The meeting will start shortly! Follow along to this thread🧵🧵

Access the livestream: https://www.cookcountyil.gov/service/watch-live-board-proceedings

Meeting Agenda: https://cook-county.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=921238&GUID=AD7D7712-5790-42A1-BEE1-DD9767A5583A

Quorum has been reached and the meeting is underway.

Various items are up for discussion including 2021 expense reports. The Board exceeded their projected revenue last year by 7 percent.

The next section of the report covers expenditures. Expenses exceeded $20 mil in 2021.

Lisa Lee covers the next agenda item including the worker’s compensation report from last year. More medical expenses resulted in higher spending of approximately $60,000.

Even though it is January, the Cook County Board has plans to host outdoor events including an upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. Other events include Cook County forest restoration opportunities among more community engagement events.

Chairman Arroyo motions to adjourn the meeting. It passes unanimously.

The Finance Subcommittee on Worker’s Compensation commences next. Commissioners vote to approve the board’s invoices which passes unanimously.

There are no public testimonies at this time.

The Board motions to move to an executive session, which is not available for the public’s viewing. The motion passes and the board switches to a private link for their remote executive meeting.

The Health and Hospitals Committee is scheduled to meet at 12 PM via the same link as before.

Stay tuned for updates on when the public portion of the meeting resumes!

One of the agenda items mentioned earlier includes the 2022 Tax Levy Ordinance.

In 2021, “the county had approved a levy increase of 4.5% on Sept. 14. The increase was partially offset by a 1% increase in the county’s 2021 tax capacity…”

Read more: https://www.boreal.org/2022/01/07/386852/cook-county-connections-2022-final-budget-and-levy

“(2021) however was unusual in that an entire class of properties was affected and many commercial properties saw double digit tax increases.” This led to a combination of fiscal disparities and a sharp drop in commercial value.

The board approved a 3% levy increase for 2022.

The Health and Hospital’s meeting will be starting soon, however the executive session is still underway.

In the meantime, access the Health and Hospitals Committee meeting agenda here: https://cook-county.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=921240&GUID=1CA98F23-25E0-4673-BB65-BBA5FF235AA1&Options=&Search=

The Health and Hospitals Committee meeting will be followed by a Environment and Sustainability Committee meeting at 1 pm.

Access the agenda here: https://cook-county.legistar.com/DepartmentDetail.aspx?ID=37319&GUID=02C08105-40AB-4A81-9AD9-3DDCFAD70A7E&R=e6ca08ae-ce4c-4ec0-8ae4-5899fca6d188

The last Committee Meeting I’ll cover today is the Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee meeting at 1:30.

Find the agenda here: https://cook-county.legistar.com/DepartmentDetail.aspx?ID=21919&GUID=9DA68E9D-12E3-4FF3-BDCA-423B28491489&R=4f30737f-0828-430c-acfd-d31efe89c52d

While I wait for the executive meeting to end I will highlight a few items on the Health and Hospitals Committee agenda.

First is a proposed resolution requesting a meeting between the committee and the Cook County Department of Public Health.

The request calls for an update on the department’s Covid immunization plans in suburban Cook County.

“Many hospitals across the US already have a higher load of Covid-19 patients than ever before,” the agenda reads.

The board also requests ongoing monthly vaccination updates.

It is 12:25 and the private executive meeting has ended. The public portion of the meeting commences again.

Roll call is underway and quorum has been reached.

There are no public speakers for this meeting either.

Committee members discuss the proposed resolution regarding Covid-19 vaccinations.

“It is paramount that as the vaccines become more readily available we work together and take advantage of all available resources…”

“…in order to effectively administer the difficult and complex task of mass immunization so that we can overcome this healthcare crisis and look towards recovery,” the agenda reads.

A CCDPH spokesperson presents on the Omnicron variant, noting that hospital admissions are at an all time high since the start of the pandemic.

According to the spokesperson, 75% of Covid hospital admissions are patients who are unvaccinated.

CCDPH offers free Covid vaccines and boosters at all Cook County Health sites, the speaker says.

Vaccine and booster guidance is regularly updated online in accordance with the CDC.

More info here: https://cookcountypublichealth.org/communicable-diseases/covid-19/covid-vaccine/

As of 12/31/21, CCDPH has provided more than 45,300 doses of Covid vaccines through over 1,120 mobile vaccination clinics.

79.2% of Suburban Cook County residents have received 1 dose of the vaccine.

60.4% have received 2 doses.

Increased vaccination rates are a priority for CCDPH, especially among underserved communities.

CCDPH also mentions the city’s mitigation order, which requires mask wearing indoors regardless of vaccination status as well as vaccine requirements.

Read more on the city’s mitigation order and CCDPH’s mitigation guidance: https://cookcountypublichealth.org/communicable-diseases/covid-19/mitigation-guidance/

Proper, form fitting masks are important to help curb the spread of Omnicron, a CCDPH spokesperson says. The spokesperson notes that N95 and KN95 masks are most effective.

Contact tracing will also continue as part of ongoing safety efforts.

CCDPH also mentions the importance of Covid testing. Cook County offers free tests at their locations. A spokesperson notes that residents should not be charged for Covid tests through CCDPH, and if they are told so, to take that as a red flag.

It is 1:30 and the meeting is adjourned.

The environment and sustainability committee meeting is now called to order.

There are no scheduled public testimonies for this committee meeting.

The committee’s minutes from their 4/13/2021 meeting are approved.

The 2021 annual report is now under discussion.

County commissioner Bridget Degnen presents the environmental commission’s 2021 annual report, which highlights the commissions work over the past year. Some notable accomplishments include continued reductions in energy, material and water waste.

There are no further action items for today and the meeting ends.

The last committee of the day is the legislation and intergovernmental relations committee. Roll call is underway.

Quorum has been reached and there are no scheduled public testimonies.

The committee’s minutes from their previous December meeting are approved.

Kenneth Harris introduces himself. Harris is in line to be Illinois’ next liquor commissioner.

More on the role can be found here: https://www2.illinois.gov/ilcc/Pages/Home.aspx

Wendy DuBoe speaks next on the Commission on Social Innovation. The commission was formed in 2016 to promote jobs, workforce development, entrepreneurship, community revitalization and industrial development.

More on the commission: http://www.cookcountymission.com/about-us.html

All nominations on this committee’s agenda are approved. The meeting is officially adjourned.

That was the final committee I’ll be reporting on today. Thanks for following along! Reply to this thread with any comments or questions.

Until next time!