NEW ITEMS
Meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners
County Board Room, County Building
Thursday, February 21, 2002, 10:00 A.M.
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PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS
ITEM #1
Submitting a Proposed Resolution sponsored by
WILLIAM R. MORAN, County Commissioner
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois have agreed on a plan for O’Hare Airport expansion; and
WHEREAS, Members of Congress are attempting to introduce the O’Hare expansion agreement to establish the agreement as federal law; and
WHEREAS, if introduced as a federal law the O’Hare Airport expansion agreement would not be subject to public hearings and examination; and
WHEREAS, the proposed expansion of O’Hare Airport will displace hundreds, if not thousands of residents from the suburbs around O’Hare, both directly by construction and indirectly through further flight from the noise of the airport; and
WHEREAS, the expansion will increase air traffic around an airport that is already the world’s busiest, disturbing many more suburban residents around O’Hare; and
WHEREAS, the proposed expansion will create additional noise and congestion for the suburbs in and around O’Hare; and
WHEREAS, the Suburban O’Hare Commission, an organization made up of people and organizations most effected by O’Hare Airport, released it’s own plan to increase capacity at O’Hare without displacing those around the airport and at a lower cost; and
WHEREAS, even though the agreement does allow a starter airport for the southern suburbs, this airport will be overshadowed by the even larger O’Hare Airport; and
WHEREAS, south suburban residents will be forced to contend with an ever increasing amount of travel time to and from O’Hare and even Midway Airports; and
WHEREAS, the need for an airport and any economic development is greatest within southern Cook County; and
WHEREAS, the burden and benefits of economic development from an airport should be balanced across Cook County and not concentrated in one area.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners urges the Congress of the United States of America to oppose the proposed expansion of O’Hare Airport and instead to support an airport for the southern suburbs to allow economic development in all of Cook County; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this Resolution be sent to Members of the United States Congress representing Cook County.
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Commissioner Hansen, seconded by Commissioner Daley, moved to suspend the rules so that this matter may be considered. The motion carried unanimously.
Commissioner Moran, seconded by Commissioner Schumann, moved that the Proposed Resolution be referred to the Committee on Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations. The motion failed.
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ITEM #2
Submitted a Proposed Resolution sponsored by
WILLIAM R. MORAN, County Commissioner
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the provision of public services including police, fire, sanitation, public health, public education, public works and administrative services are vital to the continued well being of the citizens of counties as a whole; and
WHEREAS, elected officials and public employers throughout the United States have always sought ways to minimize the cost and maximize the delivery of public services; and
WHEREAS, proponents of privatization of public services are often shortsighted when they seek to minimize the cost to the public of providing these services using lower paid, less experienced workers while at the same time seeking to maximize profits to the contractor; and
WHEREAS, credible research on previous experiments to privatize government services has demonstrated that the delivery of these services has suffered as a result; and
WHEREAS, privatization has not been shown to benefit the public in the delivery of quality services; and
WHEREAS, privatization has led to public services being performed by non-unionized, lower paid and less experienced workers; and
WHEREAS, privatization experiments are in most cases a weakly concealed attempt to undermine public sector unionism; and
WHEREAS, public sector unions are committed to providing public services with the public good as the overriding motive as opposed to the profit motive; and
WHEREAS, privatization experiments represent a deep change in public policy by taking control of public policy by taking control of public services out of the hands of democratically elected governments and placing it in the hands of profit driven business establishments; and
WHEREAS, companies and businesses that seek contracts for the privatization of government services are motivated in large part by profits; and
WHEREAS, owners and shareholders of privatization companies and businesses seek to reap the benefit of providing government services at the expense of the citizens of our counties; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Board of Commissioners believe in the cost efficient delivery of public services where workers are appropriately compensated for their personal contribution to the public good; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Board of Commissioners believe that collective bargaining is the best and most just way to fairly deal with the needs of public sector workers and the cost efficient provision of public services; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Board of Commissioners believe that the government’s role in providing public services is antithetical to the motives of business entities, which are loyal to owners and shareholders, and not the public good.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the President of the Cook County Board and the Board of Commissioners condemn the continued attempts of government entities throughout the United States to subvert the collective bargaining process by their continued attempt to privatize government services.
