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)

Cook County Board Committee Meetings
January 24, 2024

CEDA (Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County) presented their report of community needs. 

• CEDA’s every 3 years survey of community needs shows a change in aid priorities by those served by this organization.  Housing and Utility costs were increasingly of concern while child care and employment concerns have dropped.  The past 3 years showed an increase in unemployment, growing crime, devastated retail, lodging, and food businesses.  Food costs have dramatically increased as well.  Minority communities were the hardest hit by all this.
• The action plan covers summer youth employment; weatherization of homes; energy services; housing services; Women, infants and Children (WIC); and family support /community engagement among others.
• One goal of CEDA is to have better communication with constituents so they will take advantage of these programs and funds along with their eligibility procedures.  Comm. Moore asked “Exactly how does a person get assistance?”  There seemed to be a lot of confusion on this and CEDA admitted  their current methods were not as effective as they could be, including regarding eligibility times and requirements.  They will initiate town halls in addition to the call center (which is overworked), QR code or a direct call to one of the administrators.  Since commissioners were also unsure how to maneuver the system, a short “cheat sheet” will be provided to them so they can help their constituents get into these programs.

Other items of Interest:

• Technology budget is now up to $153,661,291.00.  All technology purchases by offices and departments will come from this amount.
• Technology Strategic Plan; Workforce summary; Inspector General report presentations were all delayed for various reasons.
• Board of Review (BoR) Comm. Steele presented her reasons for strongly supporting the combining of technology of BoR to the system used by the rest of the property tax offices. (Leaving On-Base system and going to Tyler technology)  At a community event the current system crashed leaving numerous people unhelped.  She stated the current BoR system is inefficient and not useful for its purposes.  Also going to the Tyler system would be cheaper, all things considered.
• Long comments (from speakers and commissioners) on the Resolution Against Book Bans.  Board voted strongly to support this in the Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee.

Observer - Karin Hribar

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 of Directors Committee Meetings
October 17, 2023

Business & Economic Development Committee
The entire meeting was used to present item # 23-3872 - Ordinance Creating Assessment Classification for Industrial or Commercial Community Solar Energy System Installations
Goals: 

• 1)  to lower the barriers of entry for commercial and industrial companies to increase energy to contribute to the community energy grid.  
• 2)  to motivate companies to participate by offering an initial drop in assessments for a 10-year period. Assessments will be reduced to 20% of market value from the normal of 25% for the square footage used for the solar energy panels. 
• 3) to ensure that the energy created is used for off-site consumption. Companies must submit annual proof that the installed solar facilities are actively producing energy for off-site consumption.

The Assessors office worked with Commissioners Gainer and Degnan to create this avenue for creating energy while not penalizing companies by increasing their assessments for the square footage covered by the solar panels.  
Commissioner Degnan stated that "this is a great example of getting [bureaucracy] out of the way" for private business to contribute to the public good.
The meeting was then recessed until Thursday, October 19, 2023 to work on a substitute amendment to the originally introduced ordinance.  On Thursday morning, the committee voted unanimously to adopt the substitute and then adopted the ordinance to be presented to the board for approval.

​Technology Committee

• A representation of the Board of Review stated that about 96% of the development stage and 92% of the overall project to complete the integration with Tyler is completed. Tyler is the system being used by the Assessor's office and other offices involved in producing the twice annual property tax bills to property owners.   It is expected that the entire project will be completed by October 24.  It was mentioned by a commissioner that the report due October 1 comparing the cost of the patch to Tyler vs conversion to Tyler has not yet been received.  No return comment was made.
• Due to holidays, tax bills, etc., the Board of Technology stated that it expects to go live on Tyler in May of 2024. At that time, all property systems will be off the antiquated main frame computer system.  It also wants to extend the contract maintenance services to the main frame thru 2024 with the option to cancel earlier.
• The States Attorney said that its Nexus case management system resides on the mainframe too.  The go live date to transfer off is February 2024.

​Observer:  Diane Edmundson

Cook County Board of Commissioners Committee Meetings 
May 24, 2023

Veteran’s Affairs Committee

• Chair Morita and the Veteran’s Committee heard testimony related to the new Veterans Affairs of Cook County Commission. Two veterans described the challenges when they attempted to access services. First, Cook County did not initially have VSO’s (Veteran Service Officers) to facilitate the cases presented. Secondly, budgeting was far from adequate. For example, Lake County, which has many fewer veterans, was receiving $5 million while Cook County, with the largest veteran population, had a budget of $1 million. 
• Director Love from the Cook County Department of Veterans Affairs testified that they were well aware of these problems and that there has been one VSO hired with three more to come. She stated that they were aware of the need for satellite offices, so that veterans could more easily make use of the services. With the new ordinance, employees of the VACCC will have the same benefits as other Cook County employees. In addition, the director will be able to speak directly about the agency, rather than going through the CC Department of Veterans Affairs. The ordinance was approved that would enable the VACCC to operate independently, now that the IGA is no longer in effect.

