2012 cook county government midterm report

COOK COUNTYANNUAL REPORT 2012

Toni Preckwinkle | PresidentCook County Board of Commissioners

$ Fiscal Responsibility Innovative Leadership Transparency & Accountability Improved Services

Table of Contents

Where Has Toni Been 2

A Letter from The President 3

Performance Management 4

Economic Development 6

Finance & Administration 8

Healthcare 10

Property & Taxation 12

Public Safety 14

Forest Preserve District 16

Where Has Toni Been 2

A Letter from The President 3

Performance Management 4

Economic Development 6

Finance & Administration 8

Healthcare 10

Property & Taxation 12

Public Safety 14

Forest Preserve District 16

Where Toni Has Been

A Letter from President Preckwinkle

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PerformanceManagement


what we are doing

The Set Targets, Achieve Results (STAR) performance management program provides a forum for county agencies to work jointly to set priorities, identify opportunities, address problems, and measure performance transparently.

Since its establishment the STAR Performance Management program has increased visibility into the County’s operations and generated substantial returns through increased revenue, decreased costs and

improved services. STAR is a partnership of the Board of Commissioners, County Agencies, employees, and residents. All County o�ces and agencies report progress toward stated goals, and work together to improve performance. The e�orts of each o�ce within the County have been linked to countywide goals in the areas of public

safety, healthcare, property and taxation, and economic development. Through STAR, the County has

published 6 performance reports and collected monthly performance data from County agencies for the

past 20 months, creating a culture of transparency and accountability. Over 70 weekly performance management review sessions of County agencies have been held since March 2011. During internal reviews with senior County leadership and the quarterly reports, agencies demonstrate successes and highlight areas for improvement. In those sessions, County leadership has identi�ed and implemented over 300 action items.

In addition, performance data provides decision makers valuable information in deciding how best to direct tax dollars. Quality performance data is important to understanding how budget decisions will impact operations and is a critical component to performance based budgeting. In total, STAR lead to over $12 million in either increased revenue or decreased costs in 2012 alone.

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President’s leadership team reviews the Comptroller’s performance metrics at a weekly STAR session.

what’s next

The STAR program is deepening its engagement with agencies to support the use of performance data as a management tool. The e�ort will include facilitating internal goal-setting discussions within agencies at the group and team levels, as well as training and regular monitoring.

In addition to e�orts to build on and improve the use of performance data within departments, the performance management team seeks to improve on existing processes in place, including:

Improving public access and visibility into STAR performance data

Increasing collaboration with the Budget Department to identify cost savings and e�ciency improvements

Promoting a data-driven culture within Cook County focused on measurable goals and targets

Increasing internal visibility into overall County performance

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Economic Development


what we are doing

Created a $5 million Unincorporated Cook

Infastructure Improvement Fund

(UNIIF) to incentivize municipalities to fund

Infastructure improvements.

Launched a $200 million Small Business

Financing Initiative bringing together a group of leading �nancial institutions to build

relationships with small, minority and women-owned

businesses doing business with Cook County

A group of more than distinguished business and civic leaders who will advise on how to promote long-term economic growth within the county.

Redesigned the capital planning process to focus on long term

planning; implement technology to manage

projects more e�ectively.

Produce daily content through blog posts,

photos, and e-newsletter highlighting Economic

Development across the County

Created the City-County Workforce Partnership, increasing the uniformity

and consistency in service delivery

Pursue additional resources to replace

declining federal grants.

Enhance and expand strategic outreach to suburban leadership and municipalities.

Enacted the

Vacant Building Ordinance

to eliminate blight in communities hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis.

Developing an electronic revenue

system that will allow residents to purchase permits and pay fees

online

Formed the Land Bank Advisory Council which is

advising on a responsi-ble, legal, & e�ective model for a County

Land Bank.

