President Preckwinkle called the meeting to order. Commissioners Simms, Steele and Beavers were absent.
Today's meeting began with a tribute to wounded veterans led by The Cook County Veterans Assistance Commission and the Silver Star Families. The rate of suicide of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan is high, and it has surpassed the number of those who died in action. The unemployment rate among veterans is 11%.
The Finance Committee met briefly, chaired by Commissioner Daley. All Court Orders and Bills and Claims were approved. There was a discussion, prompted by a question, about a mortgage foreclosure program through which community members in imminent risk of foreclosure receive assistance. The current contracts are due to expire in July. The item was passed with the exception of Commissioners Suffredin and Collins voting against. All Workmen's Compensation Claims, Subrogation Recoveries, Bids, and Highway Items were approved.
The first two items on the Commissioners agenda were initially referred to the Finance Committee. The first dealt with regulations governing the procurement and contracts chapter of the Code of Ordinances. The item was lengthy (7 pages). The second referred to fees collected by the County Clerk's Office for the many services it performs for the public such as marriage and civil union applications, requests for death certificates, etc. Both of these items were returned to the agenda at the end of the meeting, resubmitted as new items. Both were then approved, but there was no discussion of the changes made.
A lengthy item regarding proposed ordinance amendments to the Cook County Vehicle Code included sections on Traffic Control Devices, Unauthorized signs, Obstruction with Traffic, Stopping, Standing or Parking, Unattended Motor Vehicles, Safety Belts, Jaywalking, and Pedestrian Crossing. It was approved, with the exception of Commissioners Gorman and Tobolski, who both voted no.
Under the Bureau of Economic Development,Commissioner Collins asked about using Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, which had been cut by 16% from last year, for funding for gas assistance. The item was passed, but she voted against it.
Pending Litigation items were referred to the Litigation Sub-committee of the Finance Committee.
--Submitted by Beverly Graham
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Cook County Board Meeting June 1, 2011
The meeting began with the Transportation Alliance "Bike to Work" proposal, which was endorsed by President Preckwinkle. She declared June 11 - 17 Bike to Work Week, and said that federal funds had been used to create facilities for county employees to park their bikes when they rode them to work. The motion passed unanimously.
There was a discussion of using federal funds for a summer employment program for under privileged youth, ages 16 - 22, to receive training from outsourced agencies who would train them and help them find jobs. $2.2 million from the Work Force Investment Act would be used to pay the young people at the rate of $10 per hour. The motion was passed unanimously.
Commissioner Daley, Chair of the Finance Committee began his committee's agenda while the Board Meeting took a break. There was a discussion about items regarding contract compliance (vendors who do not comply with status reports). The President said these companies should be notified in writing. There was also a question about two companies that had recently merged in handling security and electronic monitoring for juvenile offenders. For this reason, these items were deferred.
The Workmen's Compensation Claims were all approved, as were the Self Insurance and Employee Compensation claims.
This was followed by a presentation by Michael Ayers, CFO of the Cook County Health and Hospitals System. His presentation consisted of several bar graphs reflecting the financial situation of the hospitals, for which there was a shortfall. There were several issues which caused problems in receiving payment including Medicaid claims, which have to be approved by the State prior to approval. 65% of the bills are waiting to be paid by the State. Of these, 7% never get paid. Some services have waited a year for approval. The HHS is $81 million in arrears, and Medicaid is the biggest problem. There are 17,000 60 - 80 day accounts "sitting out there", and $4 million waiting to be paid due to processing delays. Any claims over 160 days must be done manually. Mr. Ayers said that there is a collection issue, and that receipt of $36 million will help them catch up. The State has hired four (!) people to work on these claims, but these people are still in training, and have yet to begin work. There is also a human resources issue in the area of unprocessed claims, as Medicaid requires pre-authorization. The head physician then stepped up to the microphone to further describe the dysfunctional system in which both patients and employees are complicit in perpetuating a culture in which there is little accountability. For example, to date, there are 250,000 duplicate names in the system. He said that employees are to blame for some of this.
There was a discussion of using federal funds for a summer employment program for under privileged youth, ages 16 - 22, to receive training from outsourced agencies who would train them and help them find jobs. $2.2 million from the Work Force Investment Act would be used to pay the young people at the rate of $10 per hour. The motion was passed unanimously.
Commissioner Daley, Chair of the Finance Committee began his committee's agenda while the Board Meeting took a break. There was a discussion about items regarding contract compliance (vendors who do not comply with status reports). The President said these companies should be notified in writing. There was also a question about two companies that had recently merged in handling security and electronic monitoring for juvenile offenders. For this reason, these items were deferred.
