Department Review Meetings for 2014 Budget: Monday, Oct. 28, 2013

Juvenile Temporary Detention Center and Clerk of the Circuit Court

The Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (“JTDC”) has been under the supervision of the Federal Court and a court-appointed Transitional Administrator, Earl Dunlap, for six years.  Mr. Dunlap commended the staff at the JTDC for the major improvements that have been made there.  Commissioner Sims questioned him as to when the Court might find the JTDC ready to be returned to County supervision (which would now be under the Chief Judge).   Mr. Dunlap said that he could not say.  There is a status hearing in January, and Mr. Dunlap wants to establish a transition process with the Chief Judge.  A number of things that have held up the transition are now under way:  a request for proposal for a management information system is now ready to go, but it will probably take 6 to 9 months to implement it; the video system is only now being installed; the work to replace the ceilings has begun.

Besides making the transition back to County supervision, the other major issue for the JTDC for 2014 is dealing with the additional JTDC population due to Raise the Age effective Jan. 1, 2014 (whereby those age 17 will now come under the juvenile justice system, rather than being treated as an adult).  Mr. Dunlap said that he had to open another center within the JTDC in 2013 to deal with the increase in the daily population (now averaging between 290-310/d), and he expects to have to open another one in 2014 due to Raise the Age. 

Clerk of the Circuit Court Dorothy Brown raised several issues.  While news reports have been derisive about her office using carbon paper, she said that is the result of the County Print Shop not stocking sufficient carbonized paper to be able to print forms used by her office.  The Budget Director said that there is an increase in the Print Shop’s budget for 2014 which should help with that.

Clerk Brown complained about not being able to hire for positions that have been approved in her budget.  The Budget Director explained that each department has a turnover adjustment which reduces the amount available for personnel, reflecting the salaries not being paid during the time between employees leaving and replacement employees being hired.  If a department does not experience the expected turnover, departments are advised to delay hiring employees for open positions.  The Budget Director was clearly surprised that Clerk Brown raised this issue has the Budget Director had not heard from the Clerk’s Chief Financial Officer that there was a problem.

Clerk Brown also said that recent State legislation allowing cases to be heard through the County and Chicago Administrative Hearings (such as the red light camera tickets) means that there are fewer court fees being paid to her office.  [Clerk Brown failed to note that there is also a reduction in court costs as a result of cases being dealt with by Administrative Hearings.  Unless the court fees are greater than the court costs, there should be a net benefit to cases being handled through Administrative Hearings.]

Clerk Brown said that the City of Chicago owes $11.2 million in filing fees for lawsuits filed to collect unpaid fines.  Finally, Clerk Brown said that the Illinois Supreme Court requires that there be paper files even though some cases and related items may be electronically filled.  As long as that is the situation, she says she cannot reduce her staffing levels.

-- submitted by Priscilla Mims, observer

Department Review Meetings for 2014 Budget: Friday, October 25, 2014

Sheriff’s Budget

Sheriff Tom Dart was ill, so Undersheriff Zelda Whittler presented the office’s budget request.  The Undersheriff reported that as of that morning, there were 9,893 inmates at the County Jail, with an additional 3,160 people on electronic monitoring or diversion programs.  The daily average of inmates has consistently hovered over 10,000/day this year, with the average length of stay increasing since 2007 from 47.9 days to 57 days in 2012.  The increase in the average length of stay and the number of inmates have a direct correlation to the large increase in overtime:  $8 million had been projected for 2013, but the actual is now expected to be $23 million.  The 2014 proposed budget has $15 million for overtime. Commissioner Suffredin questioned whether this was reasonable in light of this year’s experience and was told “yes.”  The Sheriff’s Office is very hopeful that the November 14 interdepartmental meeting called by Illinois Supreme Court Justice Kilbride will lead ultimately to reductions in the length of stay.