​Finance Committee

• The Cook County Comptroller reported that the general fund was +$115 million and that the CC Health Fund had a favorable balance of $22 million. Receivables from the State were $314 million for Medicare and AOIC. 
• Commissioner Sean Morrison asked how much is the State of Illinois in arrears to Cook County. The comptroller replied that items such as grants are historically slow. However, State medicaid payments are less than one month. Commissioner Morrison expressed concern that the State might be “sitting on our money.” Comptroller said that they had no mechanism to track how grants move through the system. 
• A spokesperson for Cook County Health stated that they had no concerns about the State. She said they were currently working to find funding for the recent influx in immigrants from the border. 
• All items for approval passed unanimously and a final vote will occur at the Cook County Board Meeting.

​
Transportation Committee: 

• Agenda Item 23-0342- A Motion was put forward to receive and file the Cook County Bicycle Plan, whose goal is to advance the bicycle infrastructure in the county. One goal is to connect existing gaps between the county and the Forest Preserve system. Commissioner Trevor suggested that there are some suburbs that need to remove physical barriers that inhibit free flow of bicycles. Motion was approved on a voice vote.

Technology & Innovation Committee

• Joe Gallo, former mayor of Rolling Meadows, spoke in support of the Illinois Smart City & Region Association. This organization helps to create a roadmap for digital transformation. He would like to see the ISCRA work closely with municipalities to improve services. Commissioner Britton echoed his approval, stating that the association saves money and is needed to improve service to citizens throughout the county. Commissioner Trevor asked for concrete examples of the association’s work. Gallo said that one example would be the impact on First Responders. Innovative ideas contribute to enhancing public safety and to reducing crimes. A commissioner whose district lies within the city of Chicago asked if the association was working with the city. He said no. Chicago is a different sort of challenge on a scale that the ISCRA would find hard to meet. However, it would certainly be possible for neighborhoods to become involved. 
• All motions put before the committee were approved unanimously by a voice vote and final vote will be at the Cook county Board meeting.

​Observer: Georgia Gebhardt

Cook County Board of Commissioners Committee Meetings      
Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Finance Committee:

• Comptroller Laurence Wilson presented the January Revenue report for Cook County Health (CCH), which was mostly on budget and the 2022 year end report which had no significant variances. 
• State of Illinois is frequently late on reimbursement to CCH. 
• About $1billion will be spent on immigrant health; the question is “Who Pays?” —County, State, Federal governments? 
• In addition all Medicaid recipients need to reapply (redetermination).  About 1 million more residents are on Medicaid now than before the pandemic due to expanded program and not being required to re-enroll during that time.  There will be a monthly rolling basis of redetermination with letters going to current Medicaid recipients. It is expected that County Care (the Cook County insurance program) will lose members and thus money due to fewer being qualified.

Audit Committee:

• Auditor Mary Modelski gave an update of Open Recommendations from the Auditor’s Office to various departments regarding large projects and department practices. 
• Human Resources Dept. disagreed with many recommendations, particularly with on-boarding new employees and  trainings, and so declined to follow them.  The Auditor can recommend, but not require these to be followed.  It would be up to the Cook County Commissioners to follow-up/change rules, etc.

Environment and Sustainability Committee:

• A resolution calling for further federal action and accountability in connection with Norfolk Southern Corporation’s Operations (Agenda Item 23-1939) was passed in committee.  This relates to the recent derailing in Ohio which released toxic materials.  The sponsor, Commissioner Quezada wanted “to demonstrate solidarity with Ohio and ensure safety of rail systems.”

Technology and Innovation Committee:

• The Technology Department presented updates on several large projects. 
• The IPTS Property Tax Project (which has been a source of controversy and blame) will “go live” in October or November if the property tax bills go out on time.  There will still be two separate systems (Assessor and Board of Review) but with an interface so that the same data is seen by both departments.  The future goal is for both these offices to be on the same system (Odyssey or Tyler) and off the main frame computer which is about 40 years old. 
• Getting off the main frame system is the main goal for the Technology Department for numerous County depts.
• The Criminal Justice BUS computer system works and has been ready to go.  This system computerizes the CJ data and information for easier access and reliability.  However, it was noted that paper carbon copies are still being used.  The solution (BUS System) is there; but not all departments are using it.

Observer - Karin Hribar