Cook County Board Committee Meetings

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