A major issue for the Jail is the number of mentally ill detainees.  To deal with them, the Sheriff has a new Office of Mental Health & Advocacy to interview people at the time of intake to provide information to the State’s Attorney and judges.  The Sheriff now has a 24-hour mental health helpline for former detainees and family members, which is averaging 17 calls/day.  The Sheriff is also establishing partnerships with local entities to continue care after detention. 

Another concern is the Court Services Division under the Sheriff which has lost 517 deputy positions since 2006 due to lack of funding and the need to use personnel for other functions, such as jail guards.  The Sheriff has been recommending that status hearings be conducted via closed circuit television between the Courthouse and the Jail to eliminate the need to transport inmates to court rooms.  The Sheriff is also suggesting that the court rooms in the Daley Center be organized by subject matter so that deputies can be deployed where there are greater risks.

Answering a question from Commissioner Gorman, the Undersheriff said that there has been no decrease noticed in the number of arrests as a result of tickets being issued instead of arresting those with small amounts of marijuana.  In response to a question from Commissioner Suffredin, the Undersheriff stated that it has been taking 9-10 months for the hiring process for correctional officers.  The Sheriff is proposing legislation in Springfield to transfer the employments aspects of the Merit Board to the Sheriff’s office in order to reduce the employment process, leaving the disciplinary aspects with the Merit Board. 

To help reduce the length of stay, Commissioner Suffredin said he was going to propose a revolving loan fund to help inmates post bonds that are under $20,000.  The STAR report shows that the average length of stay for those who ultimately post bond is 13 days, which means that it is taking that long for the inmate or the family to secure the funds necessary.  Such a revolving fund would help in those cases.  Commissioner Suffredin lamented the fact that people lose the right to Medicaid while in jail, meaning that the County picks up the full costs of their healthcare.

-- Priscilla Mims, observer

Department Review Meetings for 2014 Budget: Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Treasurer, Inspector General, and Public Administrator

Treasurer Maria Pappas touted that her office is “almost” totally funded through the Special Purpose Fund of the “Tax Sales, Automation Fund,” which derives its money from user fees for the sale of property with delinquent taxes.  [Note:  $9.6 million of the total Treasurer’s proposed budget of $11.6 million comes from the Special Purpose Fund.  The remaining $2 million comes from the Corporate Fund.]  The Treasurer also reminded the Commissioners that since becoming Treasurer, she has significantly reduced the number of Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) from 250 to 92 in the proposed budget. 

Much of that reduction is due to the use of technology and the use of banks and other outlets for the payment of property taxes, as well as online payments.  Treasure Pappas said that the web site is getting 325,000 hits per month, and that 120,000 e-mails are being answered automatically.  Under the STOPS program, $165,000 has been returned to taxpayers as being duplicate payments.  The tax sales program is now automated resulting in tax sales taking place in 3 days, rather than 6 weeks.  The Treasurer said that her office is now undertaking a comprehensive scanning project with the expectation that there will be no filing cabinets of paper by 2015.  To accomplish this technological push, her department now has 25 full time IT employees.

Commissioner Suffredin inquired as to whether the Treasurer has been able to resolve the issues of whether the data is correct in the government bodies’ debt disclosure publication from the Treasurer’s office.  The Treasurer stated that her office is now contacting the local government bodies to make sure the numbers are correct.

Independent Inspector General Patrick Blanchard reported that his office is now fully staffed having hired 5 new investigators.  His office will be taking over the investigation of all complaints under the Shakman decree, which prohibits the hiring/firing/promotion of employees for political reasons, once the President’s Office is deemed in substantial compliance.  He will have 5 of the 14 investigators available for investigating such complaints.  About 30% of the office’s time is now being spent on Shakman-related matters.  His office is also doing work for the Forest Preserve (and being paid for that work out of the Forest Preserve’s funds).  He anticipates over 500 complaints (not related to Shakman) being received by his office this year, which are reviewed before opening a formal OIG investigation.  One investigator is located at Stroger Hospital, and that proximity has resulted in additional complaints being filed.  As a result of his office’s investigations, the Procurement Code was amended to require itemized bills with the dates and description of work performed by County contractors. 

