Search current and proposed Cook County Legislation in Larry's exclusive legislative library.
The Cook County Code of Ordinances are the current laws of Cook County.
Cook County was created on January 15, 1831 and named after Daniel P. Cook, Member of Congress and the first Attorney from the State of Illinois.
Thank you for visiting my website. It is an honor and privilege to serve as the Cook County Board Commissioner and Forest Preserve District Board Commissioner for the 13th District which includes the following Cities and Villages: 49th & 50th Wards of the City of Chicago, the City of Evanston and the Villages of Glencoe, Glenview, Kenilworth, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northbrook, Skokie, Wilmette and Winnetka.
Although our Cook County government has a low profile, it is a vast operation with many important responsibilities and an annual budget of $3 billion. It is responsible for operating our court system, jail, maintaining 68,000 acres of forest preserves, and acting as a healthcare safety net through the operation of four hospitals and 30 clinics.
The purpose of this site is to provide information on Cook County government and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County as well as links to other government resources. I regularly post news stories and information on County and Forest Preserve issues which may be of interest to you. Additionally, my legislative library contains up-to-date information on County and Forest Preserve legislation.
I encourage you to contact me with any questions or ideas you have regarding Cook County or the Forest Preserve District. I hope you find this site useful. Thank you for taking the time to visit.
Sincerely, Larry Suffredin
February 2010
Contribute to Haitian Relief Efforts
The 13th District is home to one of the largest concentrations of Haitian Americans in the United States. As you know, a 7.0 magnitude has devastated the nation of Haiti and created a terrible humanitarian disaster.
Click here for information on how to contribute to non-governmental organizations that are already on the ground in Haiti and have the ability to immediately deploy additional relief resources.
Commissioner Suffredin leads the way on sales tax repeal
The People of Cook County finally got sales tax relief! After four tries and a change in State law lowering the number of votes necessary to override a veto, the Cook County Board was able to override President Todd Stroger’s veto of a .50% reduction of the sales tax. The rate now for Cook County will be below 10% - a barrier that cost Cook County sales revenue and retail jobs. Thank you for your help in passing this repeal.
FY2010 Cook County Budget Passes with reduction in sales tax
On November 19, 2009, the Cook County Board of Commissioners approved the Fiscal Year 2010 Cook County Budget. The budget includes a reduction in the sales tax, from 1.75% to 1.25%. Under state law, this reduction will take effect July 1, 2010.
Click here to review President Stroger’s Executive Recommendation. Amendments to the budget can be found here (amendment book) and here (floor amendments).
New Property Assessment Notices Mailed to New Trier and Northfield Township Homeowners
New Trier and Northfield Township homeowners were mailed notices reflecting reduced assessment levels. New Trier Township homeowners can appeal their reassessment to the Cook County Assessor's Office until January 25, 2010. The deadline for Northfield Township is February 9, 2010.
Click here for more information on the appeals process.
Click here for the press release from Assessor Houlihan announcing the reductions for New Trier Township, and here for the press release for Northfield Township.
Applications available for John H. Stroger, Jr. Internships at Chicago Botanic Garden
The President John H. Stroger, Jr. Internship Program offers eight-week internships for 18- to 21-year-old residents of Cook County. Six paid and up to five unpaid internships are available in the summer of 2010. More information, including eligibility criteria, is available here.
Click here to download an application. Applications are due to the office of Commissioner Suffredin by 5pm on Tuesday, February 16, 2010.
Brookfield Zoo Job Fair
The Brookfield Zoo is hosting job fairs for people interested in joining the zoo crew. The fairs will be held Monday, Feburary 15, 2010 and Monday, March 15, 2010, from noon to 6:00 pm in the zoo's Discovery Center.
More information, including applications, are available at the zoo's website, www.cza.org.
FY2010 Cook County Forest Preserve Budget Approved
On December 15, 2009, the Cook County Forest Preserve District Board of Commissioners approved President Todd Stroger's FY10 Cook County Forest Preserve Budget.
