Board of Commissioners

Reacting to a state deadline to approve changes in local gun ordinances, the Cook County Board today approved two gun control measures and unanimously voted to hand out nearly $2 million to local groups for anti-violence initiatives.

Overcrowding at Cook County Jail has forced the county to look elsewhere to house some of its detainees. On Wednesday, Rock Island County became the 12^th Illinois county to agree to house jail detainees that cannot be squeezed into Cook County Jail.

Cook County commissioners unanimously approved an intergovernmental agreement under which Rock Island County will provide boarding and lodging to Cook County detainees at a cost of $50 a day. It costs Cook County $143 a day to house a prisoner in the Cook County Jail.

With a seasonal spike in crime expected to lead to an increase in the number of inmates at Cook County jail this summer, county Comm. John Fritchey (D-Chicago) is calling for a revised bail structure that would ease overcrowding at the facility.

Comm. John Daley (D-Chicago) introduced an ordinance at the Cook County Board meeting on Wednesday that would require social service providers who contract with the county to submit annual “performance reports.”

The measure, which was referred to the board’s finance committee, broadly applies to “other governmental agencies or nonprofit organizations, or for profit enterprises engaged in the field of social services.” Contractors must submit an “empirical analysis” describing whether they have met the terms of their deals with the county.