February 1, 2012 Cook County Board Meeting: Courthouses, the Morgue, and Redistricting

At this board meeting, a few “hot topics” were on the agenda and/or discussed but decisions regarding them were delayed.

First off, the controversy over closing suburban courthouses on weekends came up in a resolution that requested Chief Judge Tim Evans to review possible alternatives to completely closing these courthouses on the weekends. Originally these closures came about as a cost-saving measure for the County. Suburban police departments are concerned that they will bear additional costs and reduction of police on the streets
while having to transport detainees to the Criminal Courts Building at 26th and California Sts. in Chicago. The Chief Judge is expected to address this issue at the February 15th Board meeting.

Secondly, the recent news about bodies being piled up at the County morgue brought a proposed ordinance amendment by Comm. Fritchey to make it easier for the Board to fire the Medical Examiner. Currently, the Medical Examiner remains in this office until he/she resigns or is removed for cause. Fritcheyʼs amendment would allow removal by a majority vote on the Board. Most of the other commissioners voted to delay this vote until more information could be obtained from the Medical Examiner and others regarding the reasons for the delays in burials of indigents. Some commissioners pointed out that this amendment does not really address the issue of decreased funding for this office and other reasons for burial delays.

The Board passed a resolution to establish a special committee to redraw the districts for the Cook County Board of Commissioners. This is needed because the 2010 census shows changes in population numbers and location within Cook County. The special committee will consist of all 17 commissioners with Comm. Sims as chair and Comm. Silvestri as vice-chair. Many commissioners expressed their confidence that the county will use an “open, positive process”--(Comm. Schneider); “can be done better than the city & state”--(Comm. Fritchey); and a “good process for citizens”-- (Comm. Steele). The redrawn districts will be in effect for the next county board election in 2014.

Procedurally, this board meeting began 1/2 hour late and spent the first hour presenting and discussing honorary resolutions about various county residents. This observer would like to see this use of time dramatically shortened or better yet, done before the regular meeting. This observer was pleased to see that many commissioners are making efforts to briefly summarize ordinances and resolutions they
vote on (rather than just referring to the agenda number) so the audience can better follow the proceedings.

Submitted by Karin Hribar, observer