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The Observer
News from the League of Women Voters
of Cook County
April 2021
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LWVCC Annual Meeting on May 18
The League of Women Voters of Cook County will hold its 2021 Annual Meeting on Tuesday, May 18, from 10-12 noon, via Zoom. During the business meeting, officers and directors will be elected, and the 2021-22 program and budget will be approved.
Materials for the meeting are posted on the LWVCC website. If you are interested in being a delegate, contact your local League president.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle (pictured above) will begin speaking at 11:15 followed by a question-and-answer session. As the top government executive in Cook County, President Preckwinkle oversees one of the nation’s largest public health and hospitals systems and criminal justice systems. She has worked to improve access to quality health care and increased fairness in the criminal justice system, as well as expand employment training opportunities for some of the County’s most disadvantaged youth. She is a member of the League of Women Voters Chicago.
- All LWVCC members are invited to attend, and there is no charge for the meeting.
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To register as a non-delegate, send an email with your name, local League, email address, and phone number to info@lwvcookcounty.org.
- A Zoom link will be sent to all those who are registered a few days prior to the meeting.
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2021 Suburban Cook County Election Results
Results are in for the April 6 Consolidated General Election for school board members, and village and township officials.
Registered Voters: 1,668,641
Precincts: All 1,599 reporting
Ballots Cast: 258,319
The turnout of registered voters was estimated at 16 percent.
Our thanks to local League members for their hard work helping local residents register to vote, hosting multiple candidate forums, providing information on how and where to cast a ballot, and serving as election judges on Election Day.
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Gov. Pritzker Signs Bill into Law that
Expands Vote By Mail, Curbside Voting
Illinois House Bill 1871 became law on April 2 when Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation to revise the state election code. Key provisions of the bill are as follows:
- Election authorities can now install drop-boxes at sites where voters can submit mail ballots on or before Election Day.
- Election officials can allow curbside voting for individuals to cast ballots from their car under the supervision of election judges from both parties.
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Election authorities can accept mail-in ballots with insufficient or no postage. The changes applied to the consolidated municipal elections on April 6. For the full text of HB 1871, click here.
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Highlighting Cook County Agencies
Medical Examiner’s Office Marks
10,000 Confirmed Deaths from Covid-19
In late March 2021, almost a year after the pandemic began, Cook County marked 10,000 confirmed deaths from coronavirus-related causes. It is the highest number of deaths the medical examiner’s office (MEO) has handled in one year.
The agency’s 105 employees investigated and cataloged every COVID-19 related death, an action which is required by law because of the disease's threat to public health. In preparation for an anticipated surge in deaths, MEO opened an additional 66,000-square-foot morgue next door to its permanent building on West Harrison St.
The MEO also rented 20 refrigerated trailers to place outside city and suburban hospitals as overflow space for hospital morgues. The trailers typically hold from five to 12 bodies but were equipped with shelving to allow for about 30 bodies.
“It has been a hard year,” Dr. Ponni Arunkumar, the Cook County Medical Examiner, told the Chicago Tribune. “But I think everyone knows our mission is to determine cause and manner of death, and we’re going to do it and continue doing it until we’re done with this pandemic.”
Of note: A death is not automatically counted in the COVID-19 toll by the mere presence of the virus in a body. The virus must have been the primary cause of death. If an otherwise healthy person who happened to be carrying the virus is fatally injured, that case is not considered a COVID-19 death.
About CCMEO
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The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office (MEO) is the largest Medical Examiner system in Illinois with the jurisdiction of approximately 5.2 million people, roughly 45% of Illinois' population. The Office was established on December 6, 1976, to replace the Office of the Coroner.
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The MEO's mission is to ensure public health and safety by performing autopsies and post-mortem examinations that determine the cause and manner of death of individuals who died in Cook County.
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Autopsies may be scheduled when a suspicious or unexpected death occurs or when there's a public health concern. such as death by fire or a homicide.
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An autopsy is a thorough examination of the body, inside and out, performed to document or rule out injuries and diseases. The procedure is performed by a medical doctor with special forensic training. An autopsy may take 2-3 hours or longer and is often followed by laboratory tests.
MEO can provide the following documentation:
- Certificate of Death (to funeral directors for filing with the local registrar)
- Autopsy Protocol (description of what is found at autopsy)
- Toxicology Report (lists any foreign substance found in the body)
- Special Study Reports (if applicable)
- Cremation Permits (to funeral directors)
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Excerpt from Recent LWVCC Observer Report
At the March 26 meeting of the Cook County Health board of directors, it was announced that CCH had ended January 2021 at $3.35 million ahead of budget. However, the Net Patient Service Revenue was lower than expected due to lower patient volumes. CEO Israel Rocha, Jr. reported that between Jan 25 and March 26, CCH has administered more than 290,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine. He also gave updates on Contact Tracing and the “My Shot” public awareness campaign. LWVCC Local League Representative Michelle Niccolai, of the LaGrange Area League, observed the two-hour meeting. For her full report, visit https://www.lwvcookcounty.org/cch-board-observer-reports
LWVCC Advocacy Action
March 15, 2021: “Observations and Recommendations” for the 2020 Performance Management program for the Offices under the President
were sent by the Cook County League of Women Voters to the Chief of the Bureau of Administration and the Director of the Office of Research Operations, and Innovations, under whose auspices the program was revamped and is administered.
The League reviewed the program (specifically the measures and goals and the form of the data provided) in light of the League’s position on performance management and not the departments’ performances. The website for viewing the missions, measures, goals and reported performances of the departments under the President can be found here: https://performance.cookcountyil.gov/.
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LWVCC Book Club Focuses
On Criminal Justice Titles
The Cook County League is a newcomer to the growing list of local Leagues which host book clubs. Like most, it took an enthusiastic member to get it off the ground.
Inspired by her Local League book club discussions on criminal justice, Dianne Schmidt, at right, of the Glenview/Glencoe League, and an LWVCC Local League Representative (LLR), suggested a similar approach for the LWVCC Criminal Justice interest group.
So far, the group discussed “Open Season” by Ben Crump and “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander. On April 30 from 9 to 10 a.m., they’ll discuss “Charged” by Emily Bazelon. League members who want to attend should contact Jan Goldberg at janbeatlesfan66@gmail.com or call 708-821-9928.
“Research shows that reading rewires our brains and increases our level of empathy for others,” Dianne said. “By nudging us to consider the perspective of people different from ourselves, we can become more caring and compassionate.”
Jan Goldberg, an LWVCC board member and co-chair of the Criminal Justice interest group, said she felt a book club “would also help us learn more about how other jurisdictions handle criminal justice issues and reinforce how tough the job is. Making changes in a system, which has historically been full of racism and other forms of discrimination, is difficult,” she said.
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April Is Overflow Action Awareness Month
And you thought April was all about showers that bring May flowers. In Cook County, it’s also about Overflow Action Awareness Month!
This year, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) has teamed up with Friends of the Parks (FOTP) to raise awareness about how rainfall can cause combined sewer overflows (CSOs) to our rivers and Lake Michigan, and its effects are on public and environmental health.
Programs offer insight on what individuals and families can do to conserve water use during heavy rainfall to reduce the possibility of CSOs; tips include holding off on laundry, dishwasher use, and even turning off the tap when brushing teeth. FOTP’s informative Overflow Action video outlines the water conservation steps you can take at home.
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IRS Approves LWVCC for a 501(c)(3) Tax Status
The IRS approved the LWVCC’s application for conversion of our tax status from a 501(c)(4) to 501(c)(3). The designation is available for charitable and educational organizations. The new tax status is retroactive to October 6, 2020.
A 3-member committee (Cynthia Schilsky, LWVCC President; Nancy Clark, LWVCC Treasurer; and Pris Mims, LWVