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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
COOK COUNTY HONORED WITH 115 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
WHEREAS, Cook County was honored with 115 Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo), the highest number of awards the County has ever received; and
WHEREAS, the NACo awards honor innovative, effective county government programs that strengthen services for residents; and
WHEREAS, the recognition of so many essential programs and initiatives led by Cook County is a source of pride for the President and Board of Commissioners and provides Cook County employees with well-deserved recognition; and
WHEREAS, this level of excellence in innovation and execution is attained through the ingenuity and hard work of the Cook County employees who have launched these critical programs for County residents; and
WHEREAS, the Offices Under the President received 75 awards:
Office of the President (5): "Digital Inclusion Week 2025 (DIW2025)"; "The Cook County Policy Roadmap 2025 Progress Report"; "Cook County Property Tax Reform Working Group: Property Tax Incentives Study"; "Racial Equity Week in Action: Honoring the Past, Shaping the Future" and "Tech Tip of the Week".
Bureau of Administration (19): "Cook County Emergency Management and Regional Security Preparedness Fair"; "Budget Documentation Process"; "Building Infrastructure for Countywide Innovation"; "Co-developing an Environmental Justice Policy Framework with a Community Advisory Committee"; "Cook County District Overview"; "Countywide Vehicle Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL)/GPS Compliance and Exemption Process"; "Innovation Process Design"; "Integrated Initiative Management Dashboard for County Leadership"; "Phased Approach to Countywide Performance Management Reporting"; "Take Home Vehicle Management Process"; "Businesses Reducing Impact on the Environment (BRITE) Grant Program"; "RainReady Green Infrastructure"; "ANDE Rapid DNA Program"; "Innovation Community of Practice"; "Shakman Covered Process Improvements"; "Shakman Exempt Process Improvements"; "‘Paper the Steps’ - Internal Job Aids Initiative"; "Cook County Hazard Identification Risk Assessment (HIRA)" and "Cook County Bike Routes and Trails Map".
Bureau of Finance (17): "Equitable Contracting Goal Setting"; "Equitable Contracting Transparency System Improvement"; "Vendor Complaint Resolution Process"; "Bureau of Finance Enterprise Information and Collaboration Hub"; "Cook County Contract Management Effectiveness and Resource Portal"; "Cook County Legislative Coordination and Board Tracking System"; "Department of Budget Management Services Internal Ticket System"; "Employee Benefits Inquiry Management and Service Improvement"; "Employee Travel Reimbursement Modernization Workflow"; "Legistar Request Tracking and Workflow System"; "Procurement Process Stability and Submission Quality Improvement"; "Vacancy Count Dashboard"; "Cook County Procurement Evaluation and Tracking System"; "Solicitation Process Improvement and Automation"; "Unified Cook County Federal Administration Impact Response"; "Cook County Retirement Education and Enrollment Mobilization Campaign" and “Employee No Cost Mental Health Counseling”.
Bureau of Asset Management (13): "Build Up Cook Collaborative Vendor Fair"; "Increasing Contract Opportunities for Small Business in Facilities Management"; "Change Management for Asset Management System Implementation"; "Tenant Satisfaction Survey"; "Cook County Green Building Standards 2.0"; "Cook County Recycling Program"; "Harvey Regional Water Supply Emergency Response - Build Up Cook"; "Markham Courthouse Rooftop Solar Project"; "Park Forest Regional Fire Training Site - Build Up Cook"; "Build Up Cook 2025 Grant Guide"; "Artificial Intelligenc (AI) Lease Abstraction"; "Building Safety Training Module" and "Increasing Employment Opportunities for Janitor II Positions".
Bureau of Economic Development (10): "Cook County Arts - Creative Placemaking Program"; "2024 Source Impact Assessment"; "Cook County Leak Repair"; "Cook County Solar Synergy"; "Down Payment Assistance Program"; "Good Job Standards"; "Modular Homes Pilot Program"; "Road Home: Work Opportunities for Justice-Involved Job Seekers"; "Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt - Eviction Early Resolution Program" and "Cross-Department Management Matters Series".
