The 2024 budget season began on April 11 when the county board approved the budget calendar. Preliminary department budgets were due on May 26 with the deadline for final department requests on June 29. We continue to work with departments to refine their requests and to assemble them for presentation. The county board will get its first look at the... READ MORE >
The county approved a 2023 preliminary levy of $11,601,646 on September 13. This was an increase of 5.5% over the 2022 levy and determined the upper limit for the 2023 final levy. The board also set the date for the truth-in-taxation (TNT) meeting as Tuesday November 29 at 6:00 p.m. The truth-in-taxation statements were mailed to taxpayers the week of... READ MORE >
The first half of the 2022 election season came to an end with the state primary held on August 9. Turnout was a little lower than usual for a primary election. Statewide, the turnout of eligible voters was 18 percent. In Cook County the turnout of eligible voters was 36 percent. Our turnout of registered voters was a little over... READ MORE >
Planning for the fiscal year (FY) 2023 County budget began in April again this year— two months earlier than has been our usual practice. The reasons for the early start are to give departments more time to fit budget planning into their schedules, to give county administration more time to discuss changes with departments, and more time for the county... READ MORE >
The county board approved its 2022 proposed budget and levy on September 14, two weeks ahead of the September 30 state deadline. The levy was set at $11,157,253, a 4.5% increase over the 2021 final levy. We stared the budget process in April, with preliminary budget requests due at the end of May and final requests on June 30. When... READ MORE >
We began our formal budget process this year in April — two months earlier than has been our usual practice. The reasons for the early start are to give departments more time to fit budget planning into their schedules, to give county administration more time to discuss changes with departments, and more time for the county board to review and... READ MORE >
The county’s 2021 budget process essentially began in March 2020 when the county board declared a public emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. FEMA funding for some of our emergency response actions started almost immediately. The board closed public access to county buildings and departments prepared for staff to work from home. Discussions began to determine how the county could... READ MORE >
The corona virus pandemic has disrupted how we all live and work, and there’s no reason to believe it won’t have a similar effect on the county’s 2021 budget process. The budget is a fluid situation, changing by the week. The Budget Advisory Committee and the Cook County Board will set goals and develop a plan with the best information... READ MORE >
The county follows a series of steps in approving a budget and levy each year. The last legally required step, a public hearing, took place on December 5. The meeting, known as Truth in Taxation or TNT, was held in the commissioners’ room at the courthouse beginning at 6:00 p.m. Commissioner Bursheim opened the meeting by describing the legal basis... READ MORE >
The Cook County Budget Committee met on Sept. 16 to do a final review of budget requests and issues prior to the county board setting a preliminary levy. The committee heard from the highway engineer regarding the use of overtime, the reallocation of health care savings into bridge reserves and transportation sales tax projects scheduled for 2020. The committee reviewed... READ MORE >
