Installation Ceremony Remarks
Below are my prepared remarks from this morning — December 3, 2018- at the installation ceremony for Cook County Board President.
Distinguished guests. Members of the new Cook County Board as well as their families, friends.
Welcome.
I served in the Chicago City Council for 19 years. Before that, I was a history teacher, and today I have the distinct honor of being sworn in as your Cook County Board President for a 3rd term.
To the residents of the nation’s best County, the County of Cook, I say — Thank You.
To serve the public is a true honor and privilege every day and a responsibility I take seriously. For there is no higher honor than public service.
Let me say that again…
There is no higher honor than public service.
I believe former United States Senator Paul Wellstone captured the essence and promise of public service best when he famously said:
“We all do better when we all do better.”
Unfortunately, prior to taking office in December 2010 we were not doing better — in fact we were hemorrhaging. The Cook County fiscal year had just started and there was no budget or cooperation to educate us on the enormity and complexity of the County’s fiscal condition.
I believe that the most basic obligation of government is to craft and pass a budget. So, compounding the fact that we had no budget was the immediate realization that there was little-to-no process in place to create one.
I ran on the need to remake Cook County into a government that truly serves its residents. To do so, I recognized quickly that we had to rethink the way Cook County worked in order to transform it. For too long Cook County had been content to put a new coat of paint on the house when it needed a top-to bottom rehab.
I tapped a transition team composed of leaders in the civic, philanthropic and business communities. They created a report that outlined a plan to structurally reform Cook County government. These initiatives spanned all areas of County government, from imposing a moratorium on non-essential capital projects to restructuring County debt.
It was very clear that this report would not sit on a shelf and gather dust. Given the challenges we were facing — starting with the need to close a budget gap of $487 million — we did not have that luxury.
The transition team outlined a number of initiatives that met the charge I had given them — to make Cook County more efficient, more transparent and more responsive — and I am pleased to say we have accomplished all of them. Some were easier than others, but here are a few examples:
• We established a Bureau of Economic Development to provide a common strategy across all County resources for business, economic and workforce development in this region.
• We audited real estate holdings to reduce the annual cost of occupying office and warehouse spaces and make the best use of our assets.
• We improved energy efficiency by greening County buildings to generate long-term savings by reducing energy costs.
• We have made budget information much more publicly accessible and budget decisions more transparent.
On day one I laid out our four tenets: fiscal responsibility, innovative leadership, transparency and accountability and improved services. These four basic principles have been the guidepost for every one of our decisions. Why?
Because we all do better when we all… do… better.
Since taking office, we have closed more than $2.1 billion in budget gaps and cut expenditures by more than $850 million. We have avoided quick fixes and one-time solutions. Instead, we have instilled sound fiscal discipline and ensured that more than 90% of our annual budgetary solutions are structural in nature.
We have reduced the full-time employee workforce by 13 percent since taking office, including the elimination of more than 1,000 positions in FY2018 alone, many of which were vacancies.
Through a combination of fiscal prudence and with the advent of the Affordable Care Act, we have reduced the direct health care tax allocation from $389 million in 2010 to $102 million in 2018.
And, we have done this while still providing over a half-billion dollars in uncompensated care to County residents annually.
By pushing for criminal justice and bond reform we have seen a sustained reduction in the jail pre-trial detainee population that has allowed us to demolish a number of buildings on the jail campus, allowing us to reduce costs that reflect the lower detainee population.
Through collaborative efforts between the Public Safety stakeholders, the jail population is now at its lowest since 1991.
For years, the daily jail population hovered at roughly 10,000. Today, it is approximately 6,000 largely because of these efforts.
We all do better when we all do better.
There’s much we have accomplished here since 2010. But as we continue to endure what is — or isn’t — happening at the national level, I believe the need for a caring and fair government at the local level has never been greater.
My administration will be taking a deliberative step to further show that government should be an instrument for compassion, not cruelty.
I recently unveiled the Cook County Policy Roadmap. It outlines my priorities over the next five years, which focuses on equity and improving the lives of County residents. And just like my directive in 2010, this too, will not be a document that sits on a shelf and gathers dust.
The creation of this roadmap began more than a year ago and 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.
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 its 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.
We must — do better.
To do so, viewed through the lenses of equity, engagement and excellence, we have identified six policy priorities upon which to concentrate our efforts –
We will build communities that are: healthy, vital, safe & thriving, sustainable, smart and open.
Creating Healthy Communities requires addressing health inequities.
I believe access to health care is a right, not a privilege. That’s why 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.
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 address 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.. must.. do.. better.
I firmly believe government must promote a more equitable distribution of economic development. This requires smart investments such as prioritizing employment services and job creation in communities with affordable housing but few jobs.
Equitable growth also requires implementing economic development tools to help 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.
Because we all do better when we all do better, 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.
We must do better.
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.
Additionally, we will foster Sustainable Communities by encouraging green initiatives, prioritizing environmental justice and by addressing climate change all while investing in clean energy and developing green jobs. And environmental justice means creating equitable access to green spaces.
From the effects of climate change to uneven development across our communities due to persistent segregation, we must address past environmental injustices in underserved communities and remove barriers to the new “green” economy.
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.
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 government.
Our government exists to serve residents and this is a forward looking plan that believes in the best of Cook County and the best for Cook County — because we all do better when we all do better.
Thank you.
