November 19, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact Ibis Antongiorgi, Press Secretary to Cook County Board President Todd H. Stroger, at 312-603-0396 or by email at iantongiorgi@cookcountygov.com.

Stroger, Elected Officials to County Board: Support New Revenues for Core Services  

November 19, 2007, CHICAGO –Cook County Board President Todd H. Stroger joined Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown, Cook County Recorder of Deeds Eugene Moore, Cook County States Attorney Dick Devine, and Cook County Undersheriff Zelda Whittler (representing Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart) at a news conference today to challenge County commissioners to support new revenue sources that will address the 2008 budget shortfall.

Cook County is currently facing a deficit for FY 2008 of $239 million, a figure generated by the combination of cost increases from County board commitments for increases in wages and contract obligations, and the County’s structural deficit, which is growing each year because the County’s revenue base does not keep pace with the annual inflation rate.  

Cook County’s fiscal year closes on November 30. Many County Commissioners have yet to weigh in on specific revenue enhancement proposals and line item cuts.

Cook County’s proposed 2008 budget calls for total spending of $3.2 billion, an increase of $206 million over the current fiscal year. It anticipates a headcount of 24,841 – an increase over 2007 but still fewer employees than those employed by Cook County when Stroger took office last December. The increase in staff stems from mandated staff increases under the terms of the Duran Decree, which is designed to improve conditions in the Cook County Jail complex; a Juvenile Detention Center court order that mandates increased staff at the Center; and the recommendations of a blue ribbon health committee that urged increased staffing in the Cook County Bureau of Health Services.

“All of these positions are needed either to maximize revenue collection, enhance public safety, or comply with legal mandates,” said Stroger. “It’s imperative that County commissioners keep their commitments to our employees and our residents, step up to the plate, and work with us to craft a final budget that meets the mandate for public service AND secures the revenue to pay for these vital services.”

A number of Cook County commissioners have been reluctant to identify specific areas in which to cut expenditures – or to support revenue sources to cover increased costs.

“The reality is that my colleagues who stand with me here today have the public courage to call on the County Board to do what’s right – and find the revenue sources we need to meet our fiscal obligations for next year,” said Stroger. “I’m urging commissioners to join us in this effort to put the well-being of County residents first, and find the revenue to preserve core services.”

Spending pressures for Fiscal Year 2008 include:

• County Board-approved vendor contractual obligations for next year, costing $106 million.
• County Board-approved step increases for union employees, costing $25 million.
• Unanimously County Board-approved cost-of-living increases for union and non-union employees, costing $113 million.
• The loss this year of as much as $68 million in critical Medicaid funding, part of the steady erosion of federal and state support for county health care programs.
• The increased cost not only of administering an always-expensive presidential election, but also of dealing with a significantly accelerated primary schedule, an expanded number of early voting sites, and the training of 12,000 election judges.
• The chronic pressure of Cook County’s structural deficit, which the Center for Budget and Tax Accountability has pegged at $288 million for next year.
• Court-mandated hiring at Cook County’s adult jail complex and juvenile detention center, together with those necessary measures to improve revenue collection and patient service at County-run hospitals and clinics.

When the County Board passed COLA increases and new contracts last year, Stroger’s budget staff made it clear to elected officials and commissioners that Cook County could not meet these obligations without new sources of revenue.

“It’s time to pay the piper,” said Stroger. “Commissioners need to honor their promise to the people – County workers and County residents – and support the new revenue we all agreed we’d need to pay for our commitments and continue to provide County residents with core services.”  

For more information, contact Ibis Antongiorgi, Press Secretary to Cook County Board President Todd H. Stroger, at 312-603-0396 or iantongiorgi@cookcountygov.com. 

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