Ald. Michael Scott (24) the chairman of the selection committee to fill the late Comm. Robert Steele’s (D-2) seat on the Cook County Board, said the committee will make its decision on Thursday, July 13. “I am looking forward to an open and fair process,” Ald. Scott said in a release sent Friday afternoon. “The committee will be respectful of Commissioner Steele’s legacy while charting a new direction for the 2nd District of Cook County.” The district covers portions of the West and South Sides of Chicago. Steele was a native of North Lawndale on the West Side, and those close to the committee proceedings predict a West Sider will ultimately be appointed.

Edwin Reyes, who served as 8th District Commissioner on the Cook County Board from 2010 to 2014, has returned to Cook County government, The Daily Line has learned. Reyes assumed his seat representing the city’s Northwest Side when Roberto Maldonado left to become 26th Ward Alderman, with the backing of then-33rd Ward Ald. Dick Mell and 31st Ward Democratic Committeeman Joe Berrios. Reyes is now a Planning and Preparedness Manager at the Cook County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM), administration spokesperson Frank Shuftan confirmed. He started on May 30.

While all eyes were focused on the state budget, Chicago politics continued to chug along, if largely unnoticed. Here are four things that happened that maybe you might want to think about.

1. CPS Makes Incomplete Pension Payment

Just before the Independence Day Weekend, Chicago Public Schools closed out their fiscal year by making an incomplete payment to the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund. Paying only $464 million of the $713 million due, it was a denouement with surprisingly little fanfare considering the hystrionics of previous months about how CPS wouldn’t have enough money to pay its bills.

The Pension Fund is allowing CPS to make installment payments over time. Meanwhile, the state owes the school system hundreds of millions of late payments, and the system owes over $8 billion in debt.

So, let’s be clear here: CPS ended up the fiscal year $249 million short, and the pension system is allowing it to make installment payments over time. This has never happened before, so effectively, CPS ended up the year bankrupt. But since everyone is looking the other way and pretending it’s no big deal, it isn’t.

2. School Funding Bill In Statehouse

While state legislators pay themselves on the back for passing a budget, looming in the background is an unsigned school funding bill, SB1. Passed by the House and Senate, the bill still needs to be transmitted to Governor Bruce Rauner by Senate President John Cullerton for his signature. Gov. Rauner has promised to veto the bill, essentially because it favors Chicago too much, sending CPS too much money. Without a school funding bill, schools across the state don’t get money, and many expect their first payments on August 1.

Exactly when Cullerton plans to send Rauner SB1 for signature is an open question. Does he wait until the last minute, hoping to threaten the governor with a school closure crisis? Or does he send it sooner, with the expectation that a new special session will have to be called to retool the bill? Subscribe to the Springfield Daily Line to find out!

3. Emanuel Announces New Police/Fire Training Academy

Of all the things found in the U.S. Department of Justice and Police Accountability Task Force reports that all police officers like, it’s the idea that Chicago needs an up-to-date police academy. And hey! The city is about to begin negotiations with the Fraternal Order of Police for a new contract. So, this week Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a new $95 million police and fire academy in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood.

But, as the Chicago Tribune reports, “Asked how the city would pay for the project, city spokeswoman Julienn Kaviar said ‘the city will identify funding as the project progresses.’”

That means, they don’t know yet. And since construction isn’t expected to begin until 2018, the city has some time to figure it out.

4. Cook County Wants To Do Muni ID

For almost a year, the Chicago City Clerk has been working on launching an identification system that could be used for immigrants, homeless and others to allow them to access social and banking services. With plenty of momentum behind the plan, it seemed like a sure thing, until a pair of Cook County Commissioners and the County Clerk announced their own plan to create a County ID. They also noted that traditionally, the County Clerk (not the City Clerk) was the keeper of vital records (like birth, marriage and death records). So, the County should be the one running this program.

“This is not a competition,” County Commissioner John Fritchey said. “It’s about how we can do this best and how we can do this most efficiently.”

The same week Springfield gets a budget, we get a new Springfield Editor. This week on The Aldercast, you’ll meet Rae Hodge, the latest addition to The Daily Line’s team. She’s a Kentucky General Assembly veteran, Fulbright Scholar, and lover of data journalism and deep dives. She’ll be doing the same kind of detailed coverage of committees and agencies in the ILGA as we do here in Chicago and Cook County.

Want to get Rae’s reporting right in your inbox from Day 1? Head to thedailyline.net, click “Subscriptions” and use the promo code “LAUNCH” for 10 percent off your first year’s subscription. Check out Rae on Twitter @raehodge and our new bureau @thedailylineIL, and send her tips: [email protected]. As always, you can reach us with tips, comments, or corrections at [email protected].   

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle sent an urgent memo to county commissioners Thursday warning of a potential 10% spending freeze in light of a Circuit Court judge’s order to temporarily halt the county’s beverage tax. According to memos sent to several commissioners’ staff, those holdbacks will also impact commissioners’ FY2018 budgets by as much as $100,000–a quarter of many offices’ annual budgets.

Fifty-one small businesses located in struggling commercial corridors on the city’s South, Southwest, and West Sides received a combined $5 million in TIF-funded grants Thursday. The program, essentially a rebranding of the existing Small Business Improvement Fund, is specifically designed to leverage local tax increment financing dollars in stagnant neighborhood commercial corridors with the help of local non-profits and chambers of commerce. It’s the latest move by the Emanuel administration to boost small businesses in by making it easier for business owners to apply for financial incentives.

Cook County Commissioners Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-7) and John Fritchey (D-12) announced plans Wednesday to introduce an ordinance creating a countywide municipal identification program. They were backed by County Clerk David Orr, whose office would oversee the program. The group suggested the county should take the lead on the ID, which Chicago officials and stakeholders have been working on for more than two years.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced an ordinance at the last City Council meeting that would codify the deindustrialization of the North Branch Corridor, a 760-acre stretch on the city’s North Side, and the first planned manufacturing district to undergo a city-sponsored transition. The change follows more than a year of planning meetings with residents and recent approval of the site plans by the city’s Plan Commission in May.

This week, a group of better government groups, calling themselves The Coalition for Police Contracts Accountability held a press conference to put additional pressure on Mayor Rahm Emanuel to discard his still-to-be-revealed “agreement” with the Department of Justice on a police reform plan and instead pursue a court-enforced consent decree with a third party.

The legal differences between a consent decree and an agreement are complicated and at times contradictory, but what police reform groups are all demanding is some group that is not the Trump Administration’s DOJ to oversee and enforce a potentially decades-long reform plan for the Chicago police department. Using Los Angeles’ experience as a guide, such a consent decree could cost tens of millions of dollars per year for city taxpayers, but is the gold standard for making sure police culture improves and community members are convinced reform is underway.

At this point, dozens of long-standing, legitimate community organizations have come forward to demand a consent decree, as has the Illinois Attorney General, several aldermen and the mayor’s own Police Board President. Standing with the mayor to oppose a consent decree is the president of the Fraternal Order of Police, the leader of rank and file at the ground level of reform efforts.

Ultimately, police reform and control of the Chicago police department is about mayoral power. When observing Emanuel’s resistance to even begin a public dialogue with police reform advocates, the issue starts to take on characteristics of Emanuel’s other big power boondoggle: control of Chicago Public Schools.

Emanuel is but a hair’s breadth away from losing control of CPS to an elected school board. The Illinois House has passed one version of an elected school board and earlier this month the Illinois Senate passed another. What’s left is for the House to reconsider the Senate version. If Gov. Bruce Rauner signs it, Chicago will have another elected body to worry about in 2023.

Emanuel has steadfastly opposed an elected school board, saying in press conferences such a body would be controlled by special interests like the teachers’ union, but he never expressed a willingness to openly debate or discuss the idea. He could have discussed it on “Chicago Tonight” with Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis. Or he could have toured the city, in open, widely-advertised forums, to discuss it.

Instead, Emanuel instructed his lieutenants, CPS CEO Forrest Claypool and CPS Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson, to speak on his behalf against the measure. When he addressed the issue, it was brief, using highly-constructed talking points–I’ve heard some of them at press conferences myself.

Now, as punishment for not engaging the public, the state legislature is about to take away from Emanuel one of the most important duties of any big city mayor: Educating children. Maybe Emanuel doesn’t care because it won’t happen until 2023, after the end of his prospective third term. But the result seems punitive, because our Mayor never made a real argument about something so important.

We’re getting the same treatment now on another hugely important mayoral duty: police reform. Except this time, instead of Claypool and Jackson, we’re delivered Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and Corporation Counsel Ed Siskel. It’s tiring for those of us who want to understand the mayor’s thinking, because we can tell that we’re just getting warmed over talking points, not an actual discussion of the merits.

Maybe it’s not Emanuel’s intention, but his unwillingness to engage in a public manner, opening himself up to criticism on a matter so important, makes him seem arrogant. And like with the elected school board issue, there are other organizations that could potentially take away his control of the police department.

Already one group has filed suit to seek a consent decree. Two weeks ago, an even bigger fish, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (who has an office full of plenty-capable attorneys) reportedly threatened Emanuel with filing suit herself. And the new organization announced this week, The Coalition for Police Contracts Accountability, is backed by the ACLU, Better Government Association and Businesses for the Public Interest. All organizations with the resources to file and carry out a long court battle.

Just like with his control of the school board, the longer Emanuel resists engagement with the public, the more likely it seems that he’ll lose.

Circuit Court Judge Daniel J. Kubasiak granted a temporary restraining order against the collection of Cook County’s penny per ounce beverage tax. The block will last until at least July 12, when a preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled. County attorneys had no comment on the order Friday afternoon, but testified the setback is a $17 million blow per month to the county’s ledger. Kubasiak said his decision was informed by taxpayers’ constitutional rights, a “significant issue that deserves significant amount of consideration.” The TRO gives retailers a sigh of relief ahead of one of the year’s biggest sales weekends, the July 4 holiday.

President Toni Preckwinkle issued a statement later in the afternoon saying the county would appeal, and she would direct her Finance Department “to look at all options to compensate for the revenue that would have been generated by the tax.”

Judge Kubasiak’s Opinion and Order Granting a TRO

Like a surgeon, Kubasiak told attorneys, “the first rule of the court is to do no harm.” In his order, he said while “the Court is fully aware of the importance of the tax to Defendant’s budget… [it] believes it is necessary to maintain the status quo in order to protect the interests of all consumers, all taxpayers, and the effected [sic] merchants.”

Per Kubasiak, attorneys for retailers demonstrated:

1. A right to relief, because they are required to implement new systems and displays to reflect the tax.


2. No adequate remedy at law, because the county did not give a satisfactory answer about how customers might get a refund if retailers are successful in blocking the law. County attorneys said Thursday that customers could just bring back receipts to retailers.


3. Irreparable harm or damage, because if the tax goes into effect and is later found unlawful, retailers “will suffer from greatly increased administrative and overhead costs which could not be recouped.”


4. Likelihood of success on the merits, because retailers raised a fair question about whether the sweetened beverage tax is constitutional.

The judge refused two requests from Assistant State’s Attorney Sisavanh Baker: for bond on the $17 million the county says it’s missing out on without the tax, and for the county to present witnesses at the preliminary injunction hearing on July 12. “You did not file a verified answer, so you won’t be allowed to produce witnesses on that date, but you will be able to question theirs,” the judge said.

Attorney David Ruskin says those witnesses will be Illinois Retail Merchants Association General Counsel and Vice President Tanya Triche-Dawood, and a 7-11 employee responsible for point of sale systems. Ruskin expects the preliminary injunction hearing to be similar to the one for the TRO, and that the injunction will be granted. Attorneys said the number of changes the county has proposed since June 1 made it nearly impossible for businesses to collect the tax in time for the July 1 collection date.

“We appreciate the court’s decision to hit the pause button on this matter. To implement this tax correctly by the July 1 deadline is inconceivable with rules and regulations that are so poorly defined, vague and continually changing. Without this delay, Cook County retailers would be unfairly exposed to lawsuits for failure to comply and that’s a situation we’re not willing to accept for our members. We are now asking for the court to rule on a preliminary injunction that will continue the status quo until we have a final decision on the legality of the ordinance,” said Rob Karr, president and CEO of IRMA in a statement Friday.

“Because we are now more than halfway into our fiscal year, we must immediately look at holdbacks, efficiencies and – because 87 percent of General Fund expenditures are personnel-related -- a substantial number of position reductions each month that collection of the tax is delayed,” President Preckwinkle said, vowing to defend the tax “aggressively.”

Public health advocates like the Illinois Public Health Institute and the Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity are backing up the county. “While we are disappointed about this temporary setback, we are confident that the sweetened beverage tax will soon be implemented and our communities will experience the health benefits that come from drinking less sugar. This optional tax will benefit Cook County’s fiscal health and our communities’ physical health,” the group said in a statement.

You’ve seen the headlines about major layoffs and store closings at big legacy businesses: Sears, Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant, Gymboree, Macy’s. All are cutting back on brick and mortar investments, which in turn means fewer jobs and storefronts vacancies.

How is this playing out in Chicago? A Bloomberg analysis showed Chicago has a terrible ratio of retail space to spending power. While our population is shrinking, available retail space is growing. Is this cause for worry? Are e-commerce giants like Amazon going to crush mom and pop stores? Our publisher, Mike Fourcher asked our panelists, new Chicago Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Commissioner Rosa Escareño, Illinois Retail Merchants Association General Counsel Tanya Triche, Little Village Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jaime di Paulo, and SVN Chicago Commercial Senior VP Wayne Caplan for this week's episode of The Aldercast.

Special thanks to Mac Strategies for sponsoring this event, and to WGN Radio for helping us with the recording. Got questions, comments, or corrections? Send us an email: [email protected].

Correction: This post was updated on June 30, 2017 to correct the judge assigned to the case. It is Judge Daniel J. Kubasiak, not Judge Allen Walker. 



After listening to roughly an hour of arguments from attorneys representing Cook County and retailers, Circuit Court Judge Daniel Kubasiak delayed his decision on whether to impose a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the county’s sweetened beverage tax, set to be collected on Saturday, July 1. His order will be delivered at 2:30 p.m. Friday in Room 2005 at the Daley Center. Arguments focused only on whether a TRO should be granted, not on whether it should be struck down entirely.

David Ruskin, the attorney for retailers, argued one of the “most compelling” reasons to grant the TRO was because there was no mechanism to refund consumers if the tax was ultimately struck down. He said “it will be impossible for the county” to estimate the number of consumers paying the tax and adequately refund them. Customers could then file a class action suit against retailers, demanding their money back. County attorneys said the county could simply remit collections back to retailers, and customers could bring in receipts.

Ruskin said it was also unlikely retailers could comply with the county’s tax by July 1, given the number of revisions the county has made since June 1 (that SNAP purchases would be exempt, guidelines for shelf tags and menus, and distributor registration regulations). “The penalties, your honor, are monumental” for non-compliance–$1000 per offense. “Those penalties will put retailers out of business.”

The tax is also likely to be struck down because it’s unconstitutional, violating the “uniformity clause of the Illinois Constitution”–because similar drinks aren’t taxed the same way. Ruskin’s example was a Starbucks frappuccino–a bottled one bought at a store is taxed, but one made by a barista isn’t.

Cook County Assistant State’s Attorneys Sisavanh Baker and James Beligratis said while the regulations have been tinkered with in recent weeks, on its face, the tax has not changed, is not “impermissibly vague,” as opponents have argued and “doesn’t have to be perfect.” The beverage tax is similar to existing taxes on tobacco, cigarettes, gasoline, and bottled water. All withstood legal challenge, she said.

But Judge Kubasiak pressed county attorneys on several issues, asking: orange juice has natural sugar–why isn’t it taxed? Why not go after salt or fat? If the tax is for health purposes, why aren’t those revenues going to the county’s health fund?

County attorneys argued that the harm to the county and its residents is much greater if the tax is stopped than it is to retailers if the tax is allowed to continue. She recited health statistics about the sugary beverages, and its disproportionate health impact in minority communities. The county’s budget is relying on $67 million in revenue from the tax to be collected this year alone, and 2,600 positions are at risk, she said.

“Don’t go there. Don’t try to make the argument that they’re all necessary,” Judge Kubasiak said. Baker said she was only trying to demonstrate that halting the tax would do more damage to the county than to retailers.

Noting he’d only received motions 24 hours earlier, Judge Kubasiak asked both sides to submit arguments and draft orders in writing, and said he would have his final decision on Friday.  

At midnight Friday, the city’s contract with rank and file members of the Chicago Police Department expires, providing the city with a rare opportunity to make changes recommended by the mayor’s Police Accountability Task Force and the Department of Justice’s pattern and practice investigation, both prompted in the wake of the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald, an African-American teen shot 16 times by a Chicago Police Officer in 2014.

Traditional retail in Chicago can wade through the shifting commercial economy’s currents, made treacherous by the growing market power of e-commerce giants like Amazon, if it remains “nimble”, treats technology as an asset, and plans for the long haul—by preparing industries or sectors of the economy that have the potential for growth and jobs. That was the overarching theme of The Daily Line’s panel Thursday night on the future of retail in Chicago.

In the last decade, the emergence of e-commerce retailers and ubiquity of mobile phone technology have made it hard for both traditional mom and pop stores and big box retailers like Sears to catch up, stressed Tanya Triche, General Counsel of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. She pointed to Amazon’s recent acquisition of Whole Foods and that the iPhone has just marked its 10th anniversary. “Who are we in this economy? We are all struggling with this question,” she said.

Wayne Caplan, an Executive Vice President of SVN Chicago Commercial, argued that while many mark the 2008 Recession as the biggest blow to the U.S. economy, Illinois retail never really recovered from the tech bubble bust in the early 2000s. The mass exodus of individuals out of Illinois has also impacted retail growth, he added: retailers crave locations in densely populated areas, preferably filled with people who have jobs and disposable income.

But e-commerce's growth isn’t a zero sum game for the economy overall, said the panelists. The future of Chicago won't necessarily be that of empty storefronts along once booming retail corridors like Michigan Avenue. Chicago’s newly confirmed Commissioner of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Rosa Escaraño said if government is “nimble”, open to removing outdated regulations built around the old economy.

“We are not the market makers, we’re there to meet businesses where they need us.” She pointed to “encouraging emerging markets” that are growing in Chicago, like shared kitchens. Malls, built for the car-centric consumer economy, could still remain relevant gathering places with bowling alleys, theaters, and other events and experiences that can’t be purchased online, added Triche.

One solution that could improve retail is by investing in neighborhood businesses, those that cater to the local needs of residents, said Jaime Di Paulo, Executive Director of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce. Di Paulo credited reinvestment with keeping 26th Street a vibrant part of the community. Triche said businesses should also use technology to their advantage–rely on big data to better understand trends, consumer interests and create the “highly customized” shopping experiences many have come accustom to with the advent of apps.

All agreed that Chicago should also consider updating its zoning code, particularly as it relates to the requirement in most zoning districts that groundfloor be reserved for commercial retail. They may still make sense along highly trafficked corridors like Milwaukee Avenue, but “in many places it’s a fait accompli”, said Caplan. Proper zoning is essential for business to thrive, he stressed, giving the example of Winnetka, a ghost town” he called it, because of the its prohibitive zoning.

Cook County Board members made quick work of Wednesday’s agenda–deferring two major ordinances (an energy conservation contract and a jobs partnership agreement) and referring some other major items to committee (including one to call Assessor Joe Berrios in for questioning on his office’s operations, and a new bond issuance). In her post-Board press conference, President Preckwinkle also offered her take on the Berrios scrutiny, saying she was “a history teacher” and didn’t know the intricacies of the assessment system, but she and the Assessor were working to ensure it was fair.

Deferred: Energy Conservation Contracts and Chi-Cook Workforce Agreement

Multi-million dollar contract amendments for energy conservation: Commissioners deferred consideration of four contract increases totaling $8.1 million for monitoring and verification (M&V) of energy conservation measures around the county. The extra cost would pay for quarterly and annual analysis reports from the vendors–Johnson Controls and NORESCO. County officials say the conservation measures would pay for themselves over the 20-year term of the contracts, but commissioners were surprised to see an additional cost on top of an upfront $104 million investment they’d already approved.

The county’s Energy Manager, Jamie Meyers, said the savings from the energy efficient upgrades (more info here)–to things like lighting infrastructure, aging mechanical systems and temperature controls at county buildings–will pay for themselves. “By end of the 20 year contract, we will recoup savings as well as” the extra “measurement and verification” services commissioners were asked to approve Wednesday. “Each annual report is a guaranteed savings report.” Those M&V services are "the most cost-effective approach to provide quality control of project savings," Director of Capital Planning Earl Manning said in a letter to commissioners.

But commissioners were puzzled at why the extra costs had to be approved on contracts already costing so much up front. “Didn’t we already pay for this?” Comm. Larry Suffredin (D-13) asked. “Wasn’t this part of the scope of work that we already approved?”

One of the $32 million contracts commissioners approved in June of 2015 did include “20 years of verification of savings from the energy conservation measures.” But the funding for that verification wasn’t included at the time, Manning said.

“We received a whole series of promises,” Comm. Bridget Gainer (D-10) said, recalling negotiations over the contracts in 2015 and 2012. She asked for a delay and a briefing, saying a month’s wait wouldn’t have much impact in the grand scheme of a 20-year contract.

Comm. Suffredin pointed out the Asset Management team had turned over since those contracts were negotiated, and wanted to understand whether anything had been lost in translation. “I don’t know if this is something the Inspector General needs to look at, but somebody needs to figure out how we got into this situation.”

“I concur,” Finance Chairman John Daley (D-11) said.

Property Tax Incentive Agreement with Chicago-Cook Workforce Partnership: Comm. Suffredin also backed a delay on an intergovernmental agreement with the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership. The agreement stems from ordinances approved earlier this year that make the Workforce Partnership a “first source agency” for filling vacancies at businesses that receive property tax incentives with the help of the county’s Bureau of Economic Development.

Moving forward, tax incentive recipients who go through BED must enter into an agreement with the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership for the term of the tax incentive, and “will work directly with the Partnership to fill job openings and vacancies for a period of at least seven business days from the date job vacancies are opened.”

 

Comm. Suffredin said he was “not impressed” with the Workforce Partnership, and the rule would only create barriers for job creators. “We begin to put obstacles in front of people who want to create jobs, and it was not very well formed… I’m not sure that they’re capable of suggesting employees for the kinds of technical jobs we hope to get,” Suffredin told The Daily Line. “We’re going to see if they can work it out.”

Chairman Daley also questioned how promised jobs were being tracked over the course of tax incentives. BED’s Michael Jasso said those who received incentives through his department had to report annually on their job retention, and the tax break amendment approved earlier this year also gives municipalities the power to ask the county to revoke those breaks if employers weren’t sticking to promises. (For more on the property tax incentive system, check out our most recent podcast.)

Approved Items

Two criminal justice contracts valued at $225,000: A one year, $97,500 contract was renewed for services from Carol Cramer Brooks, a Kalamazoo-based consultant who does training and development of job descriptions and performance evaluations at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. She was formerly a principal of the school based at the Kalamazoo County Juvenile Home. Her current contract with the county is worth $146,960, and JTDC officials say she visits the JTDC monthly to evaluate programs. A one year, $128,526 contract to Chicago-based consultant Sharon Grant was also approved. Grant connects the JTDC with community organizations and local agencies, including Chicago Public Schools, Chicago City Colleges, the Safer Foundation, the Chicago Police Department, the Coalition of African American Leader and the Union League Club.  

Extra $6 million for IBM contract: A $6.8 million increase to the county’s five year, $66 million contract with IBM is needed, department heads said, for technology upgrades to help with the county and Forest Preserves’ budgeting, human resources processing and data. While the increase sounds staggering, the additional cost for the county’s big tech overhaul (known as the ERP) was within industry-typical norms. Comm. Sean Morrison (R-17) noted that Assessor Joe Berrios’ five month delay in getting on the county’s electronic timekeeping system led to a “quantitative cost of $3 million,” but that now “everyone’s pulling the same way.” Commissioners also approved a $530,000 increase and extension of a $17 million contract for technology hardware and hardware maintenance with System Solutions, Inc. out of Northbrook, Illinois for countywide offices.     

Referred Items

Unfairness in assessments hearing: Commissioners introduced two resolutions calling for Assessor Joe Berrios to appear before the Finance Committee and explain his side of a Chicago Tribune investigation into his office’s assessment system. A group of five bipartisan commissioners (Daley, Garcia, Suffredin, Schneider, and Silvestri) appear focused on finding out whether Berrios’ office’s operations violated state law, or whether there were resources squandered. Their resolution notes that the board provides the Assessor “a budget for staff and resources to properly assess all properties”. Comm. Richard Boykin’s (D-1) resolution was focused on the impact of assessments on the poor. Chairman Daley said he hopes to have the hearing on July 18.

New bonds, refunding: The county is looking to take advantage of interest rates and refund a portion of its series 2006B bonds (currently outstanding in the aggregate principal amount of $129.86 million), and issue up to $165 million in new sales tax revenue bonds in part to pay for equipment and the construction of new Cook County Health and Hospitals facilities. Interim Chief Financial Officer Ammar Rizki says the county is mindful of potential impacts of a junk bond rating statewide if the state doesn’t reach a budget agreement.

That downgrade could ripple out, possibly moving the county’s current outlook from stable to negative, he said. The county is in talks with agencies and investors to “tell the county’s story,” he said. According to the county’s most recent CAFR, its underlying rating on its general obligation bonds is currently A2/AA-/A+ from Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings, respectively, all with stable outlooks. “The County also has outstanding Sales Tax Revenue Bonds that are rated AAA by Standard & Poor’s.”

Fee increases at Medical Examiner’s Office: The ME’s office is increasing its storage fee from $50 per day to $500 per day, and upping its lab use fees from $100 per week to $250 per day, and its expert witness fees by $100 each (the highest is for the Chief Medical Examiner, a proposed $600 per hour. Cremation fees would more than double, from $100 to $250. If approved, the new rates would take effect on December 1, 2017.

President Preckwinkle’s Press Conference

President Preckwinkle again used her press availability after the Cook County Board meeting to point out the flaws and financial risks for the county and its residents as a result of changes to the Affordable Care Act (more on this in our story about the county’s budget forecast). She said she hoped the Senate bill recently rolled out was on its death bed.

On calls from commissioners for Assessor Joe Berrios to appear before the Cook County Board in response to the Chicago Tribune investigation into assessments: “I’m a history teacher, I know nothing about the instruments that are used to assess property. I’ve had a conversation with Assessor Berrios and he and I have agreed that we’ll look for a third party entity to look at our entire property tax system and try to determine how we can improve it. We are in conversations with folks right now about that.”

On the Illinois Retail Merchants Association filing seeking to halt the county’s sweetened beverage tax: “We’re committed to responsibly managing Cook County’s finances, making difficult decisions when and where necessary,” she said, reminding reporters that the budget is largely health and safety related, and the tax directly supports the budget in addition to improving health of county residents. She accused opponents of the tax of spreading “fear and misinformation,” even though county officials have “spent months meeting with these stakeholders.” She said the Department of Revenue has had over 30 meetings and calls with various stakeholders since January in preparation for the collection of this tax. While rules changes are now being criticized, “they were the result of conversations and requests from the soda industry and stakeholders.”

“The State’s Attorney is working with Department of Revenue to defend this suit, and we believe that the Illinois courts will, like the courts in Philadelphia, recognize and affirm the constitutionality of this tax,” Preckwinkle said. The judge assigned to the case, James McGing, was scheduled to hold a hearing on a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the beverage tax, set to kick in on July 1. He recused himself. A new judge was selected Wednesday, and  hearing is scheduled for Thursday at 2:30 p.m. in Room 2609 of the Daley Center.

On the three Chicago police officers indicted in the alleged cover up of the circumstances around Laquan McDonald’s shooting: “I’m pleased to know that the special prosecutor intends to hold other officers on the scene responsible for reports that were allegedly filed that corroborated Jason Van Dyke’s account of the event, which is quite contrary to the video. I hope that’s not the end of the indictments.” She told reporters she believes indictments should go further up the chain of command.