Cook County Board of Commissioners - Committee Meetings 
Sept.17, 2025

Technology and Innovation Committee
Commissioners Continue to Seek Date for Property Tax Bills

The Committee received an update on where the Integrated Property Tax System stands.  The focus now is getting out the 2nd installment property tax bills first, and then working on the remaining issues for the entire System to “go live.”  

• Chief Information Officer (CIO) Tom Lynch said that each of the issues with the System have been taking about a week to get resolved with Tyler, the outside entity responsible for creating the System. There are 30 issues currently outstanding relating to the property tax bills.  David Byrne, the Treasurer’s Chief of Staff, stated that once they have the tax bill files, it will take a week to do testing to make sure there are no remaining issues.  Then, it will take 15 days to print and mail the property tax bills.  All of this means that it will like be at least another month and likely more if all goes well.
• CIO Lynch also explained that there are an additional 45 issues that have to be resolved before the System can go fully live.  
• Vice Chair Sean Morrison stressed the importance of knowing when the 2nd installment tax bills could reasonably expect to go out.  He said that County is working on putting in place the ability to provide bridge loans to local government entities who need them because of the failure to receive the property tax proceeds on time.  

The Committee separately approved:

• A contract for mobile services across the county government from CELLCO Partnership doing business as Verizon Wireless.  This contract will offer a savings of $422K over the prior contract. The Bureau of Technology representative stated this contract references one with Los Angeles County because its size and scope are comparable to Cook County’s and the rates were much better. (Item 25-3238) 

Observer: Carolyn Cosentino

Finance Committee Meeting
Moody’s Upgrades Cook County Bonds to Aa3

• Dean Constantinou, the Deputy Chief Financial Officer for Cook County, reported that Moody’s had just upgraded Cook County bonds from A1 to Aa3.
• Comm. Britton said that it is unusual for a government of the size of Cook County to have such a high rating.  Comm. Sean Morrison commended the President and the Commissioners who were on the Board in 2016-17 for taking such steps as approving refinancing of old debt, which cut billions of dollars in payments, as well as addressing the pension reserve by making supplemental payments.  It was this attention to finances which Comm. Morrison said led to the current bond ratings.  Comm. Morrison said that as a result, all future financing costs will be much lower with this higher bond rating, which reduces the interest the County has to pay for the bonds.  Comm. Morrison pointed out that the County also pursued getting a change in state law that allows all governments to make higher payments to their pension reserves.  

The Committee recommended for approval:

• A resolution, as substituted, calling for the elimination of unnecessary degree requirements from County job descriptions and employment practices.  All officials and County agencies are to provide a status report to the Board on or before March 1, 2026.  The purpose is to open up County jobs to more people and to recognize when degrees are not necessary in order to perform some jobs. (Item 25-2910)
• Authorization for the State’s Attorney to enter into separate contracts with the Firehouse Community Arts Center in Chicago to establish support for a Juvenile Diversion pilot program as an alternative to juvenile detention in and around the North Lawndale neighborhood, and with the New Life Centers of Chicago for a similar diversion program for the Little Village Neighborhood. (Items 25-3232 and 25-3233)

The following item was again deferred:

• The proposal by the Office of the Chief Judge for a contract with Heartland Human Care Services for community-based residential spaces for court-involved youth.  This item was also deferred at the June committee meeting.

Observer:  Priscilla Mims

Legislative and Intergovernmental Relations Committee
Commissioners Approve Assessment of Mosquito Abatement Functions Within Cook County

The Committee meeting which began on Sept. 17, concluded on Sept. 18 when the Commissioners recommended for approval, as changed in the errata, an assessment of mosquito abatement activities across suburban Cook County to be conducted by the Cook County Department of Public Health.  The recommendations are to be reported to the President and Cook County Board by June 1, 2026.  (Item 25-3114)

Public speakers at the Committee meeting:

