Cook County President outlines new investments

Toni Preckwinkle has been the president of the Cook County Board since 2010. PHOTO PROVIDED BY TONI PRECKWINKLE
Toni Preckwinkle has been the president of the Cook County Board since 2010. PHOTO PROVIDED BY TONI PRECKWINKLE

Cook County President outlines new investments

By Tia Carol Jones

Toni Preckwinkle was elected as Cook County Board President in 2010. Since then, there has been a concerted effort to transform County government. The goal was to be fiscally responsible, transparent and improve the services offered by the County.

“We have a historic opportunity to spend $1 billion in federal resources, that will be invested in  recovery from the pandemic,” Preckwinkle said, adding that the City of Chicago received $2 billion in federal resources.

According to Preckwinkle, with a total of $3 billion to invest, and on the County side, 70% will go to the suburbs and 30% will go to the city. And, 5.2 million people will be impacted by these investments.

Preckwinkle is looking forward to investing, not just in the communities, but in the residents of Cook County. In order to find out what are the most effective ways to invest the money, Cook County engaged constituents. That engagement included canvassing door-to-door, surveys and Cook County Commissioners hosted Town Hall meetings.

Cook County has a Guaranteed Income Pilot, which is invested $42 million into. It consists of a two-year investment in individuals and families and is believed to be the largest guaranteed income program in the country. This is in addition to the $11 million Cook County spent with CARES Act resources during the pandemic. The goal with the $11 million was to give people a one-time infusion of cash so people could meet their food, housing and medical needs. The aim is to roll out the program by the end of 2022.

Cook County also is putting $12 million in helping people take care of medical debt. Preckwinkle acknowledged that medical debt plays into people having to file for bankruptcy. Preckwinkle outlined a process where Cook County would go to collection agencies and buy the medical debt with the aim of helping people clean up their credit and pay their bills.

Cook County wants to invest in behavioral health and create an office of Behavioral Health within the Cook County Department of Public Health. Preckwinkle believes it is something that is needed. Cook County will continue to support public health and public safety.

Preckwinkle believes that in order to decrease the violence, investments must be made in those communities and it is not something cities can “police their way out of.” There will be a $60 million investment in violence prevention and reduction programs, with $50 million to address the urgent, short-term needs, and the remainder going to longer term commitments. The money will go to community-based organizations that focus on violence prevention, anti-recidivism and restorative justice work.

Cook County is coordinating with the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois in an intergovernmental municipal working group to ensure the investments are not duplicative.
There will be a $240 million investment in Provident Hospital, upgrading the existing facility, investing in a new emergency room and medical equipment.

Preckwinkle also highlighted that in late April, Cook County administered it one millionth COVID-19 Vaccine shot. “I’m grateful to all the good people who have been on the frontlines delivering care,” she said.

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