The Sheriff Gets a Helicopter and Cook County has a Clean Audit

Cook County Board of Commissioners Committee Meetings  
July 24, 2024

Finance Committee

• Carrianne Carallis, Director of Research, Operations and Innovation, outlined the new process to review and revise performance management goals and measures. The objective will  be to align the measures with the stated mission of the department in the budget book.  They are going to start with the Economic Development Department and plan to review all departments under the President by the end of the fiscal year.  Then they hope that the elected offices will also participate.   Commissioner Gainer said they should address the measures in Human Resources since money is being spent to improve the process.   Deloitte is consulting with that department.   Commissioner Daley said the elected offices should be included, especially focusing on the technology programs such as in the Court system.  Commissioner Miller asked if there were standards for the Justice Advisory Council grantee reviews.  She also asked if ARPA has standards for performance evaluation.   The ARPA reporting requirements focus more on finances.   
• The County’s Fitch bond rating has improved from AA- to AA.   This will help with the impending issuance of sales tax revenue bonds.

Criminal Justice Committee

• One of the public speakers was Carlos Ballesteros, a reporter for Injustice Watch, who has been investigating the high number of deaths at the jail and urged the Commissioners to hold a hearing on the issue.
• The Commissioners recommended for full Board approval the purchase of a helicopter for the Sheriff’s Office for $11.3M. Currently, the Sherriff shares one helicopter with Chicago.   Chicago has 4 additional helicopters.   There was a lot of discussion about the cost of the helicopter’s ongoing maintenance, fuel, and pilot costs. The pilot can be a civilian and would be accompanied by two tactical officers.    There will be an additional request for money in the budget for those items.   Jason Hernandez of the Sheriff’s Office explained that they have to know the model of the helicopter to be purchased in order to calculate the other costs.  They anticipate it will be $3.1M/year. A helicopter reduces the need for high speed car chases, facilitates searches in wooded areas, and can be used for patrol and other emergencies.   It will be delivered in second quarter 2025.

Health and Hospitals Committee

• LaMar Hasbrouch, M.D. reported that they are tracking four difference communicable diseases: Covid, H5N1 (bird flu), Mpox, and West Nile Virus.   Incidences of Covid are still low in Cook County but Dr. Hasbrouch explained that the variants change and so those people who are more vulnerable should get another vaccine this fall.  
• The agency has five points of surveillance of standing water for West Nile Virus throughout the County.  There has been one case this year.   They have a program called Fight the Bite, educating schools and other groups to protect themselves against mosquito bites and eliminate standing water.

Asset Management Committee

• The department is working with vendors to install electric vehicle charging stations in suburban Cook County. The vendors will charge for the service.  There was discussion about the two power levels of the charging stations and where they would be placed.   Commissioner Moore asked that some should be put in his district as there currently are very few and that they should be the higher- level charging station that requires a shorter time for the charge, as residents would not be able leave their cars for a long period of time.     Commissioner Degnen recommended that more charging stations be put in the County buildings to facilitate the County fleet being converted to electric vehicles.

Audit Committee

• The RSM US LLP audit manager presented the report of the  comprehensive financial audit for the County.   It was a clean audit.   There were reporting errors discovered and the relevant departments accepted the findings and put in additional controls.    He stated that the workman’s compensation liability for the County is $1.3B.  Commissioner Gainer asked if he could break down the components of the pension liability increase to headcount, recent salary increases, and investment income/loss.   The auditor did not have that specific information, but thought the County analysts could provide it to the Commissioners.
• A previous finding of insufficient monitoring of systems access for employees that moved to another department or were terminated was discussed.  The controls were better in this audit.    Commissioner Anaya asked more questions about how the controls were improved.   Currently a paper form has to be completed by the supervisor and there is a 90 day completion deadline, which the Commissioner commented was too long especially for a terminated employee.

Contract Compliance Committee

• Director Mandeville reported on the current lawsuits in other states that are challenging MWBE programs and the potential effects on the County’s program.  Her department is working to help MWBE and all smaller vendors learn how to navigate doing business with the County.  They are making informational webinars open to all vendors.  The County needs to address how to make it easier for any small business to participate, such as breaking down contract amounts into smaller units.

Emergency Management & Regional Security Committee

• The executive director, Ted Berger, explained the updated multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan.  125 municipalities and agencies are participating including the Forest Preserve and the MWRD.  The group cooperates in dealing with issues such as the recent flooding in the County.

Observer:  Kathleen Graffam