REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON
LEGISLATION, INTERGOVERNMENTAL AND
VETERANS RELATIONS
The Honorable,
The Board of Commissioners of
ATTENDANCE
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Present: |
Chairman Suffredin, Vice Chairman Silvestri, Commissioners
Beavers, |
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Absent: |
Commissioners |
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Also
Present: |
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Ladies and
Gentlemen:
Your Committee on Legislation, Intergovernmental and
Veterans Relations of the Board of Commissioners of Cook County met pursuant to
notice on
Your Committee has considered the following items and upon
adoption of this report, the recommendations are as follows:
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283412 |
A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A PROPOSED RESOLUTION RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A WHEREAS, the effectiveness of a
government’s relations reflects the importance and priority ascribed to it by
the President and Members of the Board of Commissioners; and WHEREAS, independently elected officials
and department heads understand that requests for bill impact analyses and
positions should be answered promptly and be considered a priority; and WHEREAS, prompt decision making is vital,
ultimate decision-makers on government relations should consider it a
priority to make all necessary decisions well before any applicable
legislative deadline; and WHEREAS, the WHEREAS, within the bounds of propriety,
requests from legislators should be responded to promptly; and WHEREAS, government relations efforts
pursued by independently elected County officials will be required to seek
County Board approval of government relations efforts and on specific
legislative initiatives; and WHEREAS, legislative leaders will give
representatives of the County a degree of responsiveness that reflects their
respective ability to : (I) generally speak for, or promptly get authority on
specific topics to speak for, the President and Members of the Board of Commissioners;
and (II) respond to proper requests from legislators. NOW, THEREFORE, BE
IT RESOLVED, that
the County’s legislative agenda: (I)
should be finalized before January 1st; (II) should in the final quarter of
the year, receive recommendations from department heads and independently
elected executive offices on legislative initiatives; (III) should include
initial meetings between the President and legislative leaders, and the
President and the Governor, prior to the first day of regular session; (IV)
include finalized fact sheets and sponsors before bill introduction
deadlines; (V) must include briefings of supporters of the County’s
legislative agenda prior to bill introduction; and (VI) include Board
ratification of a proactive agenda prior to bill introduction; and BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that
the County develop a set of general guidelines for the government relations
team to follow, including opposition to pre-emption of home rule authority,
unless the President and Board otherwise directs; and BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that in
responding to bills and amendments that affect the County, a clear protocol
be established by the County Board, with consistent promptness followed,
establishing the respective roles of the Office of President, Committee on
Legislation, Intergovernmental, and Veterans Relations, and the County Board
on communications with legislative leaders, state representatives and
senators and the Governor; and BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that
the County should seek “floor leaders” in each legislative chamber to serve
as regular spokespersons on County issues and that regular written
communications to the President and to the * Referred to the Committee on Legislation,
Intergovernmental and Veterans Relations on |
Vice Chairman Silvestri, seconded by
Commissioner Daley, moved to approve Communication No. 283412.
Vice Chairman Silvestri informed the committee that three
amendments to Communication Number 283412 had been circulated to all members prior
to the meeting.
Vice Chairman Silvestri added that Chairman Suffredin and
Commissioners Butler, Daley, Gorman, Goslin, Schneider and Sims have requested
to be added as co-sponsors of this resolution.
Vice Chairman Silvestri gave a brief description of the
original resolution as introduced. He
believed that the original resolution would create procedures that would be
difficult to implement, however he stated that the three proposed amendments to
the resolution would instead institute a policy to be followed with regard to
legislative efforts by elected county officials.
Vice Chairman Silvestri then introduced the three amendments
to the proposed resolution. The first
amendment states that other elected county officials would advise the
The following text is
Amendment #1, sponsored by Vice Chairman Silvestri:
Amendment #1:
To amend the sixth WHEREAS clause as
follows:
WHEREAS, government relations efforts pursued by independently
elected county officials will be required to seek shall advise the
county board approval of government relations efforts prior to
pursuing and on specific legislative initiatives; and
And
delete the seventh WHEREAS clause.
Vice Chairman
Silvestri, seconded by Commissioner Daley, moved to approve Amendment #1. The motion carried.
The following text is
Amendment #2, sponsored by Vice Chairman Silvestri:
Amendment
# 2: To amend the first resolved
paragraph as follows:
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the county’s legislative agenda (I)
should be finalized before January 1st; (II) should
in final quarter of year, receive after recommendations from
department heads and independently elected executive offices on legislative
initiatives; (III) and should include initial meetings between
the President and legislative leaders, the Governor, prior to the first day
of regular session; (IV) include finalized fact sheets and sponsors before
bill introduction deadlines; (V) must include briefings of
supporters of the county’s legislative agenda prior to bill introduction; and
(VI)
include board ratification of a proactive agenda prior to bill
introduction; and advise the board of government relations efforts and
specific legislative initiatives.
Vice Chairman
Silvestri, seconded by Commissioner Daley, moved to approve Amendment #2. The motion carried.
The following text is
Amendment #3, sponsored by Vice Chairman Silvestri:
Amendment
# 3: To amend second and third RESOLVED clause as follows:
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the county develop a set of general guidelines
for the government relations team to follow, including establish
standing opposition to pre-emption of home rule authority, unless the President
and Board otherwise directs; and
BE IT ALSO RESOLVED that in responding to bills and amendments that
affect the county, a clear protocol communication plan be established
followed by the County Board, with consistent promptness followed,
establishing the respective roles of the Office of President, through
the Committee on Legislation, Intergovernmental, and Veteran’s Relations,
and the County Board on communications with the legislative leaders, state
representatives and senators and the Governor.
And
delete the last RESOLVED clause.
Vice Chairman
Silvestri, seconded by Commissioner Daley, moved to approve Amendment #3. The motion carried.
Proposed resolution,
as amended (Communication No. 283412):
REVISED RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A
Sponsored by:
THE HONORABLE PETER N. SILVESTRI,
Co-sponsored by:
The Honorable Jerry Butler,
John P. Daley,
Deborah Sims and Larry
Suffredin,
WHEREAS, the effectiveness of a government’s relations reflects
the importance and priority ascribed to it by the President and Members of the
Board of Commissioners; and
WHEREAS, independently elected officials and department heads
understand that requests for bill impact analyses and positions should be
answered promptly and be considered a priority; and
WHEREAS, prompt decision making is vital, ultimate
decision-makers on government relations should consider it a priority to make
all necessary decisions well before any applicable legislative deadline; and
WHEREAS, the
WHEREAS, within the bounds of propriety, requests from
legislators should be responded to promptly; and
WHEREAS, government relations efforts pursued by independently elected county officials will be
required to seek shall advise the county board approval of
government relations efforts prior to pursuing and on specific
legislative initiatives; and
WHEREAS, legislative leaders will give representatives of the
county a degree of responsiveness that reflects their respective ability to : (I) generally
speak for, or promptly get authority on specific topics to speak for, the
President and Members of the Board of Commissioners; and (II) respond to proper
requests from legislators.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the county’s legislative agenda (I)
should be finalized before January 1st; (II) should
in final quarter of year, receive after recommendations from
department heads and independently elected executive offices on legislative
initiatives; (III) and should include initial meetings between
the President, the Governor and legislative leaders, the Governor,
prior to the first day of regular session; (IV) and include
finalized fact sheets and sponsors before bill introduction deadlines; (V)
must include briefings of supporters of the county’s legislative agenda prior
to bill introduction; and (VI) include board
ratification of a proactive agenda prior to bill introduction;
and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the county develop a set of general guidelines
for the government relations team to follow, including establish
standing opposition to pre-emption of home rule authority, unless the
President and Board otherwise directs; and
BE IT ALSO RESOLVED that in responding to bills and amendments that
affect the county, a clear protocol communication plan be established
followed by the County Board, with consistent promptness followed,
establishing the respective roles of the Office of President, through
the Committee on Legislation, Intergovernmental, and Veteran’s Relations,
and the County Board on communications with the legislative leaders, state
representatives and senators and the Governor.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the county should seek “floor leaders” in each
legislative chamber to serve as regular spokespersons on county issues and that
regular written communications to the President and to the County Board be established.
Approved
and adopted this ___ day of ___, 2007.
Vice Chairman
Silvestri, seconded by Commissioner Daley, moved the approval of Communication
No. 283412, as amended. The motion carried.
