Mid-Year Budget Meetings of the Finance Committee

Cook County Board of Commissioners Finance Committee
July 28, 2025, afternoon

Land Bank Authority - Jessica Caffrey, Executive Director and Daniel Taylor, Finance Manager 
Began with slide presentation - Highlights include:

• They have already met their revenue goal of $5M for the year
• They received no ARPA funding
• Maintained their rate of 88% of properties sold going to homeowners which is a focus of their efforts
• So far this year they have generated $29M of their goal of $30M in Community Wealth
• They have acquired 254 properties this fiscal year with a goal of 500 for the year.
• Working to reduce aged inventory which is 2086 properties and they have reduced by 6% so far this year. 
• Have one open position with an allocation of 19FTE’s - looking for a Planning Analyst to work on a plan for dealing with delinquent tax properties

Commissioner Comments and Questions:

• Comm. Gainer explained that Community Wealth is measured by the increase in property value after rehabilitation of the property. This will lead to an increase in tax revenue for the County. She also commended Ms. Caffrey for her excellent leadership in managing the Land Bank and restoring it to its pre-pandemic level of being self-sustaining. 
• Comm. Anaya asked about the Land Bank using modular homes. Ms. Caffrey says this may happen in the future but the ones done so far were not done on Land Bank properties. Also she asked about working with small developers and their outreach services were described. The Land Bank hosts sessions for small developers and non-profits to see how they can work together to develop vacant properties. 
• Comm. McCaskill asked about the selection process for the properties. Once properties are acquired the Land Bank is responsible for the upkeep so they do not take all available properties. Also working with municipalities to deal with vacant land. 
• Comm. Vasquez asked about Affordable Housing projects. Ms. Caffrey said they don’t see themselves as creating affordable housing projects but as ensuring there is naturally occurring affordability.  
• Comm. Stamps asked whether the housing was being developed and purchased by persons in the communities and Ms. Caffrey said yes they were. 
• Comm. Britton asked for a breakdown of city/suburban development. Ms. Caffrey stated she would get that information to him. He would like to see the Land Bank come to his area to perhaps expand the possibilities of affordable housing. Comm. Gainer stated that a way was to get someone to donate land and work with the Land Bank to find a developer. 
• Comm. Trevor asked about possibilities for vacant commercial properties. Donations are accepted by the Land Bank and the criteria are listed on their website. 
• Comm. Lowry thanked the Land Bank for their work and Comm. Daley commended Comm. Gainer and Ms. Caffrey for their work and Comm. Gainer said the Land Bank team is what makes this work as this is not “a philosophy job but an execution job” and they do great work. 

Veterans Assistance Commission - Elizabeth Soto, Director - Grant Jacobson, Deputy Director
Highlights from presentation:

• Ms. Soto stated that they were under budgeted expenses at the present time due to slow hiring. They have 15 positions allocated and 5 vacancies.
• They would like to hire a Veterans Service Officer (VSO) for each district. 
• Outreach to veterans has been a focus of their work as well. 

Commissioner Comments and Questions:

• Comm. Anaya asked about how they coordinate with other veerans’ organizations and if they have a constituent that requests service where should they send them. Mr. Jacobson held up a new booklet that contains all the information for veterans and it was distributed to all the commissioners. He said that all veterans should be sent to them for coordination of services.
• Comm. Trevor stated that she has lots of veterans in her district and would gladly offer her office for any outreach they would like to do. Mr. Jacobson stated that they are soon opening two new locations for veteran services - one at 69 W. Washington and the other at the Rolling Meadows Court House. 
• Comm. Aguilar inquired about a federal grant that was cancelled and wanted to know if they were going to reapply. He was informed that they saw no need to reapply as the new restrictions on the grant would preclude them from getting it. 
• Comm. Degnan asked about the services they provided. She was informed that they help with disability and pension claims and can can help get them to partner institutions such as the Jesse Brown Medical Center and Hines VA Hospital. There are 141,000 veterans in Cook County. 

