Cook County Board Meeting May 7, 2012

The meeting was called to order @ 10:45 a.m. by President Toni Preckwinkle.  All commissioners except Jeffrey Tobolski, District #16, were in attendance.

Prior to 10:45, various committees met.  Of interest is the discussion around the much publicized $10 charge for the first minute that a Cook County inmate uses a jail phone.  The Criminal Justice Committee has asked for a study and feedback within 45 days.  Revenue from the phone program handled by an outside vendor goes to the County's undesignated funds.  There appeared to be a consensus that the charge was too high.

 

At the Finance Committee meeting, it was noted that revenues are up $7.4 million in this budget year.  This includes increased sales tax revenues of $1.1 million.

The Real Estate Committee voted to add $100,000 to the new license to Natural Gas Pipeline of American LLC for restoration after it runs a new underground pipeline on Forest Preserve District land.  The corporation would pay the Forest Preserve District almost $400,000 (for license fee and tree and land mitigation) in total.

During the Board Meeting, at least 6 resolutions were offered honoring people, schools, Memorial Day, Korean War Veterans, Parents United for Healthy Children, and those people and institutions that came forward to help the County bury the indigent.

The Clerk of the Court again requested a transfer of funds which raised the issue--again--of how the Clerk’s office managed to have excess funds in one account of $246,000 a few months into the new year, while the 2012 budget for the office was lower and, they claimed, "bare bones." The transfer was approved with some head shaking.

Almost 30 minutes was spent on the issue of the cost of inmate feeding and contract extensions because of failure to get the RFP out in time.  The jail population is up after declining for the last 3 years.  It is currently at 98.7% of capacity.  No substantive reason was given.

The Cook County Commissioners agreed to pay $600,000 to settle the county’s portion of a lawsuit brought by a freed prison inmate.  This closes any further liability the county has in the larger Chicago Police Lt. John Burge torture trial.

President Preckwinkle and Commissioners Garcia, Goslin, and Daley proposed an ordinance to extend county ethics rules on lobbying, conflicts of interest, nepotism, and political contributions to appointed members of boards and commissions.  The proposal was referred to committee.

  

A resolution urging Gov. Quinn and the Illinois General Assembly not to cut Medicaid funding was moved to the Finance Committee.  Cuts to hospitals will likely mean more indigent patients at Stroger with attendant costs.  The meeting was adjourned at 1:40 p.m.

--Submitted by Diane Edmondson