Cook County Board Meeting, November 1, 2012

The meeting was called to order at 10:45 a.m. by President Toni Preckwinkle.  All commissioners except Murphy and Reyes were in attendance.   

A Pay Ordinance that would change the way part-time people appointed to various boards are paid, including the elimination of health and pension benefits, was moved to the Finance Committee. The sponsoring Commissioners need time to find more support even if it means a compromise that would make the changes applicable to new appointees while grandfathering current members.  Commissioners Suffredin and Gainer are leading the effort.   The change would affect several influential political appointees that now receive full time pay and benefits for part time service.  

The Regional Transportation Authority wants a $30 million Bond Issue to help offset a $30 billion backlog of deferred maintenance projects.  The RTA initiated a 6-county area Transit Study that will be ready by April 2013 and will make recommendations for a better integration of the CTA, PACE, and Metra services; funding streams for both capital and operating budgets; and a fair distribution between the three regional transit services.  Currently the state owes the region $400 million in transportation funds.Ridership is up 5% but the fair box makes up only 25% of transit costs. 

Electronic Monitoring:  The Sheriff’s office, the Courts, and the Administration are close to issuing an RFP that calls for the consolidation of electronic monitoring equipment under one vendor contract.  “Getting it Right” is important to President Preckwinkle’s goal of reducing the county jail's nonviolent population.  We have written before on the huge cost to the County to hold nonviolent offenders either before, during, or after sentencing.  

News of Interest

Kurt Summers, Chief of Staff for the President is leaving this month.  The Commissioners overwhelmingly lauded his contributions to reforming Cook County Government.

Veterans Day is November 11.  Cook County has 260,000 living veterans which is the largest Vet population in the state. 

Lane Tech High School won the national 2012 Blue Ribbon award – one of two in the entire state and one of 307 across the nation.  Quite an accomplishment!

The meeting was adjourned at 1:40 p.m. 

 Submitted by  Diane Edmundson