Sheriff Dart Presents Budget at Hearing

Cook County Board Finance Committee
Budget Meetings
Oct. 27 

Sheriff Budget presented by Sheriff Tom Dart

Proposed 2022 Budget:  $619,404,166    2021 Budget:  $593,629,147
Proposed 2022 FTEs:  5,826        2021 FTEs:  5,647

The Sheriff has the following departments:  the Office of the Sheriff, Administration & Human Resources, Office of professional Review and Professional Integrity Special Investigations, Information Technology, Court Services Division (staffing the courts), Police Department (covering unincorporated areas, but also providing police services under intergovt. agreements to a number of different suburbs and Chicago), Community Corrections Department (responsible for Electronic Monitoring), Department of Corrections (staffing the jail and providing services during and after release from jail), and Sheriff’s Merit Board (responsible for vetting potential new hires and promotions and conducting disciplinary hearings).  While overall there is a large increase in FTEs proposed (+179), there is a reduction in the Department of Corrections (-57).

Some key points from the meeting:
Policing:

• Assisting Chicago police in Chatham on the south side and Austin on the west side, as well as doing some patrolling downtown within Chicago.
• Ever-expanding police services to many suburbs which cannot afford to do it themselves.
• Providing evidence technicians as needed throughout the County.
• Regularly patrolling on the highways as the State police are having to spend more time with shootings.
• Have confiscated over 700 illegal guns thus far this year - already a record!
• Participating in Chicago’s task force for carjackings.  Have created a data base (before there was none) to keep track of where happening and where cars are being recovered and how quickly.  Helps to decide where to deploy resources.  Now recovering cars at a higher rate (+41%) and cut in half the recovery time.  This prevents such cars from being used in other crimes.
• Working on a dashboard for highway shootings.  Finding that use of helicopters helpful in making arrests without high-speed chases.

Community Policing Model

• Looking for opportunities to improve relations with community, such as delivering 80,000 meals on wheels.
• For those dealing with opioid addiction, working to get them off the street and into treatment.
• His Community Resource Center is to offer or connect those leaving the jail with needed services.  So far, 3,000 have been serviced.

Cook County Jail

• Population is and has been consistently around 5,700.
• Currently 14 COVID cases – all of whom walked in with COVID, which is true for about 70%-80% of all cases.  Sheriff cannot force prisoners to be vaccinated.  Usually about 65% are.  Just under 80% of the Sheriff’s employees are.
• Illinois Department of Corrections still refusing to take the bulk of the population at the jail who have been convicted and should be transferred to the State.  Now have about 650.  Noted that while 11% of the total jail population, these people commit almost 50% of the violence in the jail.  Cost is $240/d per person (if don’t get involved in fights resulting in need for medical treatment).  So far, total cost has been $70 M since start of pandemic.
• If State would take all the convicted prisoners, Sheriff could close the building now housing them and significantly reduce overtime costs and the wear and tear on his employees.  

Mental Health Issues

• Has a new program now being used in Oak Lawn showing great promise.  Officers are trained to use a tablet when called to a situation involving mental health issues.  On the other end of the tablet is a mental health specialist.  The tablet is handed to the person or a family member to help calm the person down and get him to agree to treatment.
• At intake at the jail, identify issues and then work to get them into programs and follow-up after they leave jail.
• Currently just under 50% of those in jail have mental health issues, which is much higher than in the past.  Sheriff says he has been told that this is likely a fallout from the pandemic.
• Comm. Morrison urged the Sheriff to use his lobbyists in Springfield in coordination with other County lobbyists to get the State to resume providing mental health services.
• Commissioner Deer said that Commissioners now getting quarterly reports from County officials on what mental health services being provided.  Next step is to bring everyone together to develop a coordinated approach.  Sheriff committed to supporting.

Electronic Monitoring (EM)

• Population Sheriff is monitoring is down to about 2900 in recent months.  He does not know why, but it has been down long enough that he does not believe this is a blip.
• He confirmed that the judges order EM and Sheriff has no say.  
• There are 3 separate EM programs run by (1) Illinois Dept. of Corrections for those who have been convicted, (2) the Chief Judge – and Sheriff says he does not know much about that other than that he believes there are periods during the day when the people are not monitored, and (3) the Sheriff, and his dept is monitoring 24 hours a day.  Different people have different times when they can move about, which complicates the monitoring.
• While the State EM will have to remain separate, Sheriff would like to see all those he is monitoring to be under the Chief Judge’s program, except for those who the Sheriff has in programs.
• Some on EM lose their housing.  Sheriff tries to help finding housing.  Consistently have about 100 without housing.
• Confirmed that in contrast to some jurisdictions in the country, there is no charge to people for being on EM.

Prescription Drug Take-back:  Sheriff’s program is #1 in the country in terms of amount collected!

Observer:  Priscilla Mims