“At The CrossRoads of Making History”- Cook County Fiscal Year 2023 Executive Budget Address

I stand before you today at an extraordinary moment in history.

We’re now at a time when we are emerging from a global health crisis and into a new way of living and working.

It’s a time when we must reject new versions of old laws and once again, fight for a woman’s right to choose;

To propose effective solutions to poverty;

To show compassion, and welcome over 2000 asylum seekers who have been bused to our County.

It’s a time when America’s racial reckoning demands that we as a people put equity first.

And it’s a time when we must fight against extremism and for democracy.

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I am reminded today of Maya Angelou’s poem, “On the Pulse of Morning.”

“Lift up your faces,” she wrote. “You have a piercing need for this bright morning, dawning for you. History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”

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These days, I think it’s safe to say…we’re at an historic crossroads in our Country.

And in this moment, we must ask ourselves, will government succumb to the political forces of disinformation and fear? Or will it usher in an era of equity, safety, justice, and prosperity for all of us.

Over the past few decades, more and more government leaders look like the diverse Americans they serve. We come from the neighborhoods and communities that have struggled for OUR moment to make a more perfect union. Many have brought the fight for civil rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights and immigrant rights to the halls of Congress and to the halls of Cook County.

This poses a threat to some.

Now, it is true that trust in government has been eroding for decades. But, today, extremism and the movement to dismantle democracy have taken hold at a dangerous level.

We are facing one of the most important mid-terms in our lifetime and I would be remiss not to bring this up. Will the election be free and fair? Will it be peaceful? Will democracy hold?

Americans across the country are asking themselves, “Can we trust…government?”

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I stand here today, affirming that we can.

We can and have faced all the naysayers and doubters about government and ushered in this era with grit, determination, and resolve.

Shirley Chisholm once said, “You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.”

Here’s how we’ve embraced that.

At the end of last year, we released our Community Engagement report after a summer and Fall full of town halls, meetings, surveys, and door-to-door canvassing. The people of Cook County generated ideas and outlined priorities of how we should spend the $1 billion dollars we received through the American Rescue Plan.

We engaged more than 30,000 Cook County residents who offered over 270 distinct ideas.

And you know what we found? We found widespread agreement! Their priorities ranged from healthcare (particularly behavioral health), housing, and infrastructure (including climate change mitigation) to food security and community safety.

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You make progress by implementing ideas. So, this year’s budget is like no other. This year, we will continue to roll out initiatives planned and driven by the recommendations of the Equity Fund Taskforce. And, this is the first year we are rolling out major, transformative initiatives funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.

To top that off, we will start Fiscal Year 2023 with the lowest projected preliminary budget gap since I took office. This gap is just $18.2 million. And our budget is bigger this year.

With no tax increases — I’ll say that again…with NO TAX INCREASES — for the seventh year in a row, I am proud to present a balanced $8.75 billion dollar budget.

This proposed budget is balanced with no cuts to critical services. This budget is balanced while increasing our investments in every corner of Cook County. And this budget is balanced while making another historic investment in equity-focused initiatives and programs.

Like hard-working people and families, we take financial responsibility seriously at Cook County.

Despite the unique difficulties of the last few years — the COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation, numerous other global and local challenges — this year’s budget represents a massive, 97% decline from the nearly $410 million-dollar projected gap during the height of the pandemic.

This is a result of making tough decisions years before and seeing it through to today.

In the face of multiple economic risks, Cook County has had its bond ratings upgraded and has put the County’s pension fund on a path toward sustainability. We’ve built up a reserve fund for difficult days ahead and developed hundreds of millions of dollars in equity programs and pandemic relief.

I’ve said — at this time nearly every year — it’s the exemplary work of our Bureau of Finance that lays the foundation for our policy work. We would not be able to make the transformative changes we all want without having this solid footing.

Cook County has provided supplemental pension payments of $2 billion dollars over the course of my tenure in office. You may recall that in 2015, the shortfalls at the Pension Fund were growing at the rate of $30 million dollars…a month (nearly 1/3 of a billion per year).

Now, in Fiscal Year 2023, we continue to improve our pension funding ratio.

