Departmental Budget Hearings Continue

Cook County Board Finance Committee - Departmental Budget Hearings
November 4, 2020

Independent Inspector General - Patrick Blanchard
Proposed Budget for 2021 - $1,874,663             Proposed # of FTEs for 2021 - 19
Budget from 2020 - $1,858,826                           FTEs in 2020 Budget - 19
Increase of $15,838                                                  Difference - 0
Highlights of IIG Blanchard’s Presentation

• Purpose of Office - to detect, deter, and prevent public corruption, fraud, waste, mismanagement, unlawful political discrimination and other forms of misconduct within the governmental entities they cover which are Cook County, the Forest Preserve District and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD).
• Had 14 employees (5 open positions) this past year. With budget recommendation he will be able to fill the open positions in coming year
• In 2019 had 700 complaints with 49 (7%) coming from the MWRD. So far in 2020 have had 668 complaints with 32 from the MWRD
• The procedure for the IIG office is that if a complaint is filed they investigate. If there is enough evidence it becomes a case. Right now they have 161 active inquiries. they have issued 42 reports this year.
• Covid adaptations have resulted in more of the office working remotely and that required getting laptops to replace the desk computers in the offices. Probably they will continue to work remotely and thereby reduce the footprint of the office (require less office space).

Commissioner Questions

• Comm. Aguilar asked about what happens with old computers. Response from Budget Dept. was that IT handles the recycling of computers as they are replaced by laptops which is happening throughout the County offices due to need for remote working.
• Comm. Degnen asked about the availability of the IIG services for local municipalities. The IIG stated that so far there have been no agreements with municipalities as he does not have the staff to do that on a large scale but the office is open to that in the future if staffing allows.
• Comm. Degnen also asked if the internal controls within Cook County were adequate for his office to do its work. The IIG said the controls were solid but there could possibly be room for improvement. Comm. Degnen pointed out that in the future there would be time for analysis of possible improvements as the IIG reports will now come before the Board when they are issued.

Public Administrator (PA) - Lou Apostol
Proposed Budget for 2021 - $1,412,029              Proposed # of FTEs for 2021 - 15
Budget from 2020 - $1,385,101                           FTEs in 2020 Budget - 15
​Increase of $26,928                                              Difference - 0
Highlights of Presentation 

• Office distributed about $14M to heirs in 2020 and brought in about $2M to the County
• Investigators in the office are up to date on closing estates and due to Covid have been working from home 3 days/week and in the office the other 2 days. The courts have been cooperative in closing the estates.

Commissioner Questions

• Comm. Suffredin stated that there are significant dollars in the Treasurer’s budget and the Clerk of the Court’s office that are refunds to persons that have never been processed. He asked if it would be possible for the PA’s office to help develop a process for returning these monies. The PA said they could talk further about how that might happen. 

Land Bank - Robert Rose
Proposed Budget for 2021 - $15,232,149           Proposed # of FTEs for 2021 - 15
Budget from 2020 - $21,503,105                         FTEs in 2020 Budget - 12
Decrease of $6,270,956                                           Difference - decrease of 3
Highlights of Presentation

• Mr. Rose pointed out that the Land Bank’s budget is a Special Purpose Fund and they get no money from the General Fund. The office supports itself through selling the properties they acquire.
• Their mission is to acquire properties, clear the titles, and make them available to developers or home owners. 
• So far in 2020 they have acquired 526 properties, sold 180, demolished 14, and rehabbed 143.
• In total since the Land Bank began they have done 683 rehabs and estimate that they have created wealth of about $89M which is value added to the areas in which they work. 
• They have also recouped about $12M in property taxes.
• They have a grant and are working with the MWRD in Franklin Park to acquire homes that have experienced repeated flooding and will convert this property to open space.

Commissioner Questions

• Comm. Degnen asked whether the 3 FTE positions that have been eliminated will come back. Mr. Rose said they have 1 vacant position now that will be filled and the other positions are in reserve. 
• Comm. Lowrey highlighted that the Land Bank has been working with the Cannabis Committee for finding business properties for development and thanked him for this endeavor.
• Comm. Gainer said that the Land Bank’s purpose of dealing with vacant land is important for development in the County and they have been a social equity player since their inception. She also stated that a University of Chicago report will be coming out soon that looks at the economic impact of existing laws on communities. 

Public Defender (PD) - Amy Campanelli
Proposed Budget for 2021 - $80,056,755           Proposed # of FTEs for 2021 - 694
Budget from 2020 - $78,475,884                         FTEs in 2020 Budget - 690
Increase of $1,580,871                                         Difference - increase of 4 positions
Highlights of Presentation

• The PD began her remarks stating that the racism underlying COVID and the Black Lives Matter movement were key influences within her office this past year but also stated that her office has been fighting racism for decades. The mission of the PD is to ensure respect for the rights, liberties and dignity of those they represent.
• The Police Station Representation Unit provides a PD to individuals when they are taken into custody at a police station when requested. When they were requested they were successful in getting 17% of those released without charges and for juveniles it was 32%.
• An in house psychologist has been hired for the new Mental Health Unit. This unit will also have 4 social workers to help with providing services for their clients with mental health issues.
• A new Immigration Unit will be formed in the next year to provide better service for persons with immigration issues who are being represented by the PD.
• The PD does advocacy in Springfield on criminal justice issues. She is working on 2 bills - one on access to a phone call within an hour of being taken into custody and another dealing with police body cameras.
• Community Outreach on the services of the PD is important to her. 
• She encouraged the commissioners to redirect funds away from incarceration into housing and services for the people of Cook County.

Commissioner Questions

• Comm. Silvestri asked about cross training of staff. Ms. Campanelli said there is cross training of their lawyers but also they need expertise of the specialized units she has created such as the Mental Health Unit and the new Immigration Unit.
• Comm. Anaya asked about the Immigration Unit. The PA stated their purpose is to provide the knowledge of the intricacies of immigration law. The PA lawyers know the criminal law but not always how that will be influenced by immigration issues so the new unit will assist with this.
• Comm. Kevin Morrison asked about the use of expert witnesses. The PA stated they do use them and there is about $1.1M in the budget for that. She is working on being able to provide the expertise necessary within her office so that outside experts will not be necessary. 

Observer - Cynthia Schilsky