[remote or in-person] Board of Commissioners
Cook County Board of Commissioners
Politics
Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024
10:00 a.m. — 12:00 p.m. CDT
118 North Clark Street Chicago, IL (Directions)
Cook County Building Board Room
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You can access the live stream of this meeting here (https://www.cookcountyil.gov/service/watch-live-board-proceedings).
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Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team
Note-taking by
Nato'sha Trotter
Item 24-3473 in the agenda involved a proposed contract amendment with Appriss Insights, LLC. Various public comment speakers raised concerns that this contract puts undocumented immigrants at risk of deportation.
Live reporting by
Holland Harmon
Item 24-3473 in the agenda involved a proposed contract amendment with Appriss Insights, LLC. Various public comment speakers raised concerns that this contract puts undocumented immigrants at risk of deportation.
H.Noelle
@HOLLYwoodAKA
Good Morning! My name is Holland and I’ll be live-tweeting during today’s Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting. The meeting is set to begin at 10 am! @CHIdocumenters #CHIdocumenters
09:58 AM Oct 24, 2024 CDT
The meeting agenda can be found here: chicago.documenters.org/documents/agen…
chicago.documenters.org/documents/agen…
President Toni Preckwinkle requests for roll-call for Board Commissioners to begin at 10:18am. Quorum is present.
Dr. Jake Chung East Maine school district 63 is the first to present during public testimony. He is requesting an amendment to the paid leave ordinance as it presents several challenges one being the need of 10s of thousands of substitutes which are already in shortage
Dr. Linda Ray Murray, represents the collaborative of health equity says we need to do more to prepare for another pandemic. The number of vacancies within system is unacceptable and threatens the loss of grant funding. Need leadership to address structural defects in foundation
Interim Superintendent John Robinzine for TF High School District is here to request to amend the ordinance to align with state law and allow suburban public school districts to do what is best for their students.
Tania Suelta wants to ensure the data company that shares immigrants information with companies are unable to do so.
Fred Sal is representing Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICRR) to encourage to vote NO against the Appriss county contract that creates a back door to harm immigrants
Claudia Marchan or the Northern Illinois Justice for Our Neighbors is also asking to vote no to the Appriss contract as she has been personally affected by her data been shared.
Reverend James Phipps is here to remind everyone of Fannie Lou Hamer who was the “mother of voting rights act and Civil Rights Act”. Phipps calls for more work to be continued in the fight for our rights to get what we deserve!
Izzy Dobo is here in support of the paid leave ordinance and opposed to any amendments to it.
Cynthia Rodriguez requests for the county to do the right thing and remove the risk solutions language from the Appriss contract
Michelle is here to request that Coyote Rocky be moved from the River Trail Nature center to the Wild Animal Sanctuary for a better quality of life
Dr. Donna Sampson Leak, Superintendent of the Sauk Village SD 168 is requesting amendment to the paid leave ordinance as they are already in accordance as staff is currently receiving 14 unrestricted days off.
Janet Rogers VP of Harvey SD 152 is requesting the County to reconsider school districts for exemption as this ordinance compromises school safety and presents several operational burdens.
Shaunta Gray school board member of Sandridge SD 162 asks to protect our schools and amend the ordinance to exempt school districts and allow them to focus on the education of students.
Dian Palmer President of the SEIU local 73- CCH employee union is calling for the reduction of use of temporary staff agencies and prioritize hiring permanent employees.
Lansing SD 158 Superintendent Dr. Nathan Schilling is here to request amendment to the State’s paid leave ordinance to exempt Cook County schools.
Wesley Epplin is Policy Director at Health and Medicine Policy Research Group is an advocate for Health equity and says CCH is leaving too much grant money on the table. He’s requesting a budget increase of $23 mil and for new positions to be opened to fulfill public health roles
Jody Whittaker is here to advocate for Rocky the Coyote. She asks that he be placed in the wild space environment he belongs
Mark Armstrong is here regarding the expansion of Cooper and Morganfield Parks. He is demanding County to produce the blueprints for the expansion project that has been promised for several decades.
Carl Malcutz an Evanston resident says County should not endorse any one of the south suburban crooks like Tiffany Henyard, Napoleon Harris, Christopher Clark.
51-year Harvey resident Chapelle Hooks feels they are being ignored. Says politicians just want their votes but do not want to actually help the residents. She questions the need for the retention need? Feels it’s just a scheme to steal land and displace residents.
Ryan Sinwelski is also here in support of Harvey and to help clean up the forgotten city of corruption. Says he was arrested for filming a city council public meeting. He requests for sheriffs to attend the public meeting to stop brutal mistreatment
Danielle Carter says she is on the verge of homelessness while illegal immigrants are celebrating being homeowners after only being here 2 years.