We’re on track for 100% funding by 2043!

This is something not a lot of governments can say and it’s practically unheard of when it comes to municipal pensions in our state.

We’ve also implemented a debt structure to ensure we don’t borrow more than we can afford. This wasn’t something that was done before I came into office in 2010. And this has had a huge impact on the amount of debt the County has now. By being smart and thoughtful in our approach to borrowing, we’ve decreased the outstanding debt by over $700 million dollars since I took office.

Through our work to responsibly address the pandemic, carefully manage debt, maintain satisfactory reserves and spearhead dramatic improvements to pension funding, Cook County received a ratings upgrade — a rarity for local governments. This is an affirmation and important acknowledgement of Cook County’s financial best practices and a reflection of our values of putting people first.

In the headwinds of an uncertain recovery, of climate change, of rising extremism and the troubling division in our country, I stand here confident that Cook County will overcome these challenges, and more, if we continue on the path we laid out years ago.

We are working towards a more just, prosperous and equitable future.

In his 1967 book titled Where do we go from here? Chaos or Community, Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote: “I am now convinced that the simplest approach will prove to be the most effective — the solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income.”

Fifty-five years later, with national momentum growing, I am proud to announce the opening up of applications for the largest guaranteed income pilot in the country.

Those applications are open right now. Starting today, and through October 21, anyone eligible and living in Cook County, can apply for our pilot. It’s a pilot I have committed to making permanent in the years to come. Go to engagecookcounty.com/promise to apply.

Under the leadership of our Bureau of Economic Development, we’re investing $42 million of our American Rescue Plan funds to administer $500 dollars per month for two years to 3,250 households in Cook County.

Historically, both public and private institutions have been unwilling to directly invest in low- and moderate-income people without significant restrictions in place. This is a misconception and terrible bias in which past governments have taken part. Rather, decades of research show that people spend cash benefits wisely, leading to more financial stability as well as improved physical, emotional and social outcomes.

Another major investment this year to address poverty will go toward abolishing medical debt. We are the first local government to create a program at this scale. Called the Medical Debt Relief Initiative, we are partnering with RIP Medical Debt, a national nonprofit, that has erased debt for more than 3.6 million individuals and families so far. With just $12 million dollars of our federal funds, they have the potential to negotiate the purchase of up to $1 billion in medical debt for Cook County residents, and cancel it. This could benefit hundreds of thousands of people in Cook County.

Financial health is part of building safe and healthy communities, as is healthcare.

That’s why, through the American Rescue Plan, we are awarding over $170 million dollars over the next three years to Cook County Health. This will go toward a range of health initiatives, especially for those populations disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. This includes two collaborations with other agencies — the Office of the Chief Judge on a juvenile justice grant program; and the Housing Authority of Cook County on a behavioral health initiative.

If you have been one of the many people who have returned to “normal” activities, seeing loved ones, colleagues, and friends again, you can thank the Cook County Health System teams for their untiring efforts to vaccinate people. They administered over 1 million COVID-19 vaccines, and we are one of the first health systems in the country to achieve this milestone.

The health system is also directing $14.1 million dollars in American Rescue Plan funding to expand our homeless response system for our patients. We are providing support to CountyCare members experiencing housing instability with both acute and chronic medical conditions, as well as those who are likely to have frequent visits to emergency departments.

When monkeypox arrived in the United States, Cook County’s Department of Public Health leaned on the experts at our CORE Center, one of the largest infectious disease centers in the country. Together, they led our efforts. And still in the midst of COVID, this team stood up comprehensive testing, treatment and vaccination sites across the county.

On top of that, Provident Hospital is preparing for the return of ambulance runs later this year. Earlier this year, through a partnership with our Project Rainbow initiative, Provident awarded 31 scholarships through the new Provident Scholarship program. These scholarships are designed to assist individuals from underrepresented communities to pursue a career in healthcare, and we are committing to increasing these opportunities in the year ahead.

Thank you, Israel Rocha, for your leadership and for your guidance in not only dealing with the pandemic, but for also making recovery equitable and tangible.