Bureau of Technology (7): "Open Data Portal Home Page and User Resources Redesign"; "Automation of Awarded Contract Data Publishing"; "Brownfields Public Viewer Application"; "Cook County AI Procurement Risk Assessment and Mitigation Application"; "Cook County Generative Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework"; "Cook County’s License Matching Dashboard for Improved Software Asset Management" and "Suburban Health Data Publication Initiative: Automated Birth and Mortality Data Modernization".
Human Rights and Ethics (2): "Improving User Accessibility and Department Transparency on Cook County Commission on Human Rights’ Website Application Packet" and "Cook County Equity Landscape Review - Equity Fund Recommendation 6.3".
Bureau of Human Resources (1): "Vacation as a Talent Strategy: Advancing Workforce Competitiveness Through Paid Time Off Reform".
Justice Advisory Council (1): "Pretrial Programs that Change Lives: Supporting Education and Employment Development (SEED)".
WHEREAS, Cook County Health received 27 awards: "Content Strategy Project - Digital Marketing Growth"; "Fight the Bite West Nile Virus Prevention Campaign"; "Lead-Safe Cook County"; "The Essential Respiratory Dashboards"; "Regional Learning and Action Network"; "Automating EpiPen and Albuterol Standing Order Requests for Suburban Cook County Schools"; "Cook County Health ExpressCare"; "Cook County Good Food Purchasing Program: Food Waste Prevention, Diversion and Recovery Project"; "Cook County Good Food Purchasing Program: Scratch Cooking Project"; "Cook County Health Medicaid Working Group"; "Cook County Health Tele Stroke Network"; "Cook County Opioid Epidemiology Surveillance and Rapid Response System"; "CountyCare in the Community - Redetermination Events, Health Fairs, Baby Showers and Member Stories"; "Crisis Care System Assessment"; "Developing a Division Trauma Recovery and Injury Prevention (TRIP)"; "Get Naloxone Community Box Program"; "Optimizing Workforce While Protecting Patient Safety: A Virtual Observation Model for County Health Systems"; "Providing Quality, Preventive and Equitable Health Care for Cook County Residents with Medicaid"; "The Cook County Maternal and Child Health Collaborative: Integrated Surveillance, Policy and Care Initiative"; "Total Health Talks"; "Cook County Health Camera System Modernization and Command Center Initiative"; "Community Health Worker (CHW) High School Pipeline Program"; "CHW Learning Collaborative"; "Cook County Behavioral Health Apprenticeship and Retention Hub" and "Creative Culture and Wellness Initiative".
WHEREAS, the Cook County Assessor’s Office received five awards: "Targeted Campaign to Reach Homeowners Experiencing a Property Tax Spike"; "Kiosks and Callbacks: Using Better Technology for More Efficient, Informed Public Service"; "New IT Helpdesk Centralizing Standardized Technical Support Services"; "Internship Program Builds a Talent Pipeline" and "Leading with Digital Data Integrity".
WHEREAS, the Cook County Land Bank Authority received five awards: "Cook County Land Bank Authority ‘Working with the Land Bank’ Seminar Series"; "Home Sweet Homan"; "Modular Housing Program"; "10 Year Impact Report" and "Tolemi - An Improvement to Internal Efficiency and External Transparency in Community Development".
WHEREAS, the Clerk of the Court received one award: "e-Citation".
WHEREAS, the Cook County Clerk’s Office received one award: "Defenders of DA’mocracy High School Voting Program".
WHEREAS, the Forest Preserves of Cook County received one award: "Seed Amplification Program".
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners do hereby extend hearty congratulations to the Cook County employees who have worked so diligently to ensure the success of the 115 programs recognized by the NACo Achievement Awards. More information about the awards can be found on the NACo website (www.naco.org).
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