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***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
17th District, Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison proposes financial remedy for local governments who face revenue shortfall from delayed second installment of property taxes
April 1, 2022 - A very real financial crisis could soon hit every government taxing body in Cook County. That’s because the Cook County Assessor’s Office could delay the second installment of the Cook County Real Estate Taxes up to six months and possibly into the first quarter of 2023. This delay in over $16 billion dollars in second half bills will force local government bodies to either draw down their reserves or borrow money with interest. This will have a massive financial impact on our municipalities, school districts, fire protection districts, police departments, park districts, public libraries, and everything in between.
Over seven months ago during county budget hearings, I raised the alarm of the likelihood of late tax installments and the effect they will have regarding the delay in the process of property tax certifications – due to the dramatically diminished amount of files being processed at that time. Aside from communications from Board of Review Commissioner Tammy Wendt’s office, my questions and communications were largely ignored from the various stakeholders.
Subsequently, I sent a letter in January 2022 requesting a special hearing of the finance committee to address this ominous issue. I was advised via letter, the issue is being addressed by a policy group under the Office of the President along with members of the Assessor’s office, Board of Review, County Clerk and Treasurer’s Office. I received no other actionable response on this item!
I, along with the public, have now learned via “the news media” that tax bills will be delayed up to six months or more. If these news reports are accurate, this will lead to local government taxing bodies across Cook County being forced to borrow funds to cover their pre-budgeted operating costs.
If this financial catastrophe occurs and Cook County is faced with a substantial delay in the release of tax revenues to local government bodies, then Cook County government should consider stepping in to address this issue.
Until such point in time as those stakeholders whose primary function is to provide for the on-time delivery of our property tax bill correct this problem, I have one immediate solution. Cook County government should consider setting aside up to $100 million dollars to provide for no/low interest short-term financing loans to our local taxing bodies.
I re-issue my call to convene a special finance committee meeting to address the looming financial crisis facing our local taxing bodies in Cook County.
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Commissioner Sean Morrison calls for end to Cook County's COVID Mandate & Restrictions
Orland Park, IL - Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison sent a letter to President Toni Preckwinkle calling for an end to the Cook County COVID Mandate & Restrictions - following the letter from Chicago’s five Catholic High Schools urging Mayor Lightfoot to modify the Chicago’s COVID restrictions on schools and children.
STATUS UPDATE: Cook County COVID Mandate & Restrictions
Commissioner Sean Morrison's Statement on PRESIDENT PRECKWINKLE'S NEW COVID RESTRICTIONS FOR COOK COUNTY
Orland Park, IL (12/23/21) - Today, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced an overly aggressive order placed upon private sector business and employees in Cook County. I strongly oppose this approach as technically written/read, the order from Cook County's Department of Public Health (CCDPH), an office under the President of the Board Toni Preckwinkle, places a burdensome mandate on all private sector businesses to force vaccinations of all employees in order to maintain their employment.
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CHICAGO, IL — The Cook County Department of Public Health has announced that all individuals ages 16+ can now register online for a vaccination appointment at vaccine.cookcountyil.gov. Cook County has two Vaccination Mega Centers located in the suburban 17th District:
18451 Convention Center Drive
Tinley Park, IL 60477
Des Plaines Vaccination Center
(Formerly Kmart Store)
1155 E. Oakton Street
Des Plaines, IL 60018
COOK COUNTY WILL NOW OFFER WALK-IN REGISTRATIONS: Today through Saturday, Cook County will pilot a walk-in strategy by opening our Tinley Park (Moderna) and Matteson (Pfizer) sites for walk-ins. Walk-ins will be welcome from 8:30AM – 5:00PM today and Thursday. Individuals or groups who are interested in getting a vaccine can simply show up with photo ID and register onsite. Next week, Cook County will pilot evening walk-in hours at some of our sites to accommodate workers unable to get to a daytime appointment. More details about this will be announced later this week.
For the latest COVID-19 vaccination information in Cook County, and to make an appointment to be vaccinated, visit: https://cookcountypublichealth.org/.
Lemont, IL – Commissioner Sean Morrison was pleased to joined several of his board colleagues and staff from the Forest Preserve District of Cook County today for an Earth Day press conference at the Sagawau Environmental Learning Center in Lemont. Earth Day was a great opportunity to showcase the terrific amenities the Cook County Forest Preserves have to offer. In light of the pandemic, there is no better time for people to get outside and into the fresh clean air of our forest preserves to exercise and enjoy the experiences of nature right here in Cook County.
Please visit www.fpdcc.com to learn more about the Cook County Forest Preserves and why its one of the very best in the nation.
This week, we witnessed Governor Pritzker sign into law HB 2653, a massive criminal justice reform bill. This 700 page bill was quickly passed during the state legislature’s Lame Duck session in January. A piece of legislation of this size and magnitude deserved a much more transparent and open public review process which the Illinois General Assembly and Governor Pritzker did not provide. Instead, they rammed the bill through at 4:00am in the morning while the public was asleep in bed to avoid any kind of scrutiny. I stand with the Illinois Law Enforcement Coalition in opposition to this new law.
While shootings, murders and car jackings skyrocket in Chicago this one-sided criminal justice reform law, championed by State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and other notable elected officials, clearly favors criminals over law-abiding residents and police officers. This new law is very likely to have a negative impact on public safety in Cook County and across our state.
Will this new law make our communities safer? I do not believe it will. It makes the job of police officers significantly more difficult. It weakens proactive policing measures and will put police officers in a defensive posture. It makes the ability of criminals to exploit or sidestep law enforcement that much easier. It also weakens protections for crime victims. Ultimately, it will not make our communities safer.
By signing this bill, Governor Pritzker clearly showed his anti-police bias, and he put the interests of criminals and criminal behavior ahead of preserving the safety of Illinois residents and communities.
Commissioner Sean M. Morrison
17th District – Cook County
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