The Workmen's Compensation Claims were all approved, as were the Self Insurance and Employee Compensation claims.
This was followed by a presentation by Michael Ayers, CFO of the Cook County Health and Hospitals System. His presentation consisted of several bar graphs reflecting the financial situation of the hospitals, for which there was a shortfall. There were several issues which caused problems in receiving payment including Medicaid claims, which have to be approved by the State prior to approval. 65% of the bills are waiting to be paid by the State. Of these, 7% never get paid. Some services have waited a year for approval. The HHS is $81 million in arrears, and Medicaid is the biggest problem. There are 17,000 60 - 80 day accounts "sitting out there", and $4 million waiting to be paid due to processing delays. Any claims over 160 days must be done manually. Mr. Ayers said that there is a collection issue, and that receipt of $36 million will help them catch up. The State has hired four (!) people to work on these claims, but these people are still in training, and have yet to begin work. There is also a human resources issue in the area of unprocessed claims, as Medicaid requires pre-authorization. The head physician then stepped up to the microphone to further describe the dysfunctional system in which both patients and employees are complicit in perpetuating a culture in which there is little accountability. For example, to date, there are 250,000 duplicate names in the system. He said that employees are to blame for some of this.
When the meeting progressed to approving Committee reports and requests, the Chair left the room and Mr. Daley took over running the meeting. The majority of the committee reports were offered, seconded, and approved without comment.
The Purchasing Director noted that the County and City are working together to purchased armored cars and salt. They are also going together for credit cards. It was also noted that Purchasing needs an electronic filing system for proposals and the necessary documentation. Apparently, they are still working the old fashioned way.
The Bureau of Administration, Cook County Law Library offered a proposed ordinance amendment on which there was some discussion. The amendment was to change the library hours from 2-9 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. so that required sprinkler systems can be installed over a 2 week period. However, the wording was broad enough that some Commissioners were worried that the ordinance could be used to cut the hours or days of operation at any future time to save money.
--submitted by Beverly Graham and Diane Edmonsen
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Forest Preserve Commission Mtg. June 2 2011
The meeting was a relatively short one, with the main public policy question being about the permission for a private gun club to continue using Forest Preserve land. Continuation of this arrangement had been ok'd by the Real Estate Committee but since that vote the Chicago Tribune, the Friends of the Forest Preserve, and a couple of vocal commissioners had weighed in against the committee vote and in favor of President Preckwinkle's position against it. (See this link for the Tribune editorial in support of the President's position: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-05-23/news/ct-edit-gun-20110523_1_forest-preserve-district-chicago-area-forest-forest-land) The outcome of the Gun Club question was that the Real Estate Committee report was approved without that particular item in it and that item was sent back to committee -- presumably to die. It seems that the Committee tried to do "business as usual" and pressure from the public and the new administration forced Commissioners to rethink their M.O. This outcome would be consistent with the LWVUS position on protection of Natural Resources, so observers present were quite pleased with the outcome but will continue to watch to see whether it re-emerges in the future!
Another item that arose was when a disbursement to Autumn Tree Care in Glenview was being discussed. Other landscapers have complained that they cannot win bids because Autumn Tree Care (and presumably others) do not pay the prevailing wage. Just recently, the FP voted to make themselves subject to the same prevailing wage guidelines as the Cook County government has been following. This contract was in the works and Arnold Randall addressed concerns by saying that his office just has not had time to process all the cost implications and plan changes that would be required by the new law. So basically it was not applied to this pending contract. The intent is to follow prevailing wages in the future, and the increased costs may limit what work can be done as a result.
The Botanic Garden representatives mentioned that World Environment Day is June 4 and there will be a lot of activities there for that event.
There will also be an open fishing tournament soon on Forest Preserve land. Those interested should check the Forest Preserve website for details.
Another item that arose was when a disbursement to Autumn Tree Care in Glenview was being discussed. Other landscapers have complained that they cannot win bids because Autumn Tree Care (and presumably others) do not pay the prevailing wage. Just recently, the FP voted to make themselves subject to the same prevailing wage guidelines as the Cook County government has been following. This contract was in the works and Arnold Randall addressed concerns by saying that his office just has not had time to process all the cost implications and plan changes that would be required by the new law. So basically it was not applied to this pending contract. The intent is to follow prevailing wages in the future, and the increased costs may limit what work can be done as a result.
The Botanic Garden representatives mentioned that World Environment Day is June 4 and there will be a lot of activities there for that event.
There will also be an open fishing tournament soon on Forest Preserve land. Those interested should check the Forest Preserve website for details.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)