This blog post is an update to the Civic Federation’s April 9, 2020 blog post: How COVID-19 is Impacting Chicago’s Criminal Justice System and How Public Safety Agencies are Responding. Cook County Jail The Cook County Jail population on May 15 was 4,061. Another 3,186 defendants were under community supervision on electronic monitoring. These numbers represent a 29% decrease in the number of detainees in jail and a 31% increase in the number of people on electronic monitoring compared to March…
Revenue estimates presented at the April 29, 2020 meeting of the Cook County Independent Revenue Forecast Commission show the first details on how severe an impact COVID-19 is having on some Cook County tax revenues since Illinois’ stay-at-home order went into effect on March 21. The estimates presented for the month of April 2020 show significant losses in tax revenue related to closures of bars, restaurants and retail, event cancellations and limited travel. The County has estimated that the…
As discussed in a previous blog post, the unprecedented public health emergency brought on by coronavirus has led local governments in Illinois to enact emergency measures and loosen rules related to the Open Meetings Act. Local government bodies have been meeting remotely pursuant to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s Executive Order 2020-07 issued on March 16. In the absence of normal meetings and business as usual, and in the interest of keeping government running, the boards and councils that…
The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on all sectors, including the criminal justice system. How are the public safety agencies in Chicago, Cook County and Illinois responding to the public health emergency? Cook County Jail On March 9, the day Illinois Governor JB Pritzker declared a state of emergency, the Cook County Jail had about 5,700 people in jail (“behind the walls”) and another 2,430 people under the Sheriff’s custody on community supervision (electronic monitoring).…
The Civic Federation is examining the fiscal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the State of Illinois and its local governments. The following are blog posts and other items covering various topics related to the pandemic. Final Cook County Coronavirus Relief Fund Allocations March 5, 2021 Cook County has accounted for all $429 million in Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) funding the County received through the federal CARES Act in 2020, according to a report presented by…
Click here to read the report.
Click here to read the report.
In the November 2020 general election, Cook County voters will elect a new Circuit Court Clerk for the first time since 2000, with current Clerk Dorothy Brown opting not to run for reelection. Four Democratic candidates and one Republican candidate have filed to run for the office. The Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court in Cook County is a fairly obscure and arguably opaque County office, especially to those unfamiliar with the court system. The office has been criticized for…
UPDATE: The Cook County Board passed ordinance 20-0658, imposing a 3% cannabis retailers’ occupation tax on recreational cannabis sales within the county. The new tax will go into effect July 1, 2020 and is in addition to state and local sales taxes and other cannabis taxes, as described below. The county projects it will receive $850,000 in revenue from the tax during the last six months of 2020, but the FY2020 Cook County budget does not rely on any revenue from the new tax. Earlier this…
Click here to read the full report. Click here to read the press release for this analysis. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Civic Federation supports the Cook County FY2020 Executive Budget Recommendation of $6.18 billion because it presents a reasonable budget plan that holds the line on increasing taxes or fees while continuing to make investments in communities and services. Thanks to structural budget decisions and savings achieved over the years, Cook County is anticipating the smallest…