Reduced costs by consolidating leased

space into county owned facilities

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Created the Council of Economic Advisors

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Healthcarewhat’s next

what’s nextCompletion of two key capital projects:

Oak Forest Hospital Renovations &

Residential Treatment Unit

(RTU) at the Cook County Jail

Continue to provide a leading role in promoting a

collaborative and strategic approach to

regional growth

Increase participation in the newly-created HOME Consortium,

and pursue competitive grants

Develop recommendations for returning vacant and adandoned property

to productive use

Expand outreach to municipalities to

explain bene�ts of Vacant Building Ordinance and

encourage organization

Create a Cook County Land Bank,

to help return vacant, abandoned, and

forclosed properties to productive use

Implement the Building and Zoning's case

management system, which will allow

residents to track their permits online

Use the fund to make strategic investments

to improve infrustructure in

unincorporated Cook County

Develop plan for long-term

consolidation of county functions to reduce underused

space and save money

Continue to work with suburbs to develop regional economic development plan

Expand our capacity to inform residents on

projects, plans, public comments & a�ord-

able housing through new media

Continuing to streamline workforce

development e�orts to increase the uniformity

and consistency in service delivery

President Preckwinkle cuts the ribbon on an a�ordable housing project in Lynwood, Illinois. Along with her is Mayor Eugene Williams and Bishop Claude Porter of PLCCA (Proviso Leyden Council for Community Action), (left part of photo), along with others from the community who came out to celebrate this achievement.

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Finance & Administration


what we are doing

Rolled back the 1% Stroger sales tax increase – saving

taxpayers over

$440 million

Solved for over

$1 Billion in budget gaps in under

2 years

Implementing a sustainable �nancial path

by closing the FY2013 budget gap with

99% structural solutions

Launched the Cook County Reorganization and Investment (CCROI)

program to invest in proven solutions that will lead to future savings or

increased revenue

Jointly saved

$39 millionto date through the

City-County Collaboration

Established a more e�ective, e�cient

budget process that includes preliminary

budgeting, a hearing, live video streaming of Board

proceedings, and on-time passage

Created and implemented an

employment plan that will move the

County toward compliance with the

court appointed hiring monitor

Launched an absence management program to reduce sick time and

inappropriate leave through training,

monitoring and better management

Streamlined the M/WBE certi�cation

process by implement-ing reciprocal certi�ca-

tion with the City of Chicago and online

�ling

Reduced the time to pay vendors who do

business with the County from 60 days

to 47 days

Implemented $10 million in sustainability grants to

programs such as installation of wind

turbines, energy e�cient windows, home

weatherization, and e�cient HVAC systems

Successfully migrated Cook County’s mainframe

computer to a more secure environment,

reducing the risks and costs associated with an unsupported computing

platform

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Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle Presents the 2013 Executive Budget Recommendation

what’s next

Lowering the sales tax increases

economic activity, which raises business income and increases

residents spending power

Presenting balanced budget

recommendation to the Board of

Commissioners in advance of �scal year

end

Focusing on structural solutions to further reduce the

budget shortfall going forward

Continuing to implement

interactive budget tools to engage residents in the budget process

Achieving substantial

compliance with the federal consent

decree that governs county hiring

Investing in key initiatives that

promote innovation and

long term �nancial stability

Integrating collaboration into the

County’s operating mindset

Improved County productivity through

tighter personnel oversight that will

lower personnel costs and reliance on

overtime

Achieving prompt pay discounts by paying vendors within 30 days

through electronic payment methods

Becoming a leader in sustainability through implementation of the

Sustainability Advisory Council’s recommendations

Increasing engagement with

minority and women owned �rms to achieve

M/WBE goals

Implement a Wide Area Network (WAN)

refresh, which will replace aging infrastructure

throughout Cook County’s sophisticated

computer network

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Healthcare

$ million


what we are doing

100More money collected

through improved revenue collection than

in FY 2011

34 DaysAmount of time reduced for outstanding claims in

Accounts Recievable from beginning of FY 2012

Implementation of the Medical Event Report

System (MERS) software product to collect ,

manage, analyze & report information on adverse

events

Improved patient satisfaction

survey scores

$1.2 millionCompleted capital

acquisition negotiation. $1.197 million has been identi�ed as savings on

already purchased and/or awarded capital

Implemented electronic data

software from Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX). It will go live in

January 2013

Clinical Transformation to the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). Training at 5 pilot sites,

