tax system - including the offices of the Assessor, The Board of Review, the Treasurer and the Clerk dates back to 2014 when Tyler was selected as the system for all the tax offices. The Board of Review had contracted 2 years previously with a different system for the case management of appeals that was to be integrated with Tyler. At the present time the Assessor is fully on Tyler. The Treasurer and the Clerk were supposed to be on by the end of the year but it was decided that it was too risky to do this in the middle of a tax cycle so now all offices have agreed that by the 3rd quarter of 2024 they will all be on Tyler.
• Since 2015 $59.8M has been spent on the Property Project - some in the Operating budget, some in GIS budget, and some in the Capital budget. Projecting for 2024 an additional $13M will be needed. Mr. Lynch indicated that the Tyler contract has not increased but the time frame has definitely been extended and thus the ancillary costs have increased by millions part of which has been to maintain the legacy system (the mainframe). 
• The other Project involves the offices of the Clerk of the Court, The Chief Judge and the States Attorney getting off the mainframe. Each of these offices has a time frame to get off the legacy system during 2024 and their budgets reflect the costs involved. He thinks that all are funded adequately to make this happen and all have agreed to the timeline. He also stated that the Justice Integration Project will be presented at the Technology Committee Meeting of the Board in November 2023.

The meeting was recessed at 7:15pm. Very few commissioners still remained in the room.  

Observer: Cynthia Schilsky

Cook County Board Committee Meetings
October 19, 2022
Note:  All items approved in Committee are expected to be passed at the Oct. 20 meeting by the Full Board concurring with the recommendations of the Committees.

Business & Economic Development Committee

• Approved a new property tax incentive for a new grocery store or retention of an existing grocery store in a location included in the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Illinois Food Deserts Annual Report.  The property owner receiving the incentive will be assessed at 10% of market value for 10 years, with an opportunity to renew once for an additional 10 years. (Item 22-5345)
• There were a number of public comments from municipalities and realtors applauding this proposal as a way to bring healthy food to areas that lack such options.
• Kudos were given to Commissioner Donna Miller by fellow Commissioners.

Finance Committee

• Approved a reduction in court adoption fees to $89, which is consistent with the corresponding fees in the surrounding counties, from $265.  Commissioner Suffredin explained the Presiding Judge Taylor had noticed that the number of adoptions in Cook County had fallen while the numbers in the other counties were rising.  The presumption is that Cook County’s higher fees is the cause.  Some other related fees were also reduced.  (Items 22-5510 and 22-5512)
• Approved a substitute resolution from Commissioner Miller for the “Cook County Justice40 Infrastructure Fund Initiative.”  The “Justice40 Initiative” is a whole-of-government intitiative to ensure that Federal agencies work with state and local communities to deliver at least 40% of the benefits from Federal investment in climate and clean energy to disadvantaged communities.  This resolution states that Cook County is committed to applying for federal monies under the Federal Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), that the County shall adhere to the County’s Procurement Code with regard to equitable participation of minority and women business enterprises for any such IIJA or IRA grants received, and that the Budget Director shall report on IIJA or IRA grants received and on American Rescue Plan Act programs that incorporate Justice40 principles on a quarterly basis.  (Item 22-3910)

Technology & Innovation Committee

• The Committee met to hear reports from the Chief Information Officer Tom Lynch on the Major Technology Projects in the county and on the Integrated Automated Criminal Justice Systems Report, as well as from the County offices.  Generally, CIO Lynch was positive.  He also reported on the status of moving the remaining applications off of the main frame.  As he explained, there are fewer and fewer people who have the expertise to maintain these applications and the cost is high.  
• No one from the offices of the Board of Review or the State’s Attorney were at the meeting to provide the required reports, much to the irritation of the Commissioners.  As a result, the Committee deferred the item on the Major Projects Report to a later meeting when those offices would be present.  Comm. Degnen wants to know when the Board of Review will commit to moving from the main frame to the Integrated Property Tax System. (Item 22-5023)
• Comm. Daley asked whether the technology issues that helped cause the delay in the 2nd installment property tax bill this year would also impact next year’s 2nd installment.  The Assessor’s office stated that there should not be such a significant delay next year.
• Comm. Daley also inquired why no report had yet been produced on the number of criminal cases delayed and whether at the request of the State’s Attorney or defendant’s attorneys.  The Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office explained that while that information is available for each case by reading each file, there is no data coding to capture it and produce a report.  That office is currently working on the new Traffic Court applications, and will turn to adding the data codes that will allow future reports for the Commissioners.   