• Joe Ferguson of the Civic Federation spoke in favor of doing a study as outlined in the resolution. He stated his organization undertook a study and published a report in March of 2025 that found there was a need for equity in dealing with mosquito abatement throughout the County.  The Civic Federation’s recommendations are that the 4 Mosquito Abatement Districts (MADs) be dissolved and their functions and taxing authority be incorporated into Cook County Government. 
• Mark Clifton, Executive Director of the North Shore MAD, stated that there is a real need for the services provided by the MADs as climate change is exacerbating the need for control of mosquitos and mosquito borne diseases. He states that dedicated MADs provide better services than when the function is housed elsewhere and indicated that the 4 MADs have come together to begin to coordinate services. Experts are needed in the process going forward. 
• Jeffrey Kavitch, Sr. Policy Analyst at the Better Government Association (BGA). spoke in support of the resolution stating there are efficiency and equity concerns with the present system and the need for special taxing bodies should be evaluated. 

Committee discussion:

• Comm. Degnan thanked the speakers for their support and stated the intent of the study is to look for more equity in the services provided. She stated that she has been looking into this issue for the past several years and an assessment of the services and how they are provided needs to be evaluated by experts in the field.  She said this resolution is intended to provide for that.
• Comm. McCaskill wanted to ensure that the evaluation would include all 4 MADs and not just focus on the issues outlined with the South Cook MAD. She wanted to ensure that equity in services is the intent and that the purpose is not to shut down a district. She wanted clarification in the resolution that named all 4 districts and wanted such an amendment.
• Comm. Degnan indicated that the resolution called for all of Cook County to be included which would include the 4 MWDs and 9 other entities providing such services. She also indicated that she was willing to amend as Comm. McCaskill requested.  
• There was some discussion about the process for amending a resolution. Comm Daley indicating any amendment needed to be in writing. 
• Laura Lechowitz-Felicione, Legal Counsel for President Preckwinkle, stated the intent of this resolution is to formalize an assessment of the issue of mosquito abatement in Cook County. She also stated that the Board only has legal jurisdiction over the 4 MADs with their power of appointment of the Board Members for those districts. Possible recommendations for going forward may result from the study. 
• After further discussion it was decided that a vote on the resolution would be deferred until a continuation of their meeting on Sept. 18 when the amendment would be presented as an errata. The wording change included the names of all 4 districts - the North Shore MAD, Northwest MAD, Des Plaines Valley MAD and South Cook MAD. The Ordinance was approved as amended at the reconvened meeting on September 17 and will go to the Board Meeting for final approval.

Observer - Cynthia Schilsky

Environment and Sustainability Committee
Commissioners Approve the Large Event Facility Waste Diversion Ordinance

This ordinance is for suburban Cook County and follows a law that was passed in the state last year.   The County ordinance piggybacks on the State law that went into effect Jan 1, 2025.   The County ordinance will go into effect Jan. 1, 2026 in two phases:  kitchen areas (back of house) effective Jan 2026 and front of the house effective Jan 2027.  

Highlights of the discussion:

• Identifies about 13 facilities.  One example:  Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont
• Pertains to large facilities which allow greater than 3500 attendees
• Requires collection of glass, plastic and food waste
• The hope is that some of the food waste can be reused/donated
• Currently waste/recycling in Cook County is 73% to landfills, 18% recycled and 9% to compost
• County identifies a lot of work to do
• County is offering resources, webinars to educate waste haulers, vendors and facilities
• Chicago will pursue its own ordinance, currently drafting with help from the Cook County model
• No money to enforce the ordinance 
• New facilities are available, opening and expanding for composting
• There are concerns about older facilities being able to comply due to lack of physical space management
•  Expected quarterly reports from organizations to document results and compliance

Note:  The coalition that worked on this is the IL Food Scrap Coalition.
Observer:  Laura Davis

Asset Management Committee
Contract for Remodeling of County Building Approved

The Committee recommended for approval:

• A contract of $2.8M for Gensler Architecture to design and plan part of the 4th floor and all of the 7th and 8th floors of the County Building.  Comm. Degnen questioned the total cost associated for remodeling these floors.  Earl Manning, Director of the Office of Capital Planning & Policy, explained that this will be in addition to the $100M already approved for the actual construction on those floors.   A second architecture company will also be engaged and their cost will be in addition.
• The construction on the floors is being managed by a Construction Manager at Risk.   Mr. Manning said that unless there was a change in scope, there would not need to be any additional costs.
• Commissioner Degnen is concerned that the County’s internal workforce could be doing more of the design and construction work on this project and voted present.  (Item  25-3452)

Observer:  Kathi Graffam

Cook County Board of Commissioners
Technology & Innovation Committee
April 9, 2025

The Committee heard reports from Cook County offices on the status of their technology projects.  Items 25-1609 and 25-1610 were received and filed.  Following are highlights of the information presented at the meeting:

Bureau of Technology(Cook County Chief Information Officer Tom Lynch and Deputy Derek Thomas)

• All departments should be off the old mainframe by the end of July, 2025!  The legacy mainframe dates to the 1970’s, and there is no manufacturer support or employees with knowledge, so this is a necessity.  
• The new Integrated Property Tax System is expected to go live for all users (Assessor, Board of Review, Clerk, and Treasurer) on May 27 after all identified defects addressed and final testing and employee training completed.

Assessor’s Office (Chief Information Officer, Nathan Bernacchi)

• In response to questions from the Committee on whether there were any concerns about the rollout of the new Integrated Property Tax System and getting the 2nd installment tax bill out on time, Assessor’s Chief of Staff Scott Smith said that all offices are cooperating to test and respond quickly to any unforeseen circumstances.
• Asked whether the new system will allow employees to go out to community meetings to assist tax payers by answering questions and helping them with tax exemptions, Mr. Smith said yes.  Also the faster upload of data and improved presentation of data will be of benefit.  For the first time, all the offices involved with the property tax system will be on the same system, ensuring the same data.
• Using technology, have upgraded customer service through (1) new online appointment system and queuing for phone calls, with text notifications of return call; (2) pending is new chat and customer relationship software.
• Studying disaster-recovery options, and AI pilot projects

Treasurer’s Office (Chief of Staff and Chief Information Officer David Burns)

• Current focus is on the new Integrated Property Tax System:  defects need to be resolved and training of Treasurer’s staff in progress.
• Benefit of the new system include updating in real time, as opposed to previous overnight updates.
• At same time as the Integrated System goes live, will be replacing existing cashiering system with Tyler cashier system and will also be using the new call center technology from Tyler.
• Separately working to create the ability to pay tax bills for multiple pins with a single payment transaction.  Will also allow taxpayers to provide routing and account number for any tax refund to be sent directly to their account.

Board of Review (Chief Information Officer Adnan Memon)

• Implemented the Taleo system for hiring on April 7, which most of County has been on. 
• Automation in process to enable file sharing for the Property Tax Appeals Board cases.

County Clerk’s Office (Director of Networking Andrzej

• Migration to cloud for Clerk’s Recording system will launch April 14.
• A new accounting system is being built from scratch.

Clerk of the Circuit Court (Chief Information Officer Vivek Ananda)

• Totally off the main frame as of March 21!  Have extracted and saved all data from the main frame, so now erasing all data on the main frame, which is expected to be done by end of April.
• For the Clerk’s Justice Case Management System, working on elements involving the Traffic division, including online payments and request for court dates.
• Working with Sheriff’s and State’s Attorney’s offices on other projects.

Cook County Sheriff’s Office (Chief Information Officer Amar Patel)

• Completed cloud migration for jail management system.
• Working with Clerk of the Circuit Court on interface with docketing system

Chief Judge’s Office (Director of Information Services Mike Carroll)

• The Jury Administration and Selection system should go live on April 28.  That is the last of this Office’s systems on the main frame.
• Thanks to a grant from the Illinois Supreme Court and assistance from the County, every courthouse in Cook County now has WiFi access for the public, with Rolling Meadows to be completed by the end of June.
• Court’s website will be ADA Compliant by June, much earlier than deadline set by Illinois Supreme Court.
• Public Guardian’s new juvenile case management system, $4 million awarded on April 1, 2025 with expected go-live April 2026.