The main outstanding issue for the office is its jurisdiction over the departments under the Elected Officers in the County, other than the President and Board of Commissioners.  Commissioner Goslin stated that it was certainly his intent when he voted for the ordinance creating the Office of Inspector General that it would have jurisdiction over all Cook County officials and employees.  The Inspector General said that the Clerk of the Court has accepted the OIG’s jurisdiction, despite the fact that there is an argument that as part of the State’s court system, the Clerk would be exempt. 

Nicholas Gapas, the Public Administrator, explained that his is a State office, but his budget is under the jurisdiction of the County Board.  However, the money for the budget comes solely out of the fees generated by the Public Administrator in administrating the estates of decedents who leave no will or whose named executor is not able to be the administrator.  If there are no known heirs of decedents, their real estate in Cook County escheats to the County.  Mr. Gapas estimates that close to $3 million will come to the County this year due to unknown heirs and revenue and interest for administering estates.  The Public Administrator’s expense budget for 2014 is only $1.1 million.

-- Priscilla Mims, observer  

Departmental Review Meetings for 2014 CC Proposed Budget: Monday, Oct. 28

Public  Hearing, State's Attorney's Office

The meeting began with a Public Hearing on the budget. There were 26 public speakers. First was Lawrence Msall of the Civic Federation and he stated that his organization's analysis of the proposed budget is available on their website at www.civicfederation.org. He raised at least 2 concerns – one being the uncertainty of the Medicaid revenue within the HHS budget, and the other being a needed long term plan for dealing with the pension issue which soon will be critical. Karin Hribar, LWVCC Co-President, gave testimony commending the board for improving the budget process in line with recommendations that the League has provided over the past several years. Her testimony is available on the LWVCC website at www.cookcounty.il.lwvnet.org.  Veterans organizations were well represented as well, and requested additional money for the Veterans Assistance Commission. The remaining speakers represented various non-profit and business organizations and were for the most part in favor of the budget and commended the President for various programs and for not introducing any new taxes.

Departmental reviews continued with Anita Alvarez, CC States Attorney, presenting for her office. She first reviewed the achievements of her office citing their focus on gang and gun violence that are their most significant issues and require the bulk of their budget. She stated that over the past five years they have had staff reductions due to budget constraints while their workload has continued to increase. Prosecutors have very heavy caseloads, a factor in the length of time required for adjudication of cases. She also stated that she does not have adequate staff to provide coverage for misdemeanor court at all times. She had requested funding for 34 new positions and the proposed budget includes funding for 12 new positions. 

Ms. Alvarez said that her office wants to work towards President Preckwinkle’s goals of decreasing the jail population by seeking alternatives to incarceration. All parties involved need to come to the table to work on the issues of bond court, diversion programs, and treatment courts. She stated that every part of the justice system needs to have the resources to hold up their end of the system so they can do what is necessary to make the justice system work better. 

Commissioner Suffredin commended Ms. Alvarez for her endorsement of a holistic view of the concerns and asked if she could put a value on the savings from the diversion programs. She stated that $15 million savings had been realized in all the diversion programs. 

Commissioner Fritchey wanted to know why only 8% of those arrested were being released on I-bonds while the numbers for NYC were 70% and for Wash. DC were 80%. He asked that since the SA’s provide information to the judge so that a decision can be made about bond, what can be done to ensure that people are not being held in jail who could be out on bond?  He also stated that the number of pre-trial detainees in the CC jail is 50% higher than in other major systems and that $44 million had been paid for cases that were eventually dropped. Ms. Alvarez said that she was not certain about his numbers but that the efforts to work on these issues will continue. 

Commissioners also wanted to know if the ticketing for marijuana offenses had made a difference in the workload for her office and she stated that there did not seem to have been a significant impact.

Cynthia Schilsky, LWVCC Observer