Fresh off an Inspector General report that found the county’s health system lost out on at least $175 million in payments from insurance companies over the past two years, commissioners grilled officials on where the system was falling short and how much taxpayers might end up footing the bill.

After months of negotiations, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle’s team and Chief Judge Timothy Evans are close to signing off on a settlement that Evans said would avert drastic layoffs included in the 2018 budget. But that solution would include closure of two branch courts and a section of the Juvenile Detention Center, and is already drawing pushback from the union representing Evans’ employees.

If approved by both sides, the deal would end a monthslong court stalemate spurred by the repeal of the county’s sweetened beverage tax.

Commissioners blew a $200 million hole in this year’s budget when they voted to repeal the tax last October. It led to a fraught budget process where Evans, who runs one of the biggest offices in the county, suggested 20 furlough days and court closures to meet his share of cuts. County budget officials said his offer came up short and submitted their own layoffs – 161 non-judicial, mostly senior employees.

Evans responded with a lawsuit soon after the budget passed. In it, he accused Preckwinkle and the board of violating “the constitutional separation of powers by infringing on the court's exclusive authority to decide whom it will employ or terminate from its employment.”

In a Tuesday letter to employees and judges obtained by The Daily Line, Evans laid out the brokered solution. One is furlough days: non-union court personnel will take 10 unpaid furlough days by Nov. 30. “Union personnel will be asked to vote on whether to take 10 furlough days, and for unions that do not accept the furlough plan, layoffs will occur as outlined in union contracts,” he said.

Anders Lindall, a spokesperson for AFSCME Council 31, which represents roughly 1,000 employees in the Chief Judge’s office, said Evans “cannot take any action without first negotiating with the unions that represent employees in his office. AFSCME will keep pressing for solutions that protect public services and jobs, and that don’t force county employees alone to bear the brunt of the budget hole.”

“Threatened cuts could jeopardize operations throughout the county court system, as well as probation services that are necessary to monitor offenders and fight crime. This very dire situation is the result of the failure of the Cook County Board to support the revenue measures needed to fund county services,” Lindall said.

The cost to the county is roughly $11.1 million. $2.5 million is for capital costs. The rest covers various salary, pension, and upfront costs of some major operational changes, including closing branch court locations at Belmont and Western and 51st and Wentworth.

Evans’ office will also terminate a lease at its Walnut Probation Office, shut down one of its centers at the Junior Temporary Detention Center by July 1, and eliminate 21 Youth Development Specialist positions and four mortgage foreclosure positions.

Asked whether the leaked framework was a good deal for the county and what its impact would be on the already-strained budget going forward, Preckwinkle stuck to her script.

“We have negotiated in good faith with the Office of the Chief Judge over the past several months. Until all parties sign off on the final settlement, this remains pending litigation and I cannot comment further,” she said, and chided, “We’ve been operating with the understanding that settlement negotiations are confidential, and we intend to abide by that confidentiality even if the chief judge does not.”

“You’re lawyered up,” one reporter quipped.

“I’m well-briefed,” she replied.

Commissioners were briefed on the case in a closed committee meeting on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the full board gave their go-ahead to settle when the two sides meet again in Lake County Court on Friday.

A spokesperson for Preckwinkle would not respond to follow up questions about how the settlement would proceed at the board or its budget impact, citing pending litigation.

Comm. Larry Suffredin (D-13), an attorney, was an early voice of concern about the future of the courts under the planned layoffs. He suggested the cost could have been much higher if both sides had gone to trial, but cautioned the deal isn’t done. “We’ll see what happens in court.”

Members of the Chicago Teachers Union will protest outside of today’s Board of Ed meeting and repeat calls for an elected school board, while Treasurer Kurt Summers announced a new hire.

Cook County commissioners meet at 9:00 a.m. today for a relatively routine agenda, but behind the scenes, sources say the county is close to negotiating a settlement with Chief Judge Timothy Evans over funding to his office.

South and West Siders packed City Council chambers Tuesday to voice fears about gun violence, prostitution, and drug dealing in their neighborhoods and plead with aldermen and police officials to act. Aldermen did approve a measure from Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29) imposing more harsh penalties on gun offenders stopped near senior and nursing homes, but did not approve another extending the city’s loitering laws to those suspected of prostitution.

New gun safety zones around nursing and senior homes and an attempted crackdown on prostitution-related loitering are both on the Public Safety Committee’s agenda Tuesday.

Today marks the Cook County Board’s first committee meetings since last month’s primary election, which saw the defeat of two incumbent commissioners – Richard Boykin (D-1) and John Fritchey (D-13) – and the elevation of likely successors to three exiting commissioners – Jerry “Iceman” Butler (D-3), Ed Moody (D-6), and Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-7). Aside from a consent calendar meeting that includes an honor for the Final Four Loyola Ramblers, the day largely features routine items.

Two mayoral candidates officially entered the race this weekend, while several more aldermanic candidates have filed campaign committees and another developer chips in to the city’s Neighborhood Opportunity Fund. We’ve updated subscriber tools to keep you in the know.

Thursday’s lengthy Chicago Plan Commission meeting started with conflict, which fizzled as the day stretched well into the afternoon. Members of the Obama Library Community Benefits Coalition greeted Plan Commission members at the start of the meeting. While a final vote on the Obama Center plans is not scheduled until next month, the group has been imploring Plan Commission members to hold their approval until protections against displacement are in place for neighbors to the site.

 

Sydney Roberts received another round of praise and unanimous approval to take the helm at the Civilian Office of Police Accountability on Wednesday.

Toni Preckwinkle made history as the first black woman to become chair of the Cook County Democratic Party Wednesday – a brass ring that supporters argue make her one of the most powerful black elected officials in the country. Her approval was unanimous.

While his replacement has not yet been named, Ald. Mike Zalewski (23) presided over one of his last meetings as Aviation Committee Chair, clearing the way for two 15-year agreements at O’Hare Airport for fuel and equipment.

A new contract with 24 aviation security sergeants at the city’s airports easily passed the city’s Workforce Development and Audit committee Monday – a precursor to a bigger contract with aviation security officers.

Billionaire Ken Griffin’s $10 million donation to expand the University of Chicago Crime Lab’s backup of the Chicago Police Department’s “strategic support centers,” increased training and support for officers, and development of an early intervention system passed through the city’s Budget Committee Tuesday.

Spring has sprung and shake-ups are in the air. Speculation continues about Ald. Michael Zalewski’s (23) replacement as chair of City Council’s Aviation Committee, while 80 committeemen meet to appoint the next head of the Cook County Democratic Party.

Zalewski formally endorsed long-rumored favorite, state Rep. Silvana Tabares, to replace him as alderman on Tuesday. Mayoral spokesperson Adam Collins said news was forthcoming on the process to select Zalewski’s replacement. City Council’s last retirement, Ald. Will Burns (4) led to the mayor appointing a selection committee and open applications to ward residents. That committee recommended Sophia King.

Just after City Council is expected to wrap, Cook County Democrats meet up the street at 203 North LaSalle to select the new head of the party. Several committeemen suggested Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is favored to win – what remains a mystery is how much she will depart from the style and operations of retiring Chairman Joe Berrios – including who will serve on the party’s executive committee. Our story with weighted votes and new party faces is here.

The Finance Committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. to consider its recessed agenda – Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s pay gap measure, a resolution asking the General Assembly to support "Good Samaritan" civilian liability laws to protect animals in distress (R2018-300), and an ordinance on the impounding of stray animals with microchips.

Progressive aldermen are expected to introduce an ordinance creating a new Office of Labor Standards to enforce the city’s minimum wage and sick leave regulations. It aligns with the caucus’s backing of its “Fair Workweek” ordinance to “give workers more control over their schedules, require employers to first offer existing employees additional hours prior to hiring additional workers, and require employers to provide clear expectations about hours and schedule on an ongoing basis.”

Other items aldermen are expected to approve at the full City Council meeting:

• Sydney R. Roberts’ appointment as Chief Administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (A2018-35) – Our coverage.


• Four settlements – three police related – totaling $6.2 million. The largest settlement, is owed to 16-year-old Jaquise Evans, who was shot and wounded by Officer Richard Salvador in the summer of 2015. City lawyers on this case were accused of failing to turn over crucial evidence in the case. – Our coverage.


• Ald. Brian Hopkins’ (2) crackdown on landmark property owners who “willingly neglect” their buildings in the hopes of knocking them down and profiting off the land O2017-4871. The ordinance imposes daily fines of $1,000 to $2,000 on owners with compromised exterior, structural or defective elements. – Our coverage.


• Ald. Marge Laurino’s (39) latest effort to tighten the city’s sexual harassment provisions, O2018-2401. It alters the declaration of city policy to affirm that sexual harassment “threaten[s] the rights and proper privileges of the city’s inhabitants and menace the institutions and foundation of a free and democratic society.” – Our coverage.


• Acceptance of roughly $28 million in grants, including the $10 million gift from billionaire Ken Griffin for Chicago Police Department and University of Chicago Crime Lab initiatives (O2018-2337).


• A fuel lease agreement (O2018-3039) with ORD Fuel Co. LLC (whose members are from American, Delta, and United Airlines) and an expanded agreement with Chicago Airlines Terminal Consortium (CATCo) (O2018-3040) to manage equipment and operations in and around Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 5 at O’Hare Airport.


• A four-year collective bargaining agreement covering the 24 sergeants who patrol O’Hare and Midway airports (O2018-2579).


• Ald. Brendan Reilly’s (42) O2018-921, which triples fines “for parking or standing of vehicles alongside properly parked vehicles within Central Business District.” Double parkers downtown would see fines triple from $100 to $300.


• Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s latest crackdown on tobacco to deter teen smoking. The ordinance bans tobacco samplers from operating in the city and mandates that the Department of Public Health create warning signs about the dangers of other tobacco products like e-cigarettes, cigars, and cigarillos to be displayed at retailers (O2018-2340). – Our coverage.


• The extension of three existing leases with Catholic Charities. Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) voted against in committee, arguing the city wasn’t getting its money’s worth. (O2018-2449, O2018-2428, O2018-2400) – Our coverage.


• The new 16-story residential building planned in Ald. Proco Joe Moreno’s (1) ward. The building would have 168 units (seven affordable), and developers promise an $875,000 cash payment to the Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund (O2016-6342). – Our coverage.


• A 12-year class 6B tax for break construct an approximately 174,536 square foot last mile urban logistics facility at 2445 S. Rockwell, R2018-186.


• Leslie D. Davis and Shirley J. Newsome’s reappointments to the city’s Community Development Commission (A2018-23).


• TIF Assistance for accessibility improvements at the Seward Park Fieldhouse on the Near North Side (O2018-2342) and improvements at the Big Marsh Environmental Center on the far South Side (O2018-2343) – Our coverage.


• 12-year landmark tax breaks for the old Cook County Criminal Building, or Court House Place (O2018-2347) in River North and the former Avondale Butter & Egg Co. building (O2018-2348) in the red-hot Fulton Market District. Our coverage.


• Another precinct ban on shared housing in Ald. Marty Quinn’s (13) ward (O2018-2361). It is is the 29th ban out of 48 precincts. – Our coverage.