NEW ITEMS
Meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners
County Board Room, County Building
Thursday, March 7, 2002, 10:00 A.M.
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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
ITEM #1
Submitting a Proposed
Resolution sponsored by
JOHN H. STROGER, JR.,
PRESIDENT and BOBBIE L. STEELE, County Commissioners
Co-Sponsored by
JERRY BUTLER, ALLAN C.
CARR, EARLEAN COLLINS, JOHN P. DALEY, GREGG GOSLIN,
CARL R. HANSEN, ROBERTO
MALDONADO, WILLIAM R. MORAN, MIKE QUIGLEY,
HERBERT T. SCHUMANN, JR.,
PETER N. SILVESTRI and CALVIN R. SUTKER,
County Commissioners
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
WHEREAS,
the President of the United States, leaders in the medical community and
organizations dedicated to public health issues will officially recognize the
month of March as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month; and
WHEREAS,
Cook County has been informed of this event by Commissioner Bobbie L. Steele;
and
WHEREAS,
each year, an estimated one hundred thirty-five thousand new cases are reported
across America and fifty-eight thousand men and women die annually from colon
and rectal cancer; and
WHEREAS,
Cook County is proud to call itself a partner in the movement to the STOP
Colon/Rectal Cancer Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to reducing
deaths from colon and rectal cancer through education and preventative testing,
early detection and healthy lifestyle choices; and
WHEREAS,
as part of this national campaign, the goal of the STOP Colon/Rectal Cancer
Foundation is to save lives through public education campaigns on these
diseases throughout the month of March.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the President and the Members of the Board of
Commissioners, on behalf of the more than five million residents of Cook County
does hereby declare the month of March as “Cook County Colorectal Cancer
Awareness Month” and calls upon all citizens of this County to recognize the
urgent importance and value of this public health awareness campaign; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this Resolution be spread
upon the official proceedings of this Honorable Body and that a copy of same be
tendered to Dr. Ernestine Hambrick, M.D., Founder and Chairman of the STOP
Colon/Rectal Cancer Foundation.
_________________________
Commissioner Steele,
seconded by Commissioner Hansen, moved to suspend the rules so that this matter
may be considered. The motion
carried unanimously.
Commissioner Steele,
seconded by Commissioner Maldonado, moved that the Resolution be approved and
adopted. The motion carried unanimously.
REPORT
ITEM #2
Transmitting a
Communication, dated February 22, 2002 from
MICHAEL F. SHEAHAN, Sheriff
of Cook County
by
JACK J. KELLY, Chief
Financial Officer
Submitting the Independent
Auditor’s Report dated May 3, 2001, from E.C. Ortiz & Company, Certified
Public Accountants for the period ending November 30, 2000. This audit report contains a Statement of
Revenues Collected, Expenditures Paid and Changes in Fund Balances for the two
narcotics forfeiture funds administered by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office
along with the auditor’s findings.
Also included is the Report
to Management for the fiscal year ending November 30, 2000.
I respectfully request that
this report be received and filed by the Audit Committee.
_________________________
Commissioner Maldonado,
seconded by Commissioner Butler, moved to suspend the rules so that this matter
may be considered. The motion
carried unanimously.
Commissioner Daley,
seconded by Commissioner Quigley, moved that the communication be referred to
the Audit Committee. (Comm. No.
250198). The motion carried unanimously.
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
ITEM #3
Submitting a Proposed
Resolution sponsored by
CARL R. HANSEN and JOHN P.
DALEY, County Commissioners
Co-Sponsored by
JOHN H. STROGER, JR.,
PRESIDENT, JERRY BUTLER, ALLAN C. CARR,
EARLEAN COLLINS, GREGG
GOSLIN, ROBERTO MALDONADO, WILLIAM R. MORAN,
MIKE QUIGLEY, HERBERT T.