Hannah Lucal of Just Futures Law is here to urge Cook County to vote NO on the Appriss contract as it contains loopholes
Woman who identified herself as Danielle Carter previously steps up again as Jessica Johnson. She says her property was illegally taken. She is visibly upset as she says President Preckwinkle is laughing at her. She is escorted from the podium by CC sheriffs
Diane Gallante, lost her position as an elected official after she reported wrongdoing in Tinley Park. She begs for help as she says now her life is being threatened
Bianca Yarbrough, political coordinator for the local SEIU 73 says our employees are missing out on 11 weeks of paid unemployment insurance benefits. Asks for support to provide essential workers with these UI benefits
Commissioner Bill Lowry motions to approve and refer for audit several ordinances which are included in agenda.
Commissioner John P Daley motions to approve several ordinances within the Bureau of Finance of Health and Hospitals included in the agenda
Commissioner Stanley Moore motions to approve and withdraw several transportation ordinances included in the agenda.
Commissioner Bridget Gainer motions to approve several ordinances within the Bureau of Asset Management Capital Planning and Policy included on pages 55-76 of the agenda.
Commissioner Scott Britton motions to approve several ordinances included on pages 78-96 of the agenda.
There is a lot of conversation between commissioners regarding the language used around “risk solutions” within the Appriss contract
Commissioner Gainer asks are there any cancellation provisions within the contract? Can we employ a no-fault clause if we exit the contract early? Possibly. Contract early termination policy will be reviewed.
Commissioner Anthony Quezada asks if this “risk solutions” language is used in all of our contracts related to people involved in the criminal justice system. No, it is not. Quezada asks that we be diligent in policy to protect our most vulnerable population
Commissioner Sean Morrison says the issue is to negotiate the contract over the next year because it needs to be passed today.
Cmsr Bridget Degnen requests clarity on what the third party consultant for specialized proofing entails. County Clerks office says contract ends Nov of 2027 and they won’t be seeking renewal as the voting ballots will be much easier to proof moving forward & can be in-house
Commissioner Anaya thanks everyone who wore pink yesterday at her request for Breast Cancer awareness, even the men!
Commissioner Kevin Morrison, proud LGBTQ + advocate invites Art Johnston and Robert Castillo to say a few words as fellow LGBTQ + leaders who have trail-blazed for the community’s rights. Johnston and his husband are the owners of bar Sidetrack in Boystown.
Meeting recesses for commissioners to take pictures with Johnston & Castillo.
Commissioner Maggie Trevor recalls her reluctance leaving welcoming environment of Hyde Park to move to less-welcoming Iowa back in 1993. She thanks Johnston and Castillo for giving her that hope back as they’ve done the hard work here to keep inclusivity going.
Commissioner Quezada says it gives him great privilege and joy to further the work of Castillo who grew up on his same childhood block and attended his same elementary school
Commissioner Donna Miller tearfully gives resolution dedicated to Alana Joy Ford who served as a Special Assistant to Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr for several years. She says they were friends nearly all of her life so it is painfully hard to present her resolution.
Commissioner Monica Gordon presents resolution on behalf of her niece that increases awareness for those who have higher breast density. She’d like to raise awareness for the risks associated with those with higher breast density which makes it harder to detect cancer.
Cmsr Gordon also wants to take a moment to honor the life of Mayor Ken Peterson of Steger on his recent passing.
Commissioner Quezada congratulates Roberto Clemente High school in Humboldt Park as they celebrate their 50th year anniversary and invites their Principal Devon Morales to say a few words.
Commissioner Josina Morita presents resolution to former 5th ward alderman Delores Holmes and Lori Wilcox, former Chicago Heights clerk.
Commissioner Miller concurs with recommendation of Workforce housing and community development.
Commissioner Moore motions to reconsider item 24-5224 from approve to defer.
Commissioner Stanley Moore would like to concur with the recommendations from the departments of transportation.
Commissioner Miller concurs with the recommendations of the Asset Management committee.
Many Commissioners and President Preckwinkle congratulate Commissioner Anaya on her leadership in the absence of Commissioner Dennis Deer as he battled his illness and unfortunately passed away.
Agency Information
Cook County Board of Commissioners
County Commissioners are elected officials who oversee county activities and work to ensure that citizen concerns are met, federal and state requirements are fulfilled, and county operations run smoothly. The Cook County Board of Commissioners is the governing board and legislative body of the county. It is comprised of 17 Commissioners, each serving a four-year term and is elected from single member districts. Each district represents approximately 300,000 residents. The Board also operates approximately 40 committees and subcommittees chaired by members of Board of Commissioners.
Remote meetings of the Cook County Board of Commissioners are live-streamed at https://www.cookcountyil.gov/service/watch-live-board-proceedings
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