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283675 |
A RESOLUTION CALLING ON THE PROPOSED RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION CALLING ON THE LEGISLATURE TO CLOSE PENSION LOOPHOLE WHEREAS, the legal authority to amend
pension law is vested with the State of WHEREAS, after disclosures of pension
abuses, the General Assembly amended the state pension law (40 ILCS
5/7-145.1) that applies to elected officials in every county in WHEREAS, those changes based pension
payout on the average highest salary over a four year period and not the
final salary at the date of employment termination of the elected county
officials; and WHEREAS, pension payout based on the
average highest salary over a four year period applies to ordinary county
employees; and WHEREAS, the amended state pension law
(40 ILCS 5/9 121.6) excluded WHEREAS, State Representative John Fritchey (D-Chicago) is sponsoring HB
WHEREAS, NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the Cook
County Board of Commissioners hereby asks the Illinois General Assembly to
pass HB * Referred to the Committee on Legislation,
Intergovernmental and Veterans Relations on |
Commissioner Claypool indicated that an amendment to Communication
No. 283675 was necessary in order to reflect the new House Bill assigned to
State Representative John Fritchey’s bill on this
subject. The new bill number that it has
been assigned is HB 3578.
Commissioner Claypool,
seconded by Vice Chairman Silvestri, moved to amend Communication No. 283675 on
its face, to change the House Bill number from HB 136 to HB 3578. The motion carried.
Commissioner Claypool explained that this resolution
supports Representative Fritchey’s efforts in
Commissioner Daley asked about the status of the previous
bill, HB 136.
Chairman Suffredin said that HB 136 was a shell bill that
opened the Pension Code but that nothing was ever put into it, and that HB 3578
was the substantive bill filed at a later date.
Commissioner Claypool added that Representative Fritchey initially introduced it as a vehicle with the
intent of adding the substance. He
stated that HB 3578 has gone through first reading and is now in the House on
the calendar for second reading as of
Vice Chairman Silvestri asked if the elected officials in
other counties in
Commissioner Claypool responded affirmatively.
Commissioners
Leave was granted by Chairman Suffredin to add all
Commissioners as co-sponsors.
Commissioner Butler,
seconded by Vice Chairman Silvestri, moved to amend Communication No. 283675 by
deleting the seventh (7th) Whereas clause. The motion carried.
Commissioner Claypool,
seconded by Commissioner Schneider, moved the approval of Communication No.
283675, as amended. The motion carried.
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283678 |
SCHEDULING A HEARING OF THE
COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATION, INTERGOVERNMENTAL & VETERANS RELATIONS TO REVIEW
THE FINDINGS OF THE MIKVA PANEL REGARDING THE NOVEMBER 7, 2006 GENERAL
ELECTION (PROPOSED RESOLUTION).
Submitting a Proposed Resolution, sponsored by Larry Suffredin, PROPOSED
RESOLUTION WHEREAS, the November 7, 2006 general election
was the second time Cook County used Sequoia touch screen and optical scan
voting machines; and WHEREAS, the Chicago Sun Times reported that 1,500 complaints with the new
machines were logged with the office of Cook County Clerk David Orr on Election
Day; and WHEREAS, Cook County Clerk David Orr
appointed Honorable Abner Mikva
to head a technical review panel to investigate such complaints; and WHEREAS, the technical review panel
includes Xiaoping Jia, Director of the Department
of Software Engineering, School of Computer Science, Telecommunications, and
Information Systems at DePaul University; V.N. Venkatakrishnan,
an assistant professor in computer science at the University of Illinois
Chicago; Tricha Anjali,
an assistant professor with Illinois Institute of Technology’s Department of
Electrical and Computer Engineering; Ian Robertson, Senior Director of Global
IT – Americas for the William Wrigley Corporation; and Cyrus Walker, program
coordinator for Wilbur Wright College’s Department of Computer Security and
Forensic Investigation; and WHEREAS, the report of the technical
review panel will be available before NOW, THEREFORE, BE
IT RESOLVED, that
a hearing of the Committee on Legislation, Intergovernmental and Veterans
Relations will be held at 1:30 p.m. on January 9, 2007 to review the findings
of the Mikva panel concerning recreating the
election night “logjam” of data that was transmitted to the office of the
County Clerk; simulating the transmission of data from the 2,370 precincts to
the office of the County Clerk; simulating the wireless transmission of data
from the remote sites in suburban Cook County; analyzing thousands of log
records; and other issues of relevance. * Referred to the Committee on Legislation, Intergovernmental
and Veterans Relations on * No action was taken on this item at the meeting of the
Committee on Legislation, Intergovernmental and Veterans Relations on ** This
communication is recommended to be received and filed. |
Vice Chairman
Silvestri, seconded by Commissioner Butler, moved to Receive and File
Communication No. 283678. The motion carried.