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Commissioner Hansen, seconded by Commissioner Daley, moved to suspend the rules so that this matter may be considered. The motion carried unanimously.
Commissioner Moran moved that the Proposed Resolution be referred to the Committee on Personnel Compliance. The motion died for lack of a second.
PROPOSED CONTRACTS
ITEM #3
Transmitting a Communication, dated February 20, 2002 from
JOHN H. STROGER, JR., President, Cook County Board of Commissioners
requesting authorization for the Purchasing Agent to enter into a contract with the Center for Governmental Studies at Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, Illinois, to provide transition services, technical assistance and coordination in connection with the adopted Cook County redistricting plan.
Estimated Fiscal Impact: $40,000.00. Contract period: March 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002. (499-260 Account). Requisition No. 20180035.
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Commissioner Hansen, seconded by Commissioner Daley, moved to suspend the rules so that this matter may be considered. The motion carried unanimously.
Commissioner Daley, seconded by Commissioner Carr, moved that the County Purchasing Agent be authorized to enter into the requested contract. The motion carried unanimously.
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ITEM #4
Transmitting a Communication, dated February 11, 2002 from
JOHN L. HIBBETT, Director, Department of Risk Management
requesting authorization for the Purchasing Agent to enter into a contract with UNUM/Provident Corporation to provide Cook County employees with a Group Term Life Insurance Program. The basic premium rates are guaranteed for the three-year contract period.
Contract Period: March 1, 2002 to February 28, 2005
Account to Charge: 490-175, 499-175 and 899-175 Life Insurance Accounts
Fiscal Impact: Fiscal 2002: $3,083,544.00 (9 Months)
Fiscal 2003: $4,234,734.00 *
Fiscal 2004: $4,361,776.00 *
Fiscal 2005: $1,123,157.00 * (3 Months)
Estimated Total Cost: $12,803,211.00
* The cost of the benefit has a direct relationship to salaries depending upon labor negotiations. Therefore, the fiscal impact for years 2003, 2004 and 2005 increases accordingly.
We have completed a request for proposal process for the Cook County Life Insurance Program. Submitted is a list of vendors who received a copy of the RFP. Seven responses were received:
UNUM/Provident Corporation
Aetna Insurance Company
Fort Dearborn Insurance Company
CIGNA
American Heritage
Prudential Life
Combined Insurance Company of America
The Department of Risk Management recommends UNUM/Provident Corporation, as they have complied with all portions of the request for proposal as the most responsive vender.
Estimated Fiscal Impact: $12,803,211.00. Contract period: March 1, 2002 through February 28, 2005. (490-175, 499-175 and 899-175 Accounts).
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Commissioner Hansen, seconded by Commissioner Daley, moved to suspend the rules so that this matter may be considered. The motion carried unanimously.
Commissioner Daley, seconded by Commissioner Carr, moved that the County Purchasing Agent be authorized to enter into the requested contract. The motion carried.
Commissioner Hansen voted "present".
REPORT
ITEM #5
Transmitting a Communication, dated February 18, 2002 from
THOMAS J. GLASER, Chief Financial Officer, Bureau of Finance
Submitting the Memorandum on Internal Control for Cook County, Illinois relating to our audit for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2000. The accompanying Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2000 was previously distributed to the Board. I respectfully request that this report be referred to the Audit Committee for further discussion.
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Commissioner Hansen, seconded by Commissioner Daley, moved to suspend the rules so that this matter may be considered. The motion carried unanimously.
Commissioner Daley, seconded by Commissioner Carr, moved that the communication be referred to the Audit Committee. (Comm. No. 249895). The motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
ITEM #6
Pursuant to Rule 4-30, Christine Boardman, President, SEIU Local 73, addressed the President and Members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Ms. Boardman expressed concern regarding the current union contract negotiations.
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ITEM #7
Pursuant to Rule 4-30, Pia Davis, President, SEIU Local 73-HC, addressed the President and Members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Ms. Davis expressed concern regarding the current union contract negotiations.