And thank you, again, to Doctors Rubin and Joshi, who played critical leadership roles during the hardest years of the pandemic.

Finally, the CountyCare team is celebrating its 10th year of serving the residents in Cook County this month.

CountyCare has been vital through the pandemic and beyond. Membership grew exponentially during COVID. Why? Because our health plan provides comprehensive health coverage and wellness support to its members, especially for those most in need of care.

You make progress by implementing ideas and CountyCare was the first health plan to enroll Affordable Care Act adults in 2012. Today — 10 years later — it’s the largest Medicaid managed care plan in Cook County.

One of the most powerful equity-centered initiatives we have this year is our work in violence prevention. In response to the high levels of gun violence experienced in Cook County during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Justice Advisory Council designed a Gun Violence Prevention & Reduction grant initiative to those communities most impacted by gun violence.

This past summer, we awarded $75 million to community- based organizations which are often on the front lines, working with individuals at the highest risk, to deescalate and disrupt violence when it happens. They also connect people to the critical services they need to change the trajectory of their lives. This type of investment can go a long way in addressing the root causes of violence. In fact, because evidence shows this to be true, we are closely coordinating with the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago and their grant programs to maximize our collective resources to have the greatest impact. This historic and unprecedented coordination across all three units of government will help improve community safety and save lives.

It’s interesting, then, that when we invest in safer neighborhoods, especially in Black and Brown communities, the naysayers and fear peddlers come out in force.

Most recently, here in Illinois, disinformation and negative rhetoric has surrounded the SAFE-T Act and the implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act, which will eliminate the practice of cash bail by January of 2023.

It’s been designed to incite fear for political gain and to uphold a system that has contributed to the racial injustices, mass incarceration, and over-policing of Black and Brown communities.

The truth is, the SAFE-T-ACT, represents an important step toward protecting our communities, advancing justice in our legal system, and addressing decades of harm.

The SAFE-T Act and the provisions under the Pretrial Fairness Act were thoughtfully drafted to prioritize safety for victims, defendants, and communities.

Our initiatives are driven by equitable, human-centered, and community-driven practice. Now, more than ever, we must address the root causes of violence. And we will do so by addressing poverty, underemployment, and disinvestment in those communities.

Economic development, as evidence shows, is a critical component to violence prevention. In the Bureau of Economic Development, they launched the Cook County Small Business Source earlier this year — a “one-stop shop” resource for businesses seeking technical assistance to start, operate, and grow. And just last week, the Bureau of Economic Development announced our $71 million dollar investment in small businesses, which will provide thousands of businesses with $10,000 grants in a range of business support areas.

The Bureau of Economic Development will also invest $20 million dollars in the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago for the Stormwater Management Program. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, we can now bolster our support for communities that experience significant flooding.

Flooding has not only become a problem in recent years due to aging infrastructure, but we’ve seen just how large an impact climate change has been to our quality of life.

That’s where the Bureau of Administration and Bureau of Asset Management play a key role. Since 2010, County facilities have reduced greenhouse gases by 40%. We’re also working to procure a large portion of our electricity from renewable energy starting in 2023. This is a significant step in reaching our goal of 100% renewable electricity by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

Recently, we launched our $10 million initiative for the Brownfield Remediation program to assess and remediate contaminated brownfield sites in suburban Cook County. This is part of our effort to promote economic growth and investment through redevelopment for businesses, housing, parks and other uses that benefit communities.

As we all know, transportation ties our communities together and brings us closer to one another. Cook County is the second largest county in the nation, and when one community thrives, we all thrive.

The Department of Transportation and Highways’ 2022 Invest in Cook program is providing 43 project awards, with 55% of funding dedicated to low-to-moderate income communities.

Our Fair Transit South Cook program helped Metra Electric and Rock Island ridership recover 20 percentage points faster than other lines by implementing reduced fares. This again shows how equity is beneficial for both residents and the Metra system overall. And through our partnership with PACE, the service additions on the 352 Halsted Route have been permanently adopted. Our residents who live in the Southland have been disproportionately affected by disinvestment, redlining, and lack of access to affordable and reliable transportation options. Fair Transit is designed to address that inequity.

