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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
ESTABLISHING THE COOK COUNTY ARCHIVES ADVISORY COMMITTEE
WHEREAS, Cook County was created on January 15, 1831 by an act of the Illinois State Legislature as the 54th county established in Illinois; and
WHEREAS, Cook County has contributed significantly to the growth and development of the State of Illinois, the western frontier and the United States of America as a whole; and
WHEREAS, the County will celebrate its bicentennial in less than 15 years, a milestone which requires a full documenting of the history of the County and its role in the development of the world; and
WHEREAS, fundamental to capturing the history of Cook County is a thorough and complete documentation of the history of Cook County Government; and
WHEREAS, as Cook County approaches its 200th anniversary-and having developed a unique and extensive collection of public documents and records that contain historical significance-establishing an initiative to archive historically significant documents and records is imperative to County Government history; and
WHEREAS, Cook County Government must effectively and efficiently coordinate efforts across all departments and with all officials to determine the historical value of various county documents and records and make recommendations to the Board of Commissioners regarding access and promotion of the County’s history ; and
WHEREAS, Cook County Government must collaborate with individuals and organizations that possess experience and expertise in the implementation of large-scale archive efforts; as well as seek guidance and recommendations from current and past County officials with vast historical knowledge of Cook County Government;
NOW. THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the President and the Members of the Board of Commissioners that Cook County shall establish a Cook County Archives Advisory Committee;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Archives Advisory Committee will determine and develop the methodology and standards for the historical evaluation of Cook County documents and records, and will identify options to preserve and store materials determined to have historical value and to make those materials accessible to members of the public interested in researching county history.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Archives Advisory Committee shall work closely with the President, the Board of Commissioners and all County elected and appointed officials to achieve the goals of the Advisory Committee, taking into consideration all existing efforts at historic preservation by elected and appointed officials; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that all County offices will be asked to identify an Historical Archives Liaison to provide the Archives Advisory Committee with local expertise for the historical evaluation of documents; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the initial membership of the Archives Advisory Committee will consist of the following County officials or their designees: Secretary to the Board of Commissioners (Chair); Chief Administrative Officer; Chief of the Bureau of Asset Management; Chief Information Officer and the Executive Law Librarian; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Secretary to the Board of Commissioners shall report quarterly to the Board of Commissioners at the beginning of the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2017 on the progress of the Cook County Historical Archives Committee.
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