Click here for remarks from General Superintendent Steven Bylina
Suffredin announces Re-Election to the County Board
After reviewing a run for President of the Cook County Board, Commissioner Larry Suffredin announced today that he will not run for President, but will run for re-election as Commissioner of the 13th District.
Suffredin said “I am committed to working to get new leadership in the Office of President of the Cook County Board. I will dedicate my efforts to insuring that the reform agenda that I worked on with Congressman Mike Quigley and Commissioner Forrest Claypool is the agenda of the next President. This reform agenda of both accountability and transparency is the only way to reduce taxes.”
“First, my efforts will go to overturning President Todd Stroger’s third veto of a repeal of the County sales tax at the Board meeting on September 1, 2009. The County is in a strong financial position and can afford to grant this tax relief. The $283 million crisis that the County faced in February, 2008, when the tax was enacted, has passed. The key to solving this crisis was the establishment of an Independent Health and Hospital Board which I proposed and which has brought -- for the first time-- professional management to the Health and Hospital System which spends nearly $1 billion and treats almost 1 million people annually.”
In keeping with that substantial advance, Suffredin assured that “I will work to strengthen and expand the Independent Health and Hospital Board’s powers to continue system-wide reforms”.
Other issues that Suffredin will be working on in the coming months include: 1. Immediate consideration and passage of the 2010 Budget with substantial cost savings; 2. Change in State law to reduce the extraordinary majority of votes now necessary to override a veto by the Board President; 3. Consolidation of the many property-tax functions in one centralized County office; 4. Full compliance with the Shakman Decree on hiring and transfers of employees; 5. Transparency on all County contracts; and 6. Continued improvement in land restoration at the Cook County Forest Preserve District and increased utilization of the Forest Preserves by our citizens.
Commissioner Suffredin calls on Todd Stroger to resign
I have today sent a letter to Todd Stroger asking him to resign as President of the Cook County Board. I call for this extreme action because of the continuing circumstances that demonstrate his lack of leadership or lack of interest in the functioning of the County. Cook County is one of the largest governments in the United States with a budget of over $3 billion it needs a competent full-time administrator.
His cousin, Chief Financial Officer Donna Dunnings, resigned in the dead of last night because of serious unexplained issues. Ms. Dunning has been the de facto President of the County Board telling her cousin when to talk and what to do. She has developed and put in place hiring processes that benefited President Stroger’s friends and family and is the architect of the latest plan to borrow more money than the County needs. If she has to resign, then the person who gave her all this power should follow her lead as he has on every other important County issue.
Unfortunately, Illinois does not have a recall provision for elected officials who have lost the confidence of their constituents.
Click here to read my letter to President Stroger.
Have old computer equipment?
PC Rebuilders and Recyclers refurbishes donated computer systems and provides them to schools, non-profit organizations and families of at-risk children. Any unusable components are recycled in an environmentally responsible manner. For more information, including drop-off hours and locations, go to www.pcrr.com.
Commissioner Suffredin’s statement on the Illinois Appellate Court’s upholding the dismissal of the lawsuit challenging the Cook County Blair Holt Assault Weapons Ban.
Today, the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, issued a unanimous opinion upholding the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Blair Holt Assault Weapons Ban (Cook County’s Ordinance to Ban Assault Weapons), first passed by Cook County in 1994 and amended in 2006. The plaintiffs in the case, Wilson v. Cook County, sought to declare the ordinance unconstitutional in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008).
In upholding the dismissal of the suit, the Illinois Appellate Court agreed with the trial court’s findings that (1) the Ordinance is not unconstitutionally vague or overbroad; (2) plaintiffs did not state a cause of action for violation of due process and equal protection clauses; (3) the Ordinance did not violate the Illinois Constitution or the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution; and (4) the County properly exercised its police powers in enacting the Ordinance.
I am grateful that the Illinois Appellate Court unanimously upheld Cook County’s Assault Weapons Ban. I am hopeful that this ordinance will save lives in Cook County. A copy of the court’s opinion can be found here.
There have been some concerns about the effect of modifications to the Willow Road dam on water levels along the North Branch of the Chicago River. The Forest Preserve District has investigated the concerns and its findings can be found here.
Commissioner Suffredin refutes Cook County Pension Board tactics to scare retired senior citizens
The Cook County Pension Board and President Todd Stroger are taking advantage of retirees in an attempt to pass an ill-advised bond issue by sending out letters implying their pensions are at stake, according to Commissioner Larry Suffredin.
“The Stroger administration has hit a new low by using scare tactics on retirees in order to gain support for an ill-advised bond deal that will needlessly cost taxpayers millions in the long run,” said Commissioner Larry Suffredin. “The Stroger administration wants future generations to pay for their current mismanagement.”
In a letter sent out to pensioners, the Cook County Pension Fund alleges that the fund’s financial health is in jeopardy if the Cook County Board of Commissioners fails to approve a bond order to fill a funding gap. The Cook County Pension Fund is currently the best funded public pension fund in Illinois. Current pension benefits are not in jeopardy.
“There are plenty of alternatives to make a contribution to the pension fund, other than saddling the taxpayers with the costs of an expensive bond,” Commissioner Suffredin said. “The Stroger administration is endangering their relationship with retirees with these reckless claims.”
Commissioner Suffredin Announces Support for Shakman Awards to Cook County Residents Injured by Patronage Abuses
In November 2006, I was designated to negotiate the current Suppliment Relief Order (SRO) that the Cook County is now required to follow under the Shakman patronage case. I was able to negotiate an SRO that is the strongest protection the citizens of Cook County have ever had from political corruption. A copy of the SRO is attached here [LINK]. The SRO set in motion a process to give monitary payments to people who have been harmed by the business as usual Cook County patronage practices. I am happy that retired Judge Julia Nowicki was able to determine that 108 people will share $3.2 million. The current awards and the names of individuals are available here.
My hope is that all Cook County elected officials and administrators have learned their lesson and we will never have to pay out awards like this again.
More information on the Shakman settlement is available here.
Civic Federation Report on Real Property in Cook County
I am pleased to offer the 2008 Annual Report for the North Shore Mosquito Abatement District.
David Orr announces “Cook County Genealogy Online”
David Orr announces the launch of www.cookcountygenealogy.com, an online index and purchasing platform for Cook County Genealogy records.Genealogy records are defined as birth certificates older then 75 years, marriage licenses older than 50 years, or death certificates older than 20 years.These are all public records.
In its first two weeks, the 6,200 people from over 40 countries registered to use the site.
Questions about paying your property tax, your property tax refund, or exemptions?
Cook County Assessor James Houlihan report on tax exempt hospital valuation.
Center for Tax and Budget Accountability 2009 report on tax exemptions for non-profit hospital
Health Policy Report
Protecting the Legacy of Caring for Vulnerable Populations: An Action Agenda of the Cook County Health System
Through the efforts of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine Institute for Healthcare Studies, Health Management Associates and the Otho S. A. Sprague Memorial Institute, a comprehensive study of Cook County health delivery systems was conducted. The resulting report and executive summary are attached. I will work in the coming days to implement the key recommendations of the study.
The County Board passed a resolution authorizing a referendum to be placed on the February 5, 2008 primary election ballot. As a co-sponsor of this measure, I believe that an affirmative vote on this referendum will show a strong show of support for our Veterans and our troops.
Evanston Legislators call upon residents to help combat domestic violence by recycling old cell phones
Are you getting a new phone this holiday season? U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky, State Senator Jeff Schoenberg, State Representative Julie Hamos, and Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin encourage you to donate your old cell phones to help combat domestic violence.
Used wireless phones can be dropped off at the Evanston Legislative Offices during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM, located at 820 Davis St., 1st Floor, Evanston, IL 60201.
I am pleased to offer the final report of President Steele's Transition Team. This report will be given to President-Elect Todd Stroger as a guide to reforming Cook County.
On November 29, 2006, The Cook County Board of Commissioners agreed to enter into a settlement agreement on behalf of Cook County with the plaintiffs in the federal court Shakman lawsuit. The settlement will resolve all pending civil matters related to any alleged violation of the Shakman consent decrees under the offices of the President and will allow the citizens of Cook County to have full confidence that the County is moving forward with both fair and honest administration of government and that the hiring of non-exempt positions are done so without the influence of politics. U.S. District Court Judge Wayne Andersen entered the order on November 30, 2006 accepting the settlement agreement. Read full statement .