44 primary care physicians and 60

additional sta�

Developed a Labor Management

Council that includes CCHHS and Union

Leadership

Expedited hiring of

more than 200 sta� positions including

physicians

Prepared and submitted application for 1115

Waiver Demonstration Project CountyCare in

January 2012. The waiver was granted 10/12 allowing early enrollment of patients eligible for Medicaid under

the A�ordable Care Act

In 2012, wait times reduced by an hour at Stroger

Hospital Emergency Department

In 2012, patients who left the Stroger Hospital

Emergency Department without

being seen decreased to 7.9%

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Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle & Dr. Ramanathan Raju, CEO of the Cook County Health and Hospitals Systemtour the re-development of the Oak Forest Health Center.

what’s next

Set a goal to resolve outstanding claims

within 100 days

FY 2013 supply chain management projected a

total supply savings of $25 million, $14 million of

that savings will be realized through GHX management system

Implement

CountyCare

A Multi-Disciplinary team meets weekly to address and improve

the Emergency Department throughout

Develop and implement an outreach and education plan on

the CountyCare program

FY 2013 physician billing projected to

bring in

$12 million

Enroll 115,000 members to the

CountyCare plan with the assistance of the

Community Outreach Campaign Services

provider.

Completion of the Oak Forest Health

Center Ground Floor Design/Build

Renovation Project

Developing general principles of engagement

between CCHHS and Union Leadership

Newly renovated Oak Forest Health

Center creates a new Diagnostic Imaging

Center that will include screening mammographies

Behavioral health and substance use

disorder services covered under the

1115 wavier

Transform to a patient centered home medical model

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Property & Taxation$ Fiscal Responsibility Innovative Leadership Transparency & Accountability Improved Services

what we are doing

Mailed out property tax bills on time for

the �rst time in 33 years

Implementing a case management system

that will allow for greater o�ce

e�ciency in The Board of Review

Provided 5 years of history from over 5 County agencies to

form a single Property Tax Portal without having to surf from

website to website to determining what is

owed and paid.

Implemented online property tax appeals

to provide greater access for taxpayers by The Board of Review.

Cross-trained sta� of the separate property tax agencies so they are able to answer common taxpayer

questions about the entire system.

Identi�ed resource-sharing opportunities by

o�ces in the property system

Through the STAR performance

management process, stakeholders convene on a quarterly basis to make sure tax bills are out on

time and discuss ways to improve the customer

experience

Established stakeholders meetings to foster cross

o�ce colaboration to promote e�ciency, transparency, and

improved customer service

Improved online �ling of appeals to allow

residents to pre-register before

opening a township

Allocated additional resources to ensure

speedy completion of tax appeals process

Posted foreclosure data on the Cook

County Open Data Portal

Institute o�ce space timelines to hold

employees accountable for

on-time performance

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Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s Chief of Sta� GA Finch and Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas hold a late meeting.

what’s next

Stakeholders are meeting on a quarterly basis to make sure that tax bills go out on time

again this year

Once implemented the case management

system will allow for quicker processing of property tax appeals

O�ces will continue to deepen their collaboration by

looking at ways to cross-train sta�.

Improve the customer experience

online

The County is examining the

creation of a uni�ed customer call

center

The Board of Review will continue to encourage the

expanded use of online �lling.

Reviewing data earlier in the taxation process

Increased data sharing to better

coordinate inter-o�ce

communication

Continue working to automate property and tax information to improve accuracy

Developing a plan for cross-o�ce auditing

functions

Consolidate cross-o�ce taxation process Frequently Aasked Questions from across o�ces

into one list

Develop an inter-o�ce training

system to streamline tax preparation

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Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s Chief of Sta� GA Finch and Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas hold a late meeting.

what’s next

Stakeholders are meeting on a quarterly basis to make sure that tax bills go out on time

again this year

Once implemented the case management

system will allow for quicker processing of property tax appeals

O�ces will continue to deepen their collaboration by

looking at ways to cross-train sta�.

Improve the customer experience

online

The County is examining the

creation of a uni�ed customer call

center

The Board of Review will continue to encourage the

expanded use of online �lling.