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284414 |
DIRECTING THE BUREAU OF HEALTH SERVICES AND THE OFFICE OF
THE STATE’S ATTORNEY TO DEVELOP INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENTS WITH NEIGHBORING
COUNTIES TO REIMBURSE COOK COUNTY FOR CARE PROVIDED TO INDIGENT RESIDENTS OF
THOSE COUNTIES (PROPOSED RESOLUTION).
Submitting a Proposed Resolution sponsored by Peter N. Silvestri and
Jerry Butler, County Commissioners; Co-sponsored by Elizabeth Ann Doody Gorman, Gregg Goslin, Joseph Mario Moreno, Joan
Patricia Murphy, President Todd H. Stroger, William M. Beavers, PROPOSED RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE BUREAU OF HEALTH SERVICES AND THE OFFICE OF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY TO DEVELOP INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENTS WITH
NEIGHBORING COUNTIES TO REIMBURSE COOK COUNTY FOR CARE PROVIDED TO INDIGENT RESIDENTS OF THOSE COUNTIES WHEREAS, the Cook County Bureau of Health
Services provides health care services to men, women and children of all
races, ethnicities, and religions, without consideration of the location of
their residence; and WHEREAS, the Cook County Bureau of Health
Services is often the only provider of health care to these patients, and
serves as a medical safety net for those without other options; and WHEREAS, the latest estimate of uninsured
residents of the greater Chicago metropolitan region is 700,000, which
includes six northeastern Illinois counties of Cook, Lake, McHenry, Kane,
Will and DuPage, establishing that health care for
the poor transcends county lines and is not limited to Cook County; and WHEREAS, it is estimated that three to
five percent of all clinic visits, or 22,400 to 37,200 visits, not including
pharmacy or hospital care, are from residents who do not reside in the County
of Cook; and WHEREAS, it is estimated that seven
thousand (7000) clinic visits and two thousand four hundred (2400) emergency
visits, were attributable to residents of Lake County; seven thousand (7000)
clinic visits were attributable to residents of Kane County; and three
thousand (3000) residents of DuPage County
benefited from visits to clinics operated by Cook County; and WHEREAS, the budget for the Cook County
Bureau of Health Services represents almost one billion dollars, and is
funded by a variety of sources including the federal government, the primary
funding source of these services are the taxpayers of Cook County; and WHEREAS, it is fair and equitable for the
people of Cook County to expect that people of the neighboring counties in
the metropolitan Chicago region share the cost of medical care for the
indigent residents of those counties. NOW, THEREFORE, BE
IT RESOLVED: 1) that the office
of the State’s Attorney and the Bureau of Health Services negotiate with the
neighboring counties to develop agreements to reimburse Cook County for
medical services, preventative, emergency, and rehabilitative services
provided to the residents of their jurisdictions; and 2) that these
intergovernmental agreements be submitted to the President and Board of
Commissioners prior to September 1, 2007, for approval prior to the
commencement of the next budget year; and 3) that
after * Referred to the Committee on Legislation,
Intergovernmental and Veterans Relations on |
Commissioner Collins asked whether other counties are statutorily
responsible to provide health care to the indigent in their own counties.
Vice Chairman Silvestri responded that other counties may
not be statutorily responsible in this regard, but that
Chairman Suffredin stated that the general powers in the
Counties Act call for public health and welfare for the citizens of the
counties. He further stated that other
counties have indicated a possible interest in entering into an
intergovernmental agreement with regard to this issue, and said that this
resolution was a good first step.
Vice Chairman requested to change Commissioner Butler from a
co-sponsor to a sponsor of the resolution.
Vice Chairman
Silvestri, seconded by Commissioner Butler, moved the approval of Communication
No. 284414. The motion carried.
Chairman Suffredin asked the Secretary to the Board to call
upon the registered public speakers.
1. George
Blakemore, Concerned Citizen
Commissioner Steele moved to adjourn
the meeting, seconded by Commissioner Daley.
The motion carried and the meeting was adjourned.
YOUR COMMITTEE
RECOMMENDS THE FOLLOWING ACTION WITH REGARD TO THE MATTERS NAMED HEREIN:
Communication
Number 283412 Approved
as amended
Communication
Number 283675 Approved
as amended
Communication
Number 283678 Received
and filed
Communication
Number 284414 Approved
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Respectfully
submitted, Committee
on Legislation, Intergovernmental and Veterans Relations xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Larry
Suffredin, Chairman |
Attest:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Matthew B. DeLeon, Secretary