State’s Attorney’s Office(Chief Information Officer Derek Ganier)

• Ensuring Pre-Trial Fairness Act guidelines and all other processes are covered in new systems.
• Searching for options for long-term cold storage for evidence.
• Looking for automated electronic search warrant system.

Observer:  Victoria Cerinich

Cook County Board of Commissioners
Committee Meetings 
February 5, 2025
Rules and Administration Committee
The Committee approved 2 amendments to their rules concerning the Consent Agenda aspect of their meetings. 

• The first amendment requires that the Consent Agenda be limited to 60 minutes and will be held prior to the regular board meeting. It will be separately noticed. (Agenda Item 25-0984) 
• The second amendment established the dates and times for the meetings to be held at 9am the same day as the regular board meeting. (Agenda Item 25-0986)

Commissioner comments: 

• Comm. Britton stated this would be a more efficient use of their time and while it is important to recognize people/groups perhaps doing it in district should be more frequently considered. 
• Comm. Miller wanted to know what other bodies restricted their Consent Agenda and Comm. Scott stated that the Chicago Board limits oral recognition to 3 at their meetings and has done so for several years. 
• Comm. Miller and Degnan were concerned about the process - how ordinances would be prioritized and who decides that. 
• Comm. Stamps and Anaya wanted to know how the picture taking with the President would be incorporated. 
• Comm. Britton stated that a quorum would be necessary so it behooves everyone to be there at 9am for the meetings. Comm. Britton also said that the issues raised by the commissioners were the issues that needed to be considered and discussed as they institute this change in the Consent Agenda procedure.

Finance Committee

• Analysis of Revenues and Expenses for the County were presented by the Comptroller and representatives from Cook County Health (CCH). Both revenue and expense variances were reported as negative with timing issues being the cause. 
• Comm. Gainer had questions regarding a report from CCH about salaries of contracted persons vs employees. She stated the report was thorough and transparent and wanted more clarity on the long term plans for addressing the discrepancies - whether training of employees would address filling the positions or the positions were too specialized and would continue to be contracted out.  
• Comm. Sean Morrison’s questioned whether CCH reports were based on an accrual basis or cash basis. CCH said they do their finances on an accrual basis but convert to a cash basis for reporting as part of the Cook County Budget. 
• The Market Survey Report on Elected Official Compensation (Agenda Item 25-0739) was received and filed without comment. 

Transportation Committee
Department of Transportation and Highways Superintendent Jennifer (Sis) Killen provided a presentation on the department’s ADA Transition Plan. Highlights of her presentation:

• The plan fulfills a Federal requirement relating to ADA ensuring that all the facilities and services in the public right-of-way along the roadways maintained by the County are compliant with the ADA standards. 
• The report focused on curb ramps, crosswalks and pedestrian signals and indicated the plan is to improve all assets over the next 25 years. 
• An ADA Coordinator has been named (Andrew Warner) to answer questions from the public and to oversee communication about the goals and progress of the plan.
• Commissioner concerns were about ongoing trainings for personnel and how it is determined who is responsible for payment for any construction or repairs. Response was the Federal government does do training. Installation is done by the entity responsible for maintaining the right-of-way which can be the County, the City or a municipality or township. All repairs must be made to the current standards.

Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee
The Committee had a presentation of the annual report for the Board of Ethics for Fiscal Year 2024 (Agenda Item 25-0829). 
Highlights of presentation:

• Ethics Board is supposed to have 5 members - have 3 recently appointed members and 2 vacancies.
• Office has 12 staff and 1 dedicated Ethics Investigator.
• Now have a searchable data base for Campaign Contributions as well as an online form to file disclosures and requests. 
• Ethics investigations appear to focus on gifts and conflicts of interest.
• Comm. Anaya asked about some of the numbers presented but there was no further discussion of the report. 

