March 25, 2011
The Civic Federation’s Cook County Modernization 100-Day Accountability Report continues the work of our Cook County Modernization Project. This report includes detailed information on the status of all 36 recommendations from the Civic Federation’s Cook County Modernization Report (published in October 2010), as well as a dashboard rating system for recommendations that were to be implemented within the first 100 days under the leadership of Board President Preckwinkle.
Cook County has made very significant progress in implementing the Modernization Report recommendations within the first 100 days of Board President Preckwinkle’s administration. The County has adopted an ordinance to fully repeal the sales tax increase of 2008 and has adopted a budget that includes some significant reductions. However, a large number of the layoffs originally proposed have been avoided through furlough days and the County’s use of anticipated additional Medicaid revenues. The administration has taken steps to incorporate performance measurement into the budget process and has begun to make operational improvements.