More information about the Shakman settlement can be found here.
Juvenile Temporary Detention Center Updates
I will continue to post information related to the administration of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. The JTDC is under a court decree in the Doe case to provide a healthy and safe environment for the children it houses. Many problems exist in the operation and continued court monitoring is necessary to improve the situation.
You can see relevant information to the JTDC here.
Crain's: Suffredin seeking $200 million a year to fund county system
By Mike Colias and Greg Hinz (October 8, 2006)
A Cook County commissioner wants to squeeze as much as $200 million a year from local hospitals to help fund the county's cash-starved health system.
Commissioner Larry Suffredin says he'll introduce a measure in coming weeks that will pose a choice to the county's more than 50 non-profit hospitals: Offer more free medical services to ease the burden on the struggling county hospital system, contribute cash to that system or pay property taxes.
I am pleased to present the Executive Order issued Oct. 3, 2006 by President Steele concerning best management practices in the Forest Preserve District.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois have done the citizens of Cook County a favor by executing a search warrant and serving Grand Jury subpoenas concerning Cook County 's hiring process. This investigation is an opportunity for the County Board to redesign the employment rules and bring transparency that will give the citizens and our County and Forest Preserve employees confidence that merit and qualifications are the sole criteria for hiring, transfers and promotions.
The nearly 26,000 County and Forest Preserve jobs belong to the public and the public has a right to fair access to those jobs. President Bobbie Steele has made a good first step in issuing Executive Order 2 on employment. This Executive Order and the Shakman Consent Decree on hiring, transfer and promotion must now become the basis for a new employment ordinance. I will introduce such an ordinance at the October 4, 2006 Board meeting.
We should all be glad that the Federal Government has helped exposed the old system of hiring that was part of the 1950's or earlier style of politics. A new ordinance must have clear job rights and protections similar to Federal workers. The lack of a strong law has made County and Forest Preserve workers the object of scorn.
I trust that this action will give hope to our many dedicated County and Forest Preserve workers and that their futures will be decided by their efforts and not by outside political forces. If we are successful, then in the future County workers will have the same standing in society that Federal workers have now.
The library is the first of its kind for Cook County government and includes all ordinances passed or proposed by the Cook County Board of Commissioners and Forest Preserve District of Cook County since I took office in December 2002. My office will be working to ensure that this library is continuously updated.
Rogers Park to receive new Federally Qualified Health Center
Heartland International Health Center, an affiliate of Heartland Alliance to be new community health provider.
I am pleased to present the Heartland Alliance recent report, Building on our Success: Moving from Health Coverage to Improved Access and Comprehensive Well-Being for Illinois Children and Youth. This report, funded by the Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation, documents the barriers in Illinois to achieving a healthy life in the areas of physical, mental and oral health, as well as nutrition issues and insurance coverage, and makes recommendations for improving well-being for children and youth.
Commissioner Suffredin's statement on the hiring of a permanent CEO
The Cook County Health and Hospitals System Board has completed their most significant task by hiring William T. Foley to be an independent Chief Executive Officer. For the first time, Cook County’s health system will be run by someone with formal training in health care administration. Mr. Foley’s background shows he has the skills and the management experience the County needs. I am encouraged by his hiring and look forward to working with him in providing healthcare to the citizens of Cook County.
Commissioner Larry Suffredin wrote and passed historic legislation to separate the Cook County Bureau of Health Services from President Todd H. Stroger’s control. This legislation was called for and supported by editorials in the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times.
Through this site, you can follow the progress of the Cook County Health and Hospitals System Board as this independent group runs the Hospital System in a professional manner for the first time in Cook County history.
This Board is responsible for spending nearly $1 billion to treat the needy of Cook County.
Read the Chicago Foundation for Women’s letter to the Chicago Tribune regarding Commissioner Suffredin’s support of stabilizing Cook County services here.