Reviewing data earlier in the taxation process

Increased data sharing to better

coordinate inter-o�ce

communication

Continue working to automate property and tax information to improve accuracy

Developing a plan for cross-o�ce auditing

functions

Consolidate cross-o�ce taxation process Frequently Aasked Questions from across o�ces

into one list

Develop an inter-o�ce training

system to streamline tax preparation

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Public Safety$ Fiscal Responsibility Innovative Leadership Transparency & Accountability Improved Services

what we are doing

Adopted new standards for grants

management including a policy and

procedures manual

Awarded

$400,000 in grant dollars for Anti-Violence and

Recidivism Reduction grants

Adoption & Child Custody Advocacy

(ACCA) has worked to ensure cases are

processed in a timely manner

Held community forums to build a

shared agenda

Launched the Community

Anti-violence and Restoration E�ort

(CARE) in collaboration with the

Mayor’s o�ce to reduce violence and stabilize

communities

Funded Safer Foundation support

for the Public Defender's e�orts to

reduce bonds

Helped communities measure the real impact

of detention

Supported collaborative e�orts

with all justice stakeholders to reduce the population of the Juvenile Temporary

Detention Center

Launched cross-sector Bond Court study and

began implementing recommendations

Co-chairing e�ort to provide state

identi�cation to court involved citizens.

Sought data to explain increasing length of

pretrial jail stays

Committed to $1 million matching grant to support Sheri�'s alternatives with serivces.

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Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Chief Judge Timothy Evans joined the Honorable George N. Leighton and his family on Friday, June 29th for the renaming and dedication ceremony at the Cook County Criminal Court Building..

what’s next

Broadening the pool of applicants for

Anti-violence and Recidivism Reduction

grants.

Dedicate

$2 million in grants for non-pro�t

organizations for violence prevention,

intervention & reduction programs

Work to build collaborative e�orts to tackle the increasing cost of detention and

trial delay

Work to obtain technical assistance for

community based organizations to build community support

Explore street level diversion to reduce

costs

Continued project management of CARE

initiatives and support for community-based leadership teams

Continue tracking to determine impact of

diversion programs on reducing court

involvement

Targeted timeframes will be reviewed

quarterly and discussed with

management to determine how best to improve and enhance

production

Further reducing jail population through

expansion of alternatives to dentention

Continue to explore more cost e�ective housing services to

support alternatives to dentention for pre-trial

detainees

Creating an automated phone system in both English and Spanish to

manage and direct calls more e�ciently

Provide more community-based

alternatives to detention for adults

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Forest Preserve District


what we are doing

Posted quarterly desk audit updates

on the website

$110 million received in new project

proceeds by re�nancing and issuing bonds. Saved $3 million

in the 2013 operating budget

Secured

$4.4 million in state and federal

funding for important habitat restoration,

education and outreach projects

Raised more than

$75,000 by supporting the

Forest Preserve Foundation and the 1st

Annual Conservation Cup

Implemented Performance Management

measures to critically evaluate District

�nances, programs and operations

Hosted �rst Science & Research Symposium to present the scienti�c

and academic work done by FPDCC and

partnership organizai-tons

Created the �rst Recreation &

Campground Master Plan. Upated the Land

Acquisition Master Plan

Expanded public participation through

focus groups, web-based surveys, webinars and

outreach events

Implemented performance

evaluation for all employees

requirements

Used new media tools to increase resident

awareness and engagement,

including a public photo contest run through Flickr and

Facebook

Produced the monthly

e-newsletter

“The Forest Way”

Expanded youth opportunities

through internships, job training, and

programing

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Forest Preserve District of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle joins General Superintendent Arnold Randall, Sand Ridge Nature Center Director Jim Carpenter, and volunteers at the ribbon-cutting for the Nature Center’s newly-renovated pioneer living cabins.

what’s nextWork with Forest Preserve

Foundation to expand capacity by supporting

e�orts in strategic planning, board development &

establishment of an Endowment Fund

Generate funding through a creation of

sponsorship and Giving/Tribute

programs

Update user fees for permits, special events, gol�ng & �eld rentals

Design a Habitat Restoration Master Plan

for approximately

55,000 acres

Create the Next Century Conservation

Plan with Openlands and Metropolis

Strategies

Develop and implement a strategic centennial

plan to increase public engagement and

reestablish our role as a leader and innovator in

conservation, environmental educaiton

& outdoor recreation

Establish a Land Steward Advisory

Committee & Centennial

Commission

Provide transparent budgeting with actual

and budgeted item reports

Achieve full compliance with the

Shakman decree

Launch a Green Team to evaluate

sustainability policies and implement best

practices

Enhance communication e�orts through web videos &

diversi�cation of programming at nature

centers

Introduce a streamlined permit

system

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2012 cook county government midterm report

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