Action and Concerns about the VA, JTDC, and HHS at Dec. 15 Cook County Board Meeting

The December 15th meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners centered on a new program at the Cook County Veterans Assistance Commission, questions about policy at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, and finances at the Health and Hospital System.

First off, a resolution by Comm. Reyes et al. was passed that provides veteran PTSD screenings and job benefit fairs ( to be located in National Guard armories in each commissioner's district) for the purpose of helping veterans. The county Veterans Assistance Commission will coordinate this with various other veteran organizations. The VA Hospital and HHS are on-board with this.

Numerous concerns were expressed about the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC). Comm. Peraica questioned another $500,000 (for a total of $2.8 million) being requested by Transitional Administrator (TA) Earl Dunlap of the JTDC. This $2.8 million is not in the JTDC budget (which is $41 million), but rather comes from the county self-insurance fund--due to the long-standing court orders. He wondered if this money was being audited and had oversight. CFO, Jaye Williams, questioned why established procedures on bids were not always used by Dunlap. Temporary Administrator Dunlap came later in the meeting and explained that his was a completely transparent administration and anyone could check the finances. He said lowest bid is not always used because he wants to continue mental health services with a proven organization (eg. Isaac Ray Center) that has already been doing a good job with the JTDC. His goal has been to move juveniles out of the JTDC into more appropriate community settings for their drug and mental health issues. This works better and is much more cost-effective.

The Health and Hospital System (HHS) is down on their revenues (patient fees) but expenditures are also down. It is estimated that HHS will expend 95% of their budget by the end of the fiscal year. Several commissioners pointed out that the scare tactics about HHS closing facilities because of the .5% sales tax rollback are misguided.

Sales Tax Remains!

The September 1 Cook County Board meeting commenced with an invocation by Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a moving tribute to recently-deceased Senator Ted Kennedy. The Board recognized eleven-year-old Adonis Bell for saving his family from a fire in the middle of the night.

Mr. William Foley, the recently-named CEO of the Health and Hospitals Systems (HHS), presented a report on the progress of the hospital's attempts to reduce their budget. A $74-million reduction in the budget has already been attained. Mr. Foley provided the dates for public hearings, to take place in September at various hospitals throughout Chicago. He characterized the county's new direction in health care as seeking partnerships with other health facilities and medical organizations to ease the financial burden of Cook County's massive health system.

After Mr. Foley's address to the Board, President Stroger introduced Edwin Reyes, the newly appointed 8th District Commissioner, filling the seat from which Commisssioner Maldonado recently resigned.

Commissioner Beavers introduced a motion that the Head of Ethics address the Board about potential conflicts of interest regarding commissioners' use of the sales tax to advance their own political clout. He warned the commissioners of potential ethical charges that may be filed, due to such conflicts of interest. The motion failed.

Commissioner Daley, concerned about the whereabouts of the budgets of various county groups, introduced a motion for Takashi Reinbold, Budget Director, to report on the status of departmental budgets. President Stroger requested such information some time ago. Mr. Reinbold reported that many 2010 budgets still must be submitted.

The commissioners each stated their current position on the veto of the tax rollback, after which a vote was taken to either support or reject President Stroger's veto of the tax rollback. President Stroger's veto was sustained so that the entired 1.75 per cent of the Cook County sales tax remains in effect. William Beavers, Jerry Butler, Joseph Mario Moreno, and Deborah Sims voted to sustain the veto.