No Quorum for Cook County Public Hearing

February 14, 2012

On February 14, 2012, the Civic Federation blogged about its support for a proposed resolution that would put the abolishment of the Office of the Cook County Recorder of Deeds and the transfer of its operations to the County Clerk to a countywide referendum. The public hearing to consider the proposed resolution scheduled for that day was never convened due to a lack of quorum.

In order for the Finance Committee of the Cook County Board of Commissioners to conduct the public hearing, nine Commissioners had to be present to form a quorum. Eight commissioners attended the hearing, including Chairman Daley, resolution sponsor Commissioner Fritchey and Commissioners Gainer, Garcia, Gorman, Sims, Suffredin and Tobolski.

Although the meeting could not be called to order, Chairman Daley allowed the members of the public who attended the meeting intending to testify to the full Board to speak to those present. Speakers in favor of the proposed resolution included Civic Federation President Laurence Msall, Deputy County Clerk Clem Balanoff and Deputy Chief Information Officer Adam Clement. Those who spoke against the resolution included former Recorder of Deeds and current Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White and Chief Deputy Recorder Darlena Williams-Burnett.

The Civic Federation supports the proposed resolution to offer the residents of Cook County the opportunity to vote on transferring the Recorder’s functions to the office of the County Clerk. The streamlining effort will consolidate similar administrative functions and improve service delivery to the public. It is one step toward a government that both serves the needs of the community efficiently and reduces the funding burden on citizens.

The Federation strongly urges the Board of Commissioners to provide an opportunity for the public to voice their opinion on this issue.