Contract Compliance Director Shannon Andrews (new to the position) explained that this MBE/WBE/VBE office now includes Veterans (as well as minorities and women) in the effort to increase the use of businesses run by these groups in Cook County contracts. A relatively new ordinance was passed to accommodate this. There are 10 FTE employees in this office. Some accomplishments this year have been to make the registration process easier and more streamlined for these businesses, tracking contract compliance businesses, and having more outreach to minority-, women-, and veteran-run businesses. The City of Chicago and Cook County now have the same requirements which should make it easier for these businesses to comply. This year 19% of contracts have been awarded to minority-owned and 5% to women-owned businesses.
Procurement/Purchasing Agent Lourdes Koss has been working on efficiencies and savings. This department has been training vendors on how to do business with the county. She has been working on quicker bidding process because so many contracts are extended instead of being re-bid on time. The cycle time for all contracts is still too high: 64 days for contracts under $25,000 and 264 days for larger contracts. Much of the department has been restaffed from clerical to professional status and 35% of them are ready to take the qualifying Certified Public Professional Buyer exam.
Several commissioners questioned the use of consulting firm Accenture. Concerns centered around this company getting paid to reduce expenses (for example in electricity use) when they really had no input on lower prices. Another commissioner became angry at "middleman" use for office supplies. Comm. Daley explained that the board had passed an ordinance--"procurement code"--which describes this process. He did not feel the commissioners could exempt themselves from this code.
Kurt Summers, Chief of Staff, Office of the President explained that fiscal responsibility and streamlined methods transparency and accountability were goals of this office. The budget calls for a $1.56 million decrease and lower staff numbers. There are now 16 FTE employees. The President's Office has partnered with 30 companies on a pro bono basis to improve services and lower costs. They have reduced energy usage, produced on-time tax bills to save local governments money, and reduced hiring time. Salaries for new hires are lower than under past administrations. One commissioner expressed concern that there still isn't an attorney hired for the Board of Commissioners to help with ordinance writing and legal research. It was explained that candidates have been interviewed and that several commissioners submitted members of their own staff for this position.
The newly named Justice Advisory Council deals with juvenile justice efforts and criminal justice in general. They have been working on a bond court study to reconfigure bonds for low-risk offenders--reducing bonds so those awaiting trial do not have to remain in jail. Other areas of concern reducing the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center population as it is very expensive to house these youth and seems to be unproductive for their eventual release in society. Fifty fewer youth detainees were held this year than last and the goal is to reduce the population even further. Employment, housing, and healthcare for released detainees/prisoners is also a concern of this department.
The revamped Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department is designed to prepare for any type of incident--natural and man-made--that might arise in Cook County. This department has had a lot of controversy in the past and it appears that reorganization, accountability, and more efficient use of equipment are goals. There is also an increase in obtaining federal grants and in their efficient use.
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