Technology and Innovations Committee
The committee heard presentations on the Technology Strategic Plan Report (Agenda Item 25-0262) from the Bureau of Technology, and the offices of the Board of Review, the Assessor, the Treasurer, the Sheriff, the County Clerk, The Clerk of the Circuit Court, the Chief Judge, and the State’s Attorney.
Highlights from the reports:

• The Bureau of Technology has a dual role of providing IT support to the President’s office as well as maintaining IT throughout County government offices. 
• Retirement of the Main Frame is projected to be April of 2025. There are still 2 applications that utilize the Main Frame - Jury Administration under the Chief Judge and some parts of the Property Tax system - but all seem to have committed to getting off by April of 2025.
• Each office outlined their projects and goals for the next year and many are developing plans for incorporating AI into their work. 
• Almost all offices indicated a need for upgraded equipment and software - some thanking the commissioners for providing funds in their budgets to do this and others indicating they would need funds in the future.
• The Board of Review (BOR) and the Assessor seemed to indicate that they both will now have a new system IasWorld that will allow them to share data although the BOR did say that their public facing portal remains as a different system.
• Commissioner questions and comments centered on keeping to established timelines for implementing systems, holding vendors accountable to ensure that systems can be up and running by deadlines, and requesting that offices work together on implementing systems that need to communicate with each other. 

Observer - Cynthia Schilsky

Cook County Board of Commissioners Committee Meetings
Jan. 15, 2025

Emergency Management and Regional Security Committee - 1pm

• Executive Director Ted Berger of Dept of Emergency Management and Regional Security presented the report on 4th quarter expenditures for the Disaster Response and Recovery Fund (25-0467). The report was a financial overview.
• Com. Aguilar thanked Berger for the efforts which resulted in $400M for Chicago, $200M for Cook County, and $96 M for Cicero. The work involved coordinating work with municipalities and with HUD and FEMA.
•  Comm. Daley asked if Berger felt confident we could coordinate with other municipalities if we were in a situation like the current emergency needs in Los Angeles County. Berger stated he did and had been in contact with LA Dept. of Emergency Management and, in fact, had developed a relationship with them when Chicago hosted the DNC over the summer.
• He stated Cook County is involved in an AARPA funded program supporting updated emergency operations planning. Funds in use also support updating plans in municipalities for recovery, continuity of government, and emergency operations.  He stated that long-term recovery and preparation includes development of volunteer community response teams.
• Chair K. Morrison thanked the Director and his teams to help address needs this past year, particularly in the aftermath of tornados, noting this need will continue.
• Com. Britton made the motion and Com Anaya seconded that the report be received and filed.  Passed. 

Committee on Human Relations - 1:15pm

• 4th quarter report of Complaints with Commission on Human Rights from the Dept of Human Rights and Ethics. Tamaya Wright, legal counsel for the Dept. presented the report (Item 25-0399).
• There were 302 inquiries-from both employers and employees- which is a decrease from 3rd quarter. 112 cases are pending which is higher that last quarter. 80 new cases were filed 4th quarter, a significant increase. The majority of those filings were about paid leave.  A new case management system was launched in Sept. which the department believes might have impacted the number of cases filed.
• In response to a question from Com Anaya, Counsel Wright explained that further analysis would be needed to determine whether inquiries led to investigations or dismissals and that could be done soon. Exec. Director Lewis responded to Com Anaya that follow-up would also be needed to determine the number of cases from 4th quarter were rolled over to 1st quarter of 2025 and how many were dismissed. Anaya explained her concern was whether more resources were needed in their office. She was told the office currently has 4 investigators and 3 vacancies.
• Com. Trevor noted that the majority of cases were inquiries were about paid leave, a new policy, and asked how large an increase there would be if that group was taken out; Dir. Lewis’ response was that the numbers would likely be about the same as 3rd quarter absent other changes. School districts and park districts have been impacted by the paid leave changes.
• Com. Quezada made the motion and Com. Trevor seconded that the report be Received and Filed. Passed. 