Emergency Management & Regional Security Committee

• Heard a presentation from the new Executive Director of the Cook County Emergency Management & Regional Security, Theodore (Ted) Berger, who had previously worked as the Deputy Director prior to taking other positions with the County.  
• Mr. Berger presented the organization chart (which has 2 key openings for the Chief Deputy Director and Deputy Director for Operations). 
• The Department assists municipalities with emergency situations; has built mutual aid capacity to loan equipment and materials so each municipality does not have to purchase them, and provides expertise and helps secure grants to benefit all of Cook County.

Observer:  Priscilla Mims

Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - June 27, 2018

Board decisions:  

• Commissioner Garcia introduced and the Board unanimously passed Resolution #18-4466 addressing the harmful effects of family and immigrant children detention and calling on the U.S. Attorney General, Congress, and the Executive Branch to rescind the "Zero Tolerance" policy.  Seven public speakers, including psychologists and immigration specialists, testified to the harmful effects on children's brains from family separation.  The resolution further called on the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security to retract their Memorandum of Agreement that allows the Office for Refugee Resettlement to share data on minors and potential sponsors with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to keep the work of these agencies separate.
  
• ​The Finance Committee and Board passed Resolution 18-3651 amending the Cook County Medical Examiner's Ordinance to give the agency "discretion" about whether to go to the scene of deaths.  According to President Preckwinkle, the Examiner's office would need a yearly budget of $35 million to send an investigator out to all suspicious deaths in Cook County & Chicago.  Its current budget is $14 million, and next year's county-wide budget is facing a big shortfall.  In response to editorial criticism, the Chief Medical Examiner said that the department knows of no cases in which not going to the scene of a death compromised an investigation.
  
• The Finance Committee and Board passed Resolution 18-4201 which amends Section 74-63 Assessment Classes to allow a municipality or the Cook County Board to declare a property "abandoned" specifically for the CEERM Program [Critical Emergency Employee Retention Modification].  At least 250 positions must be retained in order to obtain this determination of special circumstances.  There are several other requirements that must also be met. 

Two Good News items:

• Commissioner Daley, reported that on Tuesday, June 26, 2018, the U.S. District Court freed Cermak Health Services from an eight-year consent decree.   In 2010 the Department of Justice cited "the failure to protect inmates from harm by fellow inmates, inadequate medical and mental health care, and a lack of adequate fire safety and sanitation."
• Commissioner Schneider reported that, because of its participation, the County received a check for $1.9 million from a class-action law suit covering faulty flat-panel TV screens.  No other information was provided, but kuddos were given to the staff that quickly responded when the opportunity to participate arose.

The following Resolutions were referred to Committee: 

1. 18-4552: Request for up to $175 million in sales tax revenue bonds was sent to the Finance Committee.
2. 18-4330: Request to accept over $18 million in three HUD grants was sent to the Workforce Housing and Community Development Committee.
3. 18-4541:  Request to set up a small business commission was sent to the Contract Compliance Committee.
4. 18-4528:  All commissioners signed on this resolution opposing the reduction of air and water pollution standards in Wisconsin for the proposed Foxconn fabrication plant which will manufacture ICD glass panels and will require the drawing of massive amounts of water from Lake Michigan and the disposal of such into the Des Plains River with concerns about pollution and flooding.  Sent to the Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee.
5. 18-4102:  Request to approve a ten-year cable franchise agreement with Comcast was sent to the Finance Committee.
6. 18-4461: Request to create a Sheriff's operations state asset forfeiture and money laundering state asset forfeiture funds to allow the county to better track these funds was sent to the Finance Committee.

Items to watch for in the future:

1. 18-4207: Requiring a fiscal impact note for pending legislation was deferred to allow more time for legal review.  Commissioners and the Administration both support but need more time.
2. 18-2073:  Establishing a Consensus Revenue Forecasting Commission for Cook County was also deferred as it does not have the votes to pass at this time.

Observer - Diane Edmundson                             Length of Meeting - 2 hours