Assessor - Fritz Kaegi
Key points from his presentation to the commissioners:

• His office has been working on Transparency and Outreach.
• He attended the meeting of National Association of Counties (NACo) last week and the assessors from other large counties were there. They drafted a policy recommendation concerning data sharing that was approved by NACo.
• Have been able to fill many of their vacant positions and anticipate only 9 vacancies by the end of the year. 
• He is advocating at the state level that the Senior Freeze become an automatic renewal. 
• He states that he is on track with his part of the Road Map that was developed for making the tax process more fair in Cook County.
• He states that what is still needed is: 1. Making  commercial assessments more fair and 2. Enacting a Tax Relief Program (Circuit Breaker)

Commissioner Comments and Questions:

• Comm. Degnan asked about tax rates and Mr. Kaegi stated that part of the Road Map deals with this and he says that is the most important recommendation in the report. They need to work with the Board of Review (BOR) to refine their methodology and determine how the tax rates are going to be used. Tax rates in Cook County are volatile and this needs to be addressed. She also asked about hiring and he stated they have hired 40 people and anticipate only 9 vacancies by year end but he is proposing 21 new positions for next year to increase the number of commercial analysts. 
• Comm. Aguilar asked about how the transition to the Tyler system is progressing. Mr. Kaegi referred him to the dashboard and said they did the hard work of switching in 2021 and now the other offices (the BOR and the Treasurer) have to do the hard work and he supports them in their efforts. 
• Comm. McCaskill asked about what can be done to help the southern area of Cook County which just can’t keep up with the increasing assessments. Mr. Kaegi again referred to the Road Map that was developed in December and outlines what needs to be done by those involved and what can be worked on with legislative action. He said that Certificates of Error (for those who overpaid) will be issued as soon as the Treasurer’s Office goes live on the new system. 
• Comm. Stamps wanted to know why tax rates vary, Mr. Kaegi said that the tax rates are a reflection of house value as the formula is levy/value of property in the tax base. To help equalize this he thinks that the Homeowners Exemption should be increased and the proposed Circuit Breaker program in the state legislature should be approved. It would provide assistance for those homeowners that get a spike in their tax bills. 
• Comm. Trevor was concerned with the income levels that determine eligibility for the Senior Exemption. They perhaps need to be adjusted. 
• Comm. Daley asked about the appeal rate of success. Kaegi stated that 1 in 4 are successful at the Assessor level and you are better off to apply on your own than use a lawyer. 
• Comm. Britton stated that his district has lots of appeals. Mr. Kaegi stated that 90% of reductions are in commercial properties. 

Secretary to the Board - Lynne Turner
Highlights from her presentation:

• This office has 13 allocated positions and hiring has been going well with only 1 vacant position for a Legal Counsel which she hopes will be filled soon. 
• Office’s primary goal is to provide support to the Board and Tim Casey is the Legislative Director. Responsibilities  of the Legislative Unit include managing legistar, ensuring that notices meet requirements, creating agendas and minutes, videos, dealing with comments etc.
• The new Board Room will have electronic voting so they will be dealing with that change.
• Victoria Sockwell is in charge of the Archives Unit for the office that will preserve and provide records. Now doing an inventory of all items and planning for a new facility. Eventually will digitize paper records. Discovered a Time Capsule from 1906. Planning for Bicentennial in 2031 and will have a new Time Capsule. 

Commissioner Comments and Questions:

• Thanks from Comm. Daley, Lowry, Britton, Trevor, Aguilar and Stamps for the assistance from her office and for their great work.
• Comm. Anaya also expressed thanks and then asked about the timeline for the new Board Room and the Commissioner’s Offices. Ms. Turner says her understanding is that there will be substantial completion of the Board Room by December. A representative from Asset Management indicated that his understanding is that offices will be ready by September. She also asked about the County Historian. Ms Turner stated that the ordinance is for a volunteer and at present that position is not filled. 
• Comm. Anaya also asked about an ordinance recognizing the female commissioners. Ms. Turner stated that they are researching to be sure they include all women and hopefully an ordinance will be introduced in September. 

Observer - Cynthia Schilsky