Cook County State's Attorney Will Cut Budget if Forced to but the County Could End Up Paying More

Cook County Board of Commissioners Finance Committee - Departmental Budget Hearings
October 25, 2017 

State’s Attorney
County Clerk
Chicago Board of Elections

Commissioners absent for all or most of the meetings:  Butler, Goslin, Schneider and Suffredin (arrived 3:40 during Clerk’s meeting and stayed for Board of Elections)

Commissioners present:  Arroyo, Boykin*, Daley*, Deer*, Fritchey, Gainer, Garcia*, Moody*, Moore*, Morrison, Silvestri, Sims*, Tobolski* (* indicates that these Commissioners were also present during the meetings with the Clerk and/or Board of Elections)

Items of Interest at State’s Attorney meeting:

• State’s Attorney’s letter outlined how up to 10% of the office’s budget (equal to $12.3 million) could be cut:
  • Consolidating its information technology (“IT”) function with the County’s IT department
  • Consolidating its human resources (“HR”) function with the County’s HR department
  • Closure of the 5 branch courts would allow reduction of personnel
  • Staffing of suburban courthouses will be reduced so caseloads are more equal
  • Reduction of supervisors in external affairs division
  • Reduce the Civil Actions Bureau by hiring outside attorneys to handle work
  • Eliminating the Drug School, a diversion program for low-risk drug offenders by dismissing those cases
  • Reducing/eliminating the Asset Forfeiture Unit
  • Eliminating the Consumer Fraud Unit and instead relying on the Illinois Attorney General to handle
• These actions are estimated to reduce the budget by $8 million, short of the 10%. 
• During questioning by Commissioner Gainer, State’s Attorney Fox said that work given to outside attorneys cost County $185/hour vs. $60/hour average cost for assistant state’s attorneys (not clear if this cost is just for salaries or includes costs of all benefits for assistant state’s attorneys).  Costs for outside attorneys hired to represent the County come from the self-insurance fund, which is part of Fixed Charges.  So that amount would likely have to go up if cut assistant state’s attorneys, because the work still has to be done so outside attorneys would have to be hired.
• Comm. Gainer also asked what categories of misdemeanors should go to court and what not, in order to reduce workload.  There have been 260,000 misdemeanors and 76 assistant state’s attorneys assigned to handle those; but 50% end up being dismissed.  If didn’t pursue in first place, would also reduce costs of court and Clerk of the Court.  Question as to whether some of these misdemeanors could be handled instead by Administrative Hearings.
• Comm. Morrison asked about vacancies. Lost 56 attorneys in July, but have not been able to hire for most because had to pay value of unused vacation days and did not have money in budget for 2017 for new hires.
• Comm. Silvestri asked about continuances which slow down cases and add to costs.  State’s Attorney Fox agreed too many continuances, often due to workload, and said would try to quantify costs.
• State’s Attorney Fox said that Sheriff’s idea of using video conferencing for status hearings for those in jail, in lieu of bringing them to court, would be found to be unconstiutional because of a prior case in Cook County.

Items of Interest from Meetings with County Clerk and Chicago Board of Elections:

• County Clerk handles elections in suburban Cook County, while the Board handles elections in Chicago.  Cook County funds $17.7 million of Board’s budget; City of Chicago funds rest.
• Both Clerk and Board are planning on purchasing new election equipment and hope to have recommendations to County Board by December.
• In answer to questions from Comm. Sims, Clerk Orr recommended that none of the Clerk’s fees, which bring in $11 million to County, be raised.

Observer - Pris Mims