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Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx returned to the county board room Wednesday to defend her department’s $151 million budget. Foxx was previously President Toni Preckwinkle’s Chief of Staff. In her first budget presentation as state’s attorney, she warned 10% cuts would hit personnel in key areas, reverse strides made in recent years, and drive up costs far more than short term cuts could save.
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Sheriff Tom Dart addressed the elephant in the room at the top of his budget hearing Wednesday, seeking to address an issue he knew commissioners would question: staffing levels.
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City Clerk Anna Valencia faced two rounds of questioning from aldermen on her department’s biggest initiative, a Chicago Municipal ID. The program received a $1 million appropriation in this year’s budget. The funding source was the city’s poorly received property tax rebate program. The city’s 2018 budget includes an additional $1 million for the city-issued ID.
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Female members of the Chicago City Council added to the chorus of voices decrying sexism and harassment in politics. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle introduced the Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s $92 million 2018 budget, and the city announced help for small businesses who want to apply for business improvement grants.
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City Treasurer Kurt Summers raised doubts that Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s budget proposal for next year, suggesting it doesn’t address looming, statutorily required pension payments that are too large to rely on any of the new tax and fine increases approved since 2015.
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The Executive Director for the Chicago Board of Elections (BOE) apologized to aldermen Tuesday for a major data breach that left personal records of 1.8 million Chicago voters, including social security numbers, exposed to the public.
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Ald. Ed Burke (14) sought to put Police Board President Lori Lightfoot in the middle of a policing policy disagreement between Inspector General Joe Ferguson and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson.
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The second day of Cook County budget hearings kicks off with one of the most anticipated meetings of the session: the Sheriff’s Office. Not only have Sheriff Tom Dart and Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s administration recently sparred over contracts for jail guards and the costs of overtime, but many are questioning why Dart’s staff numbers have risen while jail population has dropped. Dart has also refused to issue a budget plan reflecting a 10% cut, arguing it’s too dangerous and costly.
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OCT 24, 2017
With a light attendance, and committee members slipping out of the hearing room to attend the first day of budget hearings in the Council Chamber, the star of Monday’s Zoning Committee hearing was Council gadfly George Blakemore. Like a broken clock that’s right twice a day, Blakemore testified on every one of the hearing’s 25 items, repeatedly pointing out that with only three Aldermen in attendance for most of the hearing, there was no quorum, and the validity of the hearing’s proceedings was in question. -
At the first budget hearing on next year’s budget, Chicago aldermen had few questions about the city’s long-term liabilities, choosing instead to stress how their constituents are fed up with taxes and long waits for garbage cans.
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Comm. Dennis Deer (D-2), the newest member on the Cook County Board, has hired 16th Ward Democratic Committeewoman Stephanie Coleman as an aide, county disclosures of Shakman-exempt hires show. Coleman was also present at budget hearings Monday.
According to the county, “An exempt position is one that involves policy making to an extent or is confidential in such a way that political affiliation is an appropriate consideration for the effective performance of the job.” The Shakman decree was instituted to end patronage hiring in Cook County and Chicago government. Coleman was one of a large group of committeemen who voted to appoint Deer to his county board seat to replace the late Comm. Robert Steele. Steele’s aide, Melva Brownlee, is still the most senior member of the office. Coleman defeated Ald. Toni Foulkes (16) for the committeeman seat in 2015. She is the daughter of Ald. Shirley Coleman, who represented the ward from 1991 until 2007. -
Cook County commissioners kicked off the first of at least two weeks of budget hearings Monday, beginning with the Bureau of Finance and smaller Offices Under the President. President Toni Preckwinkle’s budget and finance officials stressed that the offices she directly controls represent 8% of the budget, and have put forward their proposed $14 million cut.
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On Oct. 13, Finance Chair John Daley (D-11) gave all county elected officials and departments one week to submit budgets reflecting 10% cuts. Many started to take the process up during the temporary restraining order against the sweetened beverage tax. While a few departments proposed revenue to help fill the projected $200 million gap or cut even more than the 10% requested, some flatly refused to cut at all, arguing it would undermine their mandates. Some cut part of the way, and others gave vague suggestions without hard numbers. The Daily Line has linked to each department’s response below.
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Despite City Council’s first budget hearing beginning at the same time, the Zoning Committee is keeping a full agenda for its 10:00 a.m. Monday meeting. The committee’s agenda includes a West Loop mixed-use tower, a new Fulton Market hotel, and a new Uptown residential tower. Zoning Committee members may shuttle back and forth to Budget Committee hearings throughout the meeting.
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The Cook County Board kicks off two weeks of budget hearings with departments and separately elected officials beginning at 9:00 a.m. today. Unlike the county’s most recent budgets, departments will have to defend against a drastic 10% cut across the board, which could include layoffs, possible consolidation, and elimination of programs as commissioners seek to fill a gap of at least $200 million.
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