Cook County Commissioners Find Problems with Contracts

Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - February 7, 2018

Significant Topics Discussed:

• Although most contracts were passed, commissioners expressed concern that too many extensions are given to contracts in the county without RFPs to open bidding to other vendors and organizations.  Also of concern is that some contracts  are not completed within the designated timeframe and the performance of some vendors is not acceptable.  There do not seem to be penalties against vendors who do not complete their contracts on time or correctly accomplish the goals of the contract (Comm. Morrison).
• Commissioners are concerned that they receive the contract for approval too late to do anything but “rubber stamp” it (Comm. Fritchey).  
• Agenda Item 18-1914 (passed)  an extension of Securus Technologies to provide telephone service for jail inmates.  The cost for inmates to phone anyone within the USA is 12.5 cents per minute, which is a good rate compared to other jurisdictions.  Extensions for this contract have gone on for almost 10 years.
• Agenda Item 18-1277 (on hold until legal language cleared up) is a contract with Northwestern University to provide mental health services for minors at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC).  Northwestern wants an indemnification  clause which would relieve them of any medical mal-practice consequenses.  The county does not provide this in their contracts.
• Agenda Item 18-1649  A hearing was held in the Legislation and Intergovernmental Affairs committee regarding the performance of the Clerk of the Court’s office in completing electronic filing of court cases and  an updated case management system.  The county has already designated $40 million toward this mandatory directive by the  Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC).  Concerns were expressed by the Board regarding the extension of 6 months to complete this (now extended to July 1, 2018); a convenience fee of $2.95 that is still being charged to obtain case files; and a federal court case regarding media difficulty in obtaining court case information.

Significant Decisions Made:

• Agenda Item 18-2022 (passed) a resolution supporting stronger ethics legistation (like the county has) at the state and other local levels.
• Agenda Item 18-2050 (passed) a resolution declaring gun violence in Cook County a Public Health Emergency and advocating for additional resources to combat violence.
• Agenda Item 18-1750 (passed)  requiring a quarterly report from all agencies and departments involved with costs of gun violence—Medical Examiner, Hospital System, Sheriff, etc.
• Agenda Item 18-2017 (passed) a resolution to study integration, consolidation, and modernization of all IT services in the County (to save money and increase efficiency.) Following the study (in 120 days) there would be a Governance  ordinance drafted by the Chief Information Officer.
• Agenda Item 18-2073 (passed) a resolution to form a commission for revenue forecasting and evaluation of revenue types.
• Agenda Item 18-2128 (passed)  Sheriff offering to help suburban Cook County in investigating police shootings since the county has more resources than most suburbs.
  
• Agenda Item 18-2142 (sent to Finance committee) this report on the tax assessment process by the Civic Alliance, which was initiated several months ago, “will be out next week and will be available on-line” (President Preckwinkle).  This has been a very controversial  topic regarding Assessor Berrios’ Office.  Issues of fairness and accuracy of assessments have been reported by the media and other organizations.

Items to Watch for in the Future:

• Results of Civic Alliance study on tax assessments.
• Completion of e-filing and case management systems by the Clerk of the Court.

Other Observations:
Commissioners seem to be taking a more active role in how contracts are awarded and whether they are completed on time, accurately, and with reasonable cost. 

Observer - Karin Hribar