Cook County Board Approves Ordinance Calling for an End to "Zero Tolerance" Policy of U. S. President

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