Cook County Policy Roadmap Remarks

Below are my prepared remarks from this morning — November 14, 2018 — at the City Club of Chicago where I unveiled the Cook County Policy Roadmap: Five-year Strategic Plan for the Offices Under the President.

Good morning. I am pleased to be here today.

The City Club of Chicago is an organization that has facilitated critical conversations, asked probing questions of leaders and shined an introspective light on the inner workings of our region for a century. I have had the distinct pleasure of addressing the City Club a number of times and I am grateful for the invitation to return.

A little over a year ago, I stood here and spoke about the escalating fear and anxiety felt here and across the country brought on by a bully of a president, craven Congress and hopeless governor. I am encouraged by the decisions recently made by voters and hope this is a sign of better days to come.

I said then, and believe now more than ever, that the need for a caring and fair government has never been greater. And today we take a deliberative step to show that government should be an instrument for compassion, not cruelty. I am releasing today the Policy Roadmap and outlining my priorities over the next five years. The plan, as you’ll hear in more detail, focuses on equity and improving the lives of all the residents.

The plan establishes goals and strategies for our work on justice, health, economic development and the environment.

These priorities are built around a mission to serve as a good steward of public resources by building vibrant and sustainable communities for all residents and a vision of being a leader in creating communities where people want to live, learn, work and play.

The creation of this roadmap began a year ago — just after I spoke here. This Policy Roadmap reflects many voices that share a vision for the success of our community. We gathered and incorporated input and feedback from employees, residents, community groups, other governmental agencies, and partners in the not-for-profit, civic, and private sectors. We are grateful to all who made their voices heard throughout the planning process and are proud of what has been created.

Throughout the planning process, various themes emerged from conversations we had with thousands of participating employees, residents and stakeholders. We asked them to envision the community they want for their children and grandchildren. From these insightful conversations, we identified three foundational values: equity, engagement and excellence.

A path to a more equitable Cook County recognizes how racially and economically segregated this County is and the tremendous disparities that exist. This segregation leads to inequity and hurts the entire region economically. In their Cost of Segregation report, the Metropolitan Planning Council estimated that we would generate an additional $4.4 BILLION dollars in income as a region if we reduced segregation to the national median. That’s $4.4 BILLION dollars.

Governments have an essential obligation to use their resources and leadership to address these disparities and provide all residents opportunities, regardless of race, ethnicity or zip code.

Success and opportunity should not be looked at as a finite resource that must be distributed sparingly. It is time to correct historic inequities and make sure our region is working for all residents.

A path to a more engaged constituency means recommitting ourselves to creating ways for the community to participate in our planning and decision making. More than that, it also means making sure that we translate engagement and outreach into tangible improvements.

And the pursuit of excellence means not being content with what we’ve already accomplished. I am proud of my record and the work we have done to better serve residents. We will continue working to be more transparent, more accountable and more effective by building on what we have accomplished.

Recognizing the importance and effectiveness of our modernization efforts, we are further expanding our work to provide smart governance. In the coming year, we will establish the Office of Research, Operations and Innovation to further make the business of government more efficient and cost effective. The new department will identify opportunities for improvement and implement creative, data-driven solutions.

Viewed through the lenses of equity, engagement and excellence, we identified six policy priorities upon which to concentrate our efforts.

We will build communities that are healthy, vital, safe and thriving, sustainable, smart and open.

This is a plan that is comprehensive and ambitious.

Creating Healthy Communities requires addressing health inequities. Access to health care is a right, not a privilege.

As part of the roadmap, we are taking a holistic approach to creating healthy communities. From access to safe housing and quality employment to the availability of public transportation and nutritional food, this is a multifaceted plan to address a complex problem.

Taking a comprehensive view also requires us to address health disparities to ensure all residents live in equitable and healthy communities regardless of race, socio-economic status or geography.

With this framework in mind, we’re committed to addressing the barriers to accessing healthcare many residents experience, particularly in communities of color and immigrant communities.

To do so, we will continue to improve accessibility of our services and support community-based healthcare solutions.

Our efforts to promote health and wellness will also include increasing access to healthy food — we know that fresh fruits and vegetables have a dramatic impact on health. We’ll also continue to encourage the use of Cook County Forest Preserves for exercise, recreation and access to nature.

We are also excited to be introducing a new online initiative launching this month through the Housing Authority of Cook County called beWELL. beWELL , which stands for Work, Earn, Live and Learn, is an online platform meant to act as a guide for residents looking to connect to employment, educational and supportive resources throughout suburban Cook County.

By providing the people we serve with an online, one-stop-shop to find valuable information such as parenting advice, scholarship information and job application assistance, beWELL will be a helpful tool for Housing Authority of Cook County residents and the County as a whole.

While we take significant steps to improve the health of our residents we must push to do the same for local businesses. We will foster Vital Communities through our work and partnerships in economic and community development.

We will focus on inclusive, regional economic growth, workforce development and education, and addressing the issue of quality housing.

In recent years, many areas of Cook County, including the central downtown district within the City of Chicago, have experienced robust economic growth, rising property values and quality of life improvements.

