cook county passes resolutionantcorruption

Cook county passes resolutionantcorruption series#

The bulk of the increased payments would go toward pensions, with a piece going toward a new health care trust.Ĭook's main pension fund has a funded status of 54%. 'It's not a crisis that needs to be solved in the next four days by this body.' The General Assembly's spring session ends May 31. 'This we believe does not stand the constitutional test,' AFSCME political director John Cameron told the Senate committee, adding that the county's pensions are better funded than Chicago's or the state's. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine, said he would not support the bill because he believed the county would eventually be forced to raise its property taxes to pay for it.Ī representative from the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, said the union believed the proposal was unconstitutional, and would likely sue if it became law. 'I'm not going to predict how we're going to do this, but taxpayers can count on us to be as judicious and efficient as possible.'Īt least one lawmaker, Sen. Preckwinkle added that the legislation gives the county 18 months to 'figure out how we're going to meet the financial requirements,' as the first increased payment is due in 2016. 'But everything is on the table, and we're going to make our commitment any way we have to, including using our general revenue.' 'We're going to be very creative about making government efficient, just as we have done for the past three and a half years,' said Preckwinkle, who took office in 2011. Currently, Cook is restricted to its property tax levy to make its pension payments. The legislation would give the county the authority to tap any available funds to make the payment. Preckwinkle and county Chief Financial Officer Ivan Samstein refused to provide details on how the county would pay for the proposal, which calls for a $147 million increase over its current contributions starting in 2016. 'At the end, about three or four weeks ago, it became clear we needed to do something if there was hope for action this session.' 'For the last two years we've worked with our union representatives,' Preckwinkle said. The measure has the approval of 67% of the county's unions, representing 61% of the unionized workforce. In her testimony, County Board President Toni Preckwinkle touted the proposal as a deal worked out with the majority of the county's unions. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, who introduced the legislation as an amendment to House Bill 1154, said Cook faced a downgrade that could 'seriously impact its finances,' and warned that doing nothing would render the two funds insolvent in 24 years. Like Chicago, the county needs the state to approve pension changes. The county's two pension funds are under 60% funded.

Cook county passes resolutionantcorruption series#

He faces a maximum five-year sentence on each of those three counts.Cook, like its largest local government, Chicago, is struggling to address its poorly funded pension funds after a series of downgrades from credit ratings agencies. No date has been set for Doherty’s arraignment.

Martin Sandoval pleaded guilty last month to bribery and tax charges in a case federal agents said involved the same red light camera company, Safespeed. The charges announced Friday are believed to be part of a wider FBI probe.įormer Sen.

Just make sure we get the, make sure we get the thing, the contract,” he said, according to the indictment. He is accused of offering to pay bribes to a relative of an Oak Lawn trustee and that in 2017, Doherty can be heard saying on a recorded phone call that he’d pay in $500 installments over eight weeks, Safespeed has a contract to operate the cameras in Oak Lawn. He has also garnered some of his own unwanted attention for nepotism and had, at one point, at least seven relatives on his suburb’s payroll.Īccording to federal officials, Doherty also worked as a sales agent for a red light camera company called Safespeed, Incorporated. The 64-year-old is the chief of staff to Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski, who also serves as mayor of McCook. Long-time Cook County official Patrick Doherty of Palos Heights was charged with bribery and attempted bribery, allegedly as part of an effort to get the lucrative red light cameras installed in Oak Lawn. A high-ranking Cook County political operative was indicted as part of a long-running FBI corruption investigation.Ī three-count indictment was made public Friday and alleged bribes were offered to get red light cameras set up in the Chicago suburbs. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.ĬOOK COUNTY, Ill. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated.