Transforming County Government

"It's a new day in Cook County," Toni Preckwinkle, new Cook County Board President, announced on election day. Civic Consulting Alliance and our partners have played a key role in helping the new President transition into office and undertake sweeping reforms.

Cook County government provides more than five million residents with vital services for public safety, health, property and economic development. It runs the second largest unified court system in the world and the second largest public hospital system in the country. Today, this government is facing significant challenges. In the immediate term, County government is faced with a considerable budget gap--21% over three quarters of fiscal year 2011 remaining after a budget is passed.

During transition, a joint team from Accenture, PeopleScout, SNR Denton, and Civic Consulting worked with the President's team to:

• Determine the budget gap and identify opportunities to address it
  

• Work with 80 civic leaders to identify strategic priorities and publish a Transition Report

• Recruit talent for the new administration in a transparent and effective way.

 These efforts have laid the foundation for the new President to deliver a balanced budget within months after taking office, and to transform completely the nation's second largest county government.

For her 100th day in office, Civic Consulting helped President Preckwinkle publish a 100 Day Report Card (PDF), letting people know how she was doing on each of her inaugural commitments.