On Monday the Civic Federation released the Cook County Modernization Report, which provided leaders of Cook County with ideas for improving and reshaping county government. Cook County government provides three major public services: a comprehensive public health system; a judicial system including law enforcement and the State’s Attorney’s Office; and tax administration and official records…
The purpose of the Cook County Modernization Report is to provide leaders of the County with ideas for reshaping and refining County government that will improve service delivery to residents while reducing wasteful spending and decreasing reliance on taxpayer funds. The Modernization Project provides a roadmap for creating a government that is more efficient, less costly and more accountable.…
With an estimated 5,287,037 residents, Cook County is the most populous county in the State of Illinois and the second most populous county in the United States, coming only after Los Angeles County in California.[1] The County is 946 square miles in size – of that only 15% is unincorporated by the City of Chicago or other municipalities. The role of Cook County government is to provide…
100-Day Accountability Report This 100-Day Accountability Report gives a progress update on recommendations to reform Cook County that the Civic Federation made in its Cook County Modernization Report. The 100-Day Report provides an overview of key events in the transition to the new administration of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, summarizes key findings from the Modernization…
The Cook County Transparency Initiative provides citizens of the County access to transition reports, commissioner reports and research about attempts to reform Cook County. Its purpose is to improve the public's access to informationabout County programs. This webpage also includes links to Civic Federation research about the County and its associated bodies of government such as the Cook County…
On July 14, 2010, Cook County Commissioners approved by a vote of 9 to 3 a strategic plan to reorient the County’s health system more toward outpatient care and away from inpatient hospital services. The five-year plan calls for closing the emergency room and inpatient facilities at Oak Forest Hospital. At Provident Hospital, the emergency room would remain open, but most inpatient beds would be…
In a victory for good government, the Cook County Board of Commissioners on June 1, 2010 voted 13-3 to make permanent the independent Board of Directors overseeing the Cook County Health and Hospitals System (Health System). Without action by Commissioners, the independent Board would have expired in February of 2011. The Civic Federation, a long-time supporter of the independent Board, was the…
The ordinance that established the Cook County Health and Hospitals System (Health System) in 2008 specifically granted its independent Board of Directors the authority to participate in purchasing consortia. At a meeting on April 30, 2010, the Board reaffirmed its right to award a contract through such a purchasing group, despite objections from two Commissioners of the Cook County Board. The…
On February 2, 2010 Illinois will hold its primary election. The position of Cook County Board President and all Cook County Commissioner seats are on the ballot. Many issues pertaining to Cook County government have been debated during this election cycle, including the repeal of the entire sales tax increase approved by the Board of Commissioners in 2008 and the future of the County’s health…
The redesign of the Civic Federation website in July has provided the public, government officials, and the media better access to the Federation’s analyses of government services in Illinois. The regularly-updated Civic Federation blog especially has provided a constant source of information on the issues that the Federation covers, including local budgets and pensions, taxes, privatization and…
