Commissioners Approve Appointments and Review 10-Year-Old Wage Theft Ordinance

Cook County Board of Commissioners 
Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee 
May 14, 2025

• The Committee approved all the proposed appointments on the agenda, including the appointment of Dr. Kiran Joshi as the Chief Operating Officer of the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH). Several of the Commissioners gave glowing statements about Dr. Joshi and his past work with the County and how glad they were to have him assume this position. Dr. Joshi said that his goal is to have the CCDPH be the best health department in the country. (Item 25-2308)
• The appointment of Alexandra Lara to the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC) Advisory Board was followed up by comments from Comm. Degnan concerning the transition of the JTDC into 2 programs - a day program and an in-house program - and how important the Advisory Board will be to assist in this transition.  (Item 25-2325) 
• Comm. Stamps wanted to have more clarification about the process for filling positions on the JTDC Advisory Board as she observed that there were several vacancies when she attended a meeting recently. She expanded this request to ask what the process is and how does one know about vacancies on any board/commission and also what are all the Boards and Commissions. Comm. Morita said they only find out about these positions when they come before them for approval. A representative from the President’s Office said there there is an application process and they also take recommendations when a position needs to be filled. She also said that there are so many boards and commissions that it is hard to keep track of all the vacancies. She said they are looking into a way of compiling the information and perhaps revamping the process for filling the positions as well as making the information more available.
• The other item of business on the agenda - a proposed amendment regarding gender inclusive documents and forms (Item 25-1822) was deferred with no discussion or explanation.

Joint meeting of the Cook County Board Committees - Legislative and Intergovernmental Relations Committee and the Labor Committee
May 14, 2025

• These two committees met to hold a Public Hearing to review the effectiveness of the Cook County Wage Theft Ordinance that was passed 10 years ago to address the issue of wage theft and to protect workers from exploitive labor practices. (Item 25-2344)
• Comm Anaya said that in checking with all the County departments named in the ordinance there have been no complaints filed since passage in 2015. While wage theft itself is not a violation of the Cook County Code, the ordinance does disqualify any businesses that have been found guilty of wage theft from obtaining contracts, a business license or a tax incentive from the County.

Three public speakers from agencies that work with the workers this ordinance was meant for, outlined the following concerns with the ordinance;

• The ordinance does not detail how employees can file complaints.
• Workers need to be educated so they know their rights and what to do if their rights are violated.
• The ordinance does not include an effective way to hold employers accountable.
• There needs to be a better route for enforcement than the lengthy legal route.
• There needs to be better collaboration to ensure enforcement. 

Commissioner comments:

• Comm. Daley - asked what could be learned from this ordinance. There needs to be some mechanism for filing complaints and cooperation among the departments involved for sharing information about violations.  
• Comm. Britton - asked about tracking of private actions taken concerning violations. County does not get information from the Illinois Department of Labor about violations. 
• Comm. Lowry stated that the Illinois Department of Labor has jurisdiction on labor violations.
• Comm. Vasquez - wanted to know how departments were working together and said they needed to ensure communications between departments on these issues.
• Chicago Alderman Quesada (formerly a Cook County Commissioner) joined the meeting and was asked to make comments as he was one of the sponsoring commissioners for requesting this hearing. He stated that there is back-sliding of labor rights and it is necessary for partners to work together to ensure worker’s rights and to remain vigilant about the rights of workers. 

​Observer - Cynthia Schilsky