Committee on Technology and Innovation - 1:30pm

• Technology Strategic Plan Report for 2025 was deferred to Feb meeting to accommodate scheduling concerns.
• Motion to Approve Item 25-0263, Contract Amendment with Oracle Technology Service was made by Com. Quezada and seconded by Com. Trevor. Derrick Thomas, Chief Information Officer for the Bureau of Technology presented the 5yr amendment to the Oracle contract.  He explained this is for maintenance of Oracle e-business suite for procurement, budget, and financials. Ceiling is $27.8M. No consulting services are planned. Expected services are annual software maintenance and tech support. Through Oracle Cloud Service, the County hosts Enterprise Service Bus, which is a data exchange service for Criminal Justice Dept. and Chicago police Dept and IL Dept of Corrections and other programs. This was approved by the Boards last year. 
• Mr Thomas reported that the County’s participation in Oracle Support Rewards has resulted in earned rewards of $223K for the county to date. It receives a 25-cent credit for every dollar it spends toward hosting their products.  The savings goes toward reducing costs of maintenance. Motion approved. 

Note
Reminder from Chair Morrison for commissioners get approval 24 hr. in advance for remote attendance. 

Observer: Carolyn Cosentino

Cook County Board Committee Meetings
April 16 and 17, 2024

The following are key items from the Committee Meetings:

Finance Committee:
Resolution to redirect $70 M (out of $100 M in the Disaster Response & Recovery Fund) from new arrival health care to reimbursing Chicago for food service for new arrivals (Item 24-2103)

• Approved after significant discussion with the caveat that any modification to the grant agreement with Chicago (such as change in vendors or use of the funds) would have to come back to the Board for approval.  
• Normally, the Chief Financial Officer and the Director of the Emergency Management and Regional Security (DEMRS) would be able to approve such changes as long as the purpose fell within the scope of the resolution:  “food service or other new arrival operating costs throughout calendar year 2024.”  
• Commissioners Bridget Gainer, Sean Morrison, and Donna Miller led the call for the greater oversight by the Board given the great interest the public has in these expenditures.

Public Comment

• The lone commenter pointed out the settlements on the agenda for Freedom of Information Act Violations.  The commenter urged that such settlement payments come out of the applicable department/official’s budget.
• The following settlements were on this agenda (and approved):  $5,500 for the Sheriff’s Office; $31,500 and $29,500 and $41,537 for the State’s Attorney’s Office.

Comptroller’s Report (Item 24-2587) for 1st quarter of 2024

• $140 M favorable balance for the General Fund
• $37 M favorable balance for the Health Fund (cash basis)
• $126 M favorable balance for the Health Fund on an accrual basis

Legislation & Intergovernment Relations Committee
Approved amendment of Ethics Ordinance (Item 24-2057)

• Modified language to prohibit only County officials who are candidates for the upcoming election from using County funds for newsletters, brochures, public service announcements or advertisements up to 60 days prior to the election.
• Previously, the prohibition applied to all County officials, not just those running in the upcoming election.

Health & Hospitals Committee
Heard a report from Dr. Lamar Hasbrouck, Chief Operating Officer of the Department of Public Health (Item 23-3815)

• Up to 64 cases of measles state-wide; 58 in Chicago and 2 in Suburban Cook; most of which related to migrant shelters.  Doing a lot of education on both measles and need for vaccinations in general.  
• Currently low transmission for Covid-19, both within Cook County and nationally.  Says now endemic (that is, present), as opposed to epidemic (spreading widely).
• Provided some information about Long Covid, which defined as either new or recurring symptoms 4 weeks after initial infection.  Most often seen 3 months after initial infection.  Most common after the first infection.  Symptoms do seem to be decreasing over time.  Much more study is needed.

Technology Committee
All County Officials provided reports on their major technology projects from Sept. 2023 thru March 2024.  However, written reports/presentations were not posted for the Board of Review or the State’s Attorney, though they did report at the meeting.  A few items of note:

• Bureau of Technology reported on the Integrated Property Tax System, saying the overall schedule appears to be back on track.  Hoping to go live with the automated tax bill by October 18, which suggests that the 2nd installment of the property taxes will not be sent out prior to then.
• The Board of Review has migrated from the main frame and data sharing with the Assessor is working.
• The Clerk’s office reported that the new recording system, which was done in house (!) went live in March of 2024.  
• The Clerk of the Court’s office reported that the case management system is off the main frame, though still looking up history from the main frame.  Expect to be completely off by July.
• The Chief Judge’s office expects to be completely off the main frame by December at the latest, but hopes earlier.  All courtrooms are now ready for hybrid proceedings.  A new web site was just launched.

Observer:  Priscilla Mims

Cook County Board of Commissioners Committee Meetings
February 28, 2024

Technology Committee:

• Various County Departments and Offices gave their Strategic Goals for Technology advancement. However, any observer watching via ZOOM could not see any of the reports shared by the various departments as they were not posted. 
• The Tech Department of the County is ready to use AI for various aspects of County work, but will not do so until the Board approves.
• Concerns by Board members on use of AI included:  racial bias and discrimination, expanding the surveillance state,  protecting residents with current policies such as sanctuary cities,  misuse, profiteering, misinformation, and that the current workforce not be decreased.
• Concern by some Board members of the costs of maintaining the legacy mainframe system due to continuous delays.
• Board of Review presentation highlighted modernization of website enhancements and other user upgrades  (TALEO for hiring, electronic signatures, etc)  There is still a lot of controversy in this Office regarding moving from an old computer system to the new Tyler system that the other tax offices are using.  The old system requires double entry to correlate with the other offices.  However, the next round of property taxes will be on time.
• Assessor says their complete upgrade will be ready to go live during the 3rd quarter of 2024.  Treasurer has become very efficient using technology automation—no longer using “paper.”
• Court System (Sheriff, Clerk, Clerk of the Court, Chief Judge, States Attorney)—all of these offices are in varying stages of fully moving to the more modern Tyler system.  Some goals for 2024:  provide WIFI in all courts, fully integrate with the other offices, get new tech vendors, security measures, data point mapping.

Rules and Administration Committee and Legislation and intergovernmental Relations Committee: 

• The paid leave ordinance (24-1181), which would give one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked up to 5 days per year, was deferred since some more changes need to be made for local governments who cannot afford to incorporate this requirement.  Many speakers were against this ordinance and a few for it.  An amendment to align with State law is being considered.  The amendment to the Paid Leave Ordinance (24-1233) was also deferred.  As a note:  after this meeting, the new substitute ordinance was listed as exempting ALL government entities from this paid leave requirement.  Essentially only private business will need to follow the ordinance.

Asset Management Committee: 

• Several Commissioners questioned why a lease for a new Restorative Justice Court in Sauk Village was being proposed when both the Public Defender and States Attorney sent letter stating they could not staff that new court in this budget year.  After a lot of questioning and controversy it was agreed to defer this item (24-1056) until the next meeting so that correct information could be obtained.

Environment and Sustainability Committee: 

• This Committee convened at about 4:30pm.  Six persons gave public testimony; five against and one for the Coal Tar Sealants Ban Ordinance (23-5769) Of the opponents of the ban were two employers, Coppers and Sealmaster, one representative of the Pavement Coatings and Technology Council, one lobbyist for the Chemical Industry and one employee in the industry. The only speaker for the ban represented the 40,000 members of the Friends of the Chicago River.  All speakers referenced studies supporting their positions.
• Having received additional information, which affected the wording of the proposed Ordinance after being placed on the agenda, the Committee stated that they would be deferring a vote on the Ban until the March Board Meeting. The Board accepted item 23-5769 Ban on Coal Tar Sealants, then accepted new wording for the proposed ban and finally deferred item 23-5769 as substituted.
• Deferral was requested by the sponsor of the Ban due to unexpected consequences on some industries and further substitution may be made to the wording before it is brought again before the committee.  The vote approved the deferral. The Committee adjourned immediately at 5:00pm

What to watch for in the next meetings:  

• Coal Tar Ban Ordinance
• Paid Leave Ordinance
• Sauk Village Court Lease
• Board of Review technology migration

​Observers:  Karin Hribar and Victoria Cerenich (Environment and Sustainability Committee)