Two of our Bureaus do a lot of work behind the scenes, that sometimes goes unnoticed. But this, year, I want to lift up the great work of the Bureau of Asset Management and the Bureau of Technology.

Again, with the help of American Rescue Plan funding, the Bureau of Asset Management will spearhead an innovative $20 million dollar project to improve infrastructure and provide critical capital upgrades to municipalities across Cook County. Cook County will provide the highest-need communities with our knowledge and expertise in capital projects, areas of procurement, and project management. And we will help these municipalities leverage additional state and federal funds to get the upgrades they need and deserve.

Our work has already begun in the Villages of Phoenix and Broadview, Illinois, as pilot programs, and this is just the beginning.

Next year, residents of Cook County will see improvements to spaces all around them, like the community center where they attend classes or their Village Hall where they receive services.

We’re also going to make investments in the infrastructure that we don’t see, such as water and sewer improvements. We will share more information about this program in the coming months and how municipalities can apply for this partnership.

This year, we launched the $50 million implementation plan produced by the Equity Fund Taskforce. This Taskforce is a model for how Cook County government can work with community leaders on resource allocation and program prioritization. By collaborating with 27 partner organizations and 8 Cook County government offices, we’re able to holistically make equity-centered funding decisions, on our 2022 and 2023 projects.

All this work requires up to date technologies and infrastructure support. This year, The Bureau of Technology is expanding broadband in the South Suburbs where this type of infrastructure is most needed. Nearly 70% of the planning and designing has been completed, and we’re looking forward to construction early next year.

Our deeper commitment to digital access is also reflected in our recent hiring of our inaugural Director of Digital Equity, Kyla Williams-Tate, who will work very closely with the Bureau of Technology and other stakeholders. She will spearhead our efforts to address the digital divide in the most impacted communities in Cook County.

One of our core values at Cook County is excellence. In order to best serve residents, we, too, need to have reliable systems. Earlier this year, the Bureau of Technology completed its five-year, $25 million project to upgrade our telecommunications system to Voice Over Internet Protocol. These transformational efforts, such as moving off the old mainframes, are expensive and take years of hard work, but they’re absolutely critical to our operations. This new voice solution enhances collaboration opportunities, reduces cost, provides disaster recovery capabilities and allows for future growth.

We have been able to accomplish this good work AND remain within our budget targets across all bureaus and departments. I am proud of each and every one of our employees for being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars, and finding savings and efficiencies so that we can launch these transformative recovery initiatives.

We anticipate that we will meet all budget targets for FY2023. This has very much been a team effort, and all made possible because of the dedicated work of everyone under the Offices Under the President.

I want to thank our Cook County Commissioners who continue to work with us at this crucial moment. Your leadership, thoughtful input and commitment to working with us on behalf of all of our residents prepares us for a stronger future.

I want to thank my chief of staff, Lanetta Haynes Turner, for her exceptional leadership and for guiding these initiatives in ways that makes cross-collaboration and holistic solutions a model for other governments.

Our incredible finance and budget team, especially Budget Director Annette Guzman, Deputy CFO Dean Constantinou and interim CFO Lawrence Wilson. I also want to thank Ammar Rizki, our former CFO, whose indelible work will be looked upon as a model for years to come. Without this team, we would not have been able to advance the transformative initiatives ahead of us.

Our bureau chiefs, Tanya Anthony, Xochitl Flores, Elizabeth Granato, Velisha Haddox, and Tom Lynch, as well as JAC Executive Director Avik Das, have put forth budgets and plans that meet the moment. Their work is an emphatic affirmation of “this new day, dawning before us.”

I hope that through this budget, we will have taken the first steps toward equity, restoration and recovery. But more so, I hope that it instills a little more faith in government and what it can accomplish.

As we face some of the most trying times we’ve ever faced as a nation, it’s my hope that Cook County will be a model for bold transformation.

You make progress by implementing ideas. So, today, I submit our Fiscal Year 2023 budget for your consideration. I look forward to building upon this exciting, thoughtful, and important work.

Let’s make history together.

Thank you.