SCHUMANN, JR., PETER N. SILVESTRI, BOBBIE L. STEELE
and CALVIN R. SUTKER,
County Commissioners
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, in times of war
and conflict, many of our nation’s men and women have risen to fulfill the duty
to protect our nation, and
WHEREAS, many of these
brave men and women have perished in the fight, while hundreds of thousands
returned with injuries or illnesses that would plague them for a lifetime, and
WHEREAS, it is the nation’s
duty to provide assistance to these veterans for the rest of their lives, which
also includes providing assistance to their family members. In 1930 Congress authorized the President to
“consolidate and coordinate government activities affecting war veterans”, an
act which established the Veterans Administration, and
WHEREAS, the Veterans
Administration assumed many responsibilities, one of which was to provide
health care to veterans, their family members or survivors, and
WHEREAS, the health care
standards to which the Veterans Administration strives to meet are laudable,
focusing on treating the Veterans with courtesy and dignity, while providing
first-rate health care, and
WHEREAS, the Veterans
Administration has recently announced plans to shift inpatient services from
the Lakeside Division of the Veterans Administration Chicago Healthcare System
to the West Side Division within the next few years, which would allow
expansion of the outpatient services at the Lakeside Division, and strengthen
the Veterans Administration’s facilities at other locations within the
Chicagoland area, including the West Side Division, and
PROPOSED RESOLUTION continued
ITEM #3 cont'd
WHEREAS, the shift of
inpatient services to the West Side Division will require renovation of its
existing facilities and possibly affiliation with more nearby hospitals to
ensure access to cutting-edge medicine and highly competent faculty physicians,
and
WHEREAS, Cook County
Hospital and the Bureau of Health Services provide quality health care to the
needy citizens of Cook County, with affiliations extending to many reputable
health facilities nearby, including Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Hospital, all
of which are recognized as having highly qualified, competent faculty
physicians, and
WHEREAS, there have already
been discussions between Cook County’s Bureau of Health Services and the
Veterans Administration regarding the potential of collaboration of some
services, such as outpatient primary care, maternity care for women veterans,
ventilator care and pharmacy distribution, now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, that the
Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby conclude that the Cook County
Bureau of Health Services should support the Veterans Administration Chicago
Healthcare System’s efforts in maintaining the best possible care for our
veterans.
_________________________
Commissioner Maldonado,
seconded by Commissioner Butler, moved to suspend the rules so that this matter
may be considered. The motion
carried unanimously.
Commissioner Hansen,
seconded by Commissioner Moran, moved that the Resolution be approved and
adopted. The motion carried unanimously.
REQUEST FOR MOTION TO DISCHARGE FROM COMMITTEE
ITEM #4
Transmitting a
Communication, dated March 6, 2002 from
CARL
R. HANSEN, County Commissioner and
Chairman
Committee on
Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations
In accordance with the
rules of the Board, please place the submitted item, Communication No. 248514,
(appointment of Robert Halm to the Garden Homes Sanitary District), on the
agenda for the meeting of the Cook County Board for March 7, 2002, for
discharge from the Committee on Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations.
Comm. No. 248514
Transmitting
a Communication from
JOHN
H. STROGER, JR., President, Cook County Board of Commissioners
I
hereby appoint Mr. Robert E. Halm to the Garden Homes Sanitary District, to
fill the vacancy left by John Kissel, for a term to begin immediately and
expire on May 1, 2003.
I
submit this communication for your approval.
_________________________
Commissioner Maldonado,
seconded by Commissioner Butler, moved to suspend the rules so that this matter
may be considered. The motion
carried unanimously.
Commissioner Hansen, seconded by Commissioner Sutker, moved that
Communication No. 248514 be discharged from the Legislation and
Intergovernmental Relations Committee.
The motion carried unanimously.
Commissioner Hansen,
seconded by Commissioner Daley, moved that the appointment by the President be
approved. The motion carried unanimously.
UPGRADE OF COUNTY'S BOND RATING
ITEM #5
Transmitting a
Communication, dated March 6, 2002 from
JOHN H. STROGER, JR.,
President, Cook County Board of Commissioners
In connection with the
County's issuance of its $226,060,000.00 General Obligation Capital Improvement
Bonds, Series 2002C on February 27th, Moody's Investor Service upgraded the
underlying rating of Cook County to "Aa2" from "Aa3". In upgrading the County, Moody's cited our
large and growing tax base, diverse local economy, manageable debt levels and
well managed financial operations. A
copy of the Moody's report has been submitted.
The County is now rated as
follows:
Fitch Rating AA
Moody's Investor Service Aa2
Standard & Poor's AA-
This marks the fifth time
that the County has been upgraded by these three agencies since 1998, and
reflects the collective efforts of my Administration and this Board to be
prudent fiscal stewards of our constituents tax dollars. While many financial challenges lie ahead,
particularly the settlement of our labor contracts and escalating health care
benefits, we have a sound financial foundation on which we can begin to address
these issues.
_________________________
Commissioner Maldonado,
seconded by Commissioner Butler, moved to suspend the rules so that this matter
may be considered. The motion
carried unanimously.
Commissioner Butler,
seconded by Commissioner Hansen, moved that the communication be received and
filed. The motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
ITEM #6
Pursuant to Rule 4-30,
George Blakemore, addressed the President and Members of the Cook County Board
of Commissioners. Mr. Blakemore
expressed his concerns regarding the Human Rights Ordinance.