However, a substantial portion of the region, particularly in the southern and western communities, struggles with high levels of unemployment, declining property values and limited access to essential services that help to improve the quality of life.

We have a unique responsibility to reduce inequity by ensuring policies and fiscal decisions consistently meet the needs of all residents, especially residents who are often marginalized and excluded from decision-making.

I firmly believe the government must promote a more equitable distribution of economic development. This requires strategic investments such as prioritizing employment services and job creation in communities with affordable housing but few jobs.

In addition to a regional approach and industry-focused economic development, equitable growth requires the implementation of far-reaching economic development tools to assist entrepreneurs and small businesses, particularly those owned by women, minorities or people living with disabilities.

Years of inequality, indifference and institutional racism will not be reversed overnight but we are up to the challenge.

Better health and improved economic development means little if our residents are not safe. So we will foster Safe and Thriving Communities through our work and partnerships in criminal justice.

We will work collaboratively to implement violence reduction strategies proven to increase community safety. This includes advocating for sustainable reforms within the criminal justice system and investing in community-based services for our residents.

These strategies work to ensure safety for our residents while creating an equitable justice system. Simply put, violent crime will be punished. But at the same time every person must have access to fair treatment, regardless of race or economic status.

One of the most pressing challenges to creating safe and thriving communities continues to be gun violence.

Over the last two years, as part of our work to reform the criminal justice system, we have broadened our focus to address gun violence. It is abundantly clear is that gun violence continues to impact people of color in the very same communities most impacted by the criminal justice system.

These communities have historically experienced a myriad of challenges including a deficiency of infrastructure, high levels of segregation, a lack of employment opportunities and under-resourced schools.

Applying a public health approach to combatting violent crime holds great promise, as it addresses these historic inequities.

This will require partnering with the City of Chicago and other stakeholders to implement coordinated and comprehensive prevention and intervention activities and strategies within impacted communities.

A thriving Cook County also means a cleaner and environmentally-conscious Cook County. We will foster Sustainable Communities by encouraging green initiatives.

We will prioritize environmental justice. We will address climate change and invest in clean energy and develop green jobs. And environmental justice means creating equitable access to green spaces.

Creating sustainable communities also benefits the health of our residents and communities. A clean environment reduces rates of asthma and cancer. Outdoor activity lowers levels of heart disease and diabetes. Access to nature improves health, lowers stress and crime and improves learning for our children.

Better health also means residents and local governments spend less on healthcare.

From the effects of climate change to uneven development across Cook County due to persistent segregation, we must address past environmental injustices in underserved communities and remove barriers to the new “green” economy.

Targeted economic investment in conjunction with efforts promoting environmental improvements, managing storm water and reducing vulnerabilities to climate change will be critical to building resilient and sustainable communities.

Targeted investment will also extend to public infrastructure. We will foster Smart Communities by maximizing the benefits of government buildings, modernizing technology infrastructure and improving transportation systems.

Through a holistic transportation approach, we can address gaps in mobility to create an equitable and multi-modal transportation system. Our mission must extend beyond providing transportation access to government buildings and services and daily activities to establish a foundation for future community and economic growth.

A connected transportation system will allow us to ensure well-paying jobs are located within reach of residents, especially residents who are currently excluded from employment opportunities due to long, complex commutes.

Our transportation infrastructure must promote equity by being safe and accessible for residents living with disabilities. At the same time, we must also create transit-accessible, pedestrian and bicycle friendly environments that bring these jobs closer to home.

Through our targeted planning and maintenance of our public infrastructure, we will close the gap in access to services, facilities and jobs that our residents and businesses depend on.

Finally, we will foster Open Communities and achieve operational excellence by being accountable to our communities and continuously improving the effectiveness of government services.

We need to increase our engagement with residents, community partners and businesses to reduce barriers to accessing public services and doing business with the County. Our government exists to serve residents. We greatly value their contributions and feedback. We are committed to ensuring this engagement is accessible, translated for non-English speakers and culturally competent.

Continuous operational improvement is the key to making the County a better place to live, work and do business. The Policy Roadmap provides a strategic foundation for improvement and operational excellence. It represents a key step on the path towards a more innovative, effective, equitable and transparent government.

Together, these policy priorities create a comprehensive agenda we will implement to provide innovative and essential services to residents and ensure Cook County is an exceptional place to live, work, play and visit.

Built on the pillars of equity, engagement and excellence, this is a plan that believes in the best of Cook County and the best for Cook County.

This plan is a beginning to a Cook County built on a foundation of fairness and equity.

I will end by saying a short speech does not do justice to the many, many, many hours of hard work of so many people. I would like to thank my chief of staff Lanetta Haynes Turner as well as Alex Ensign and Mara Heneghan in my office.

I would also like to thank Frank Beal, of the Civic Consulting Alliance; and organizations that provided important feedback such as: Access Living, Arab-American Family Services Coalition, Chicago Community Bond Fund, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), Collaborative for Health Equity Cook County, Heartland Alliance, Illinois Justice Project, Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, Inc., Public Health Woke Coalition, Women Employed and Woodstock Institute.

Thank you.