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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
SECOND INSTALLMENT SPENDING PLAN FOR BUDGETED FY2024 EQUITY AND INCLUSION SPECIAL PURPOSE FUND
WHEREAS, in November 2021, the Cook County Board of Commissioners passed Resolution No. 21-5542 creating a special purpose fund for Equity and Inclusion (“Equity Fund”) dedicated to addressing historical disparities and disinvestment communities that are marginalized or have experienced other social and economic disparities; and
WHEREAS, through the Equity Fund, intentional investments from government resources are allocated to address historical and continued disparities and disinvestment, (as defined in the Equity Report) and to bring advocates, service providers, and other partners to the table as thought partners and decision-makers; and
WHEREAS, in May 2022, in conjunction with the release of the inaugural Equity Fund Report, Cook County brought forth and approved a resolution detailing the Equity Fund’s first installment spending plan for the initial $50M which was allocated to the fund as part of the FY22 budget.
WHEREAS, at that time, Cook County (“County”) also committed to identifying a sustainable source of funding for the ongoing work supported by the Equity Fund. In its commitment to transparency, the County also committed to providing monthly financial reporting to the Board of Commissioners, hold an annual Equity Fund hearing for updates to the Commissioners and public and publish an Equity Fund progress report at the end of each year; and
WHEREAS, since the approval of the first installment spending plan of $50M, the President’s Office, department leads and the Equity Fund Taskforce have worked diligently to design and implement the twenty-five Equity Fund systemic recommendations and two initiatives including the Cannabis Business Development Program and the Cook County Landbank Homeownership Initiative. Highlights of that work, along with a detailed expenditure report will be provided in this year’s Equity Fund progress report set to be released at the end of this year; and
WHEREAS, as part of the FY24 Budget, the President’s Office in partnership with the Chief Financial Officer and Budget Office, has worked to designate the Casino Tax as a sustainable revenue source to support the ongoing work of the Equity Fund Taskforce and for those equity specific ARPA initiatives that the County will maintain beyond 2026 when federal relief funds are expended; and
WHERAS, as part of the FY24 Budget, the Equity Fund appropriation will be an additional $70M for its Second Installment Equity Fund Spending Plan, In addition to the direct allocations to the Equity Fund of $120M, the Justice Advisory Council’s grant funding of $10M has also been incorporated into the Fund to streamline administrative functions, bringing total investments to the Fund to $130M; and bringing total investments to the Fund to $120M; and
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Cook County Board of Commissioners supports the Second Installment Spending Plan and use of $70M in Equity Funds for the following Equity Fund recommendations and initiatives and in the following amounts:
1. Cannabis Business Development Program under the leadership of the Bureau of Economic Development (“BED”) will be allocated $4M. This represents a carry-over of the first $2M allocated during the FY22 budget and an additional $2M that will be needed to issue grants to eligible social equity applicants and to support the administrative costs associated with establishing the Cannabis Business Development Program.
2. The Cook County Landbank Authority will be allocated an additional $2.5M in Equity Funds to support the administrative and operational costs of their work to increase affordable housing stock and economic opportunity in systematically disadvantaged communities.
3. The Justice Advisory Council will be allocated $24M in Equity Funds to support its ongoing efforts through recommendations 3.2 and 3.3 to address community safety through a holistic approach including continued investments in promising Community Based Violence Intervention (“CVI”) strategies through its Gun Violence Prevention Grant Portfolio and housing and wrap-around services for returning residents through its Returning Resident Grant Portfolio.
4. The Community Engagement Pilot Program under the leadership of the President’s Office, will be allocated $530,500.00 in Equity Funds to strengthen the County’s ability to conduct meaningful and authentic community engagement to residents and other stakeholders across Cook County. These funds will be allocated to support increased engagement in Commissioner’s districts and in the Offices under the President including covering the administrative costs of hosting more resident focused events, purchasing of promotional items for County related outreach activities and through the implementation of the first Community Compensation policy which will be rolled out in a phased approach beginning with departments under the Offices of the President.
5. The Property and Taxation recommendation 2.1, led by the President’s Office and the separately elected property tax stakeholders, will be allocated $805,000.00 in Equity Funds to support the ongoing collaborative work to reform Cook County’s property assessment and taxation system. Said funds will cover the cost of critical research being provided by third party partners including CMAP and UIC as well as an annual tax sales ratio study that will be conducted.
6. The Equity in Transit recommendation 4.1, led by the Department of Transportation and Highways, will be allocated $7M in Equity Funds to support the planning, design, and implementation of a regional income-based fare model as the second phase of the Fair Transit Pilot, which launched during the pandemic in 2020.
7. The Health Equity in all Policies (HEiAP) Equity Fund recommendation 1.1, led by the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) will be allocated up to $725,000.00 in Equity Funds to continue its efforts to operationalize health equity and provide training and education to implementing departments across Offices under the President.
8. The Healthy Worker’s Initiative Equity Fund recommendation 2.11, led by the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) will be allocated up to $1M in Equity Funds to augment its efforts to engage with and receive input from a range of stakeholders that will inform CCDPH’s work to strengthen and enforce Cook County’s worker protection laws to ensure all workers receive fair compensation and are protected from health and safety violations by employers.
9. BED will receive an allocation of $1M in Equity Funds to continue its efforts to support the small business/entrepreneurship ecosystem through recommendation 2.8. This funding will augment other private/philanthropy funding and will be used to support the design of financial products/strategies that work to increase access to capital for this population.
10. The Department of Environment and Sustainability, in furtherance of recommendation 5.1, will receive an allocation of $1,924,500 in Equity Funds to augment its work through several ARPA initiatives to expand the implementation of its efforts to reduce waste materials to local landfills in the south suburbs, expand its Resilience Hubs and to improve community health and resilience through the planting of green infrastructure in 5-10 communities within suburban Cook County.
11. The remaining $301.45M in reserve may be used to support other priorities identified above or further addressed and/or aligned with recommendations in the 2022 Equity Fund Report. The President’s Office will provide advance notice to the Cook County Board of Commissioners regarding any allocation of the reserve.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Budget Director and Comptroller shall be authorized to execute any additional budgetary transfers or chargebacks to effectuate these programs and the spending plan provided herein; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Cook County Budget Director and Comptroller shall continue providing financial updates on the Equity Fund as part of the monthly Revenue and Expense report provided to the Cook County Board of Commissioners Finance Committee; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Cook County Board will hold a hearing annually to get an update on the progress of the recommendations and initiatives authorized under this resolution. An Equity Fund report will continue to be published in December of each year and made available to the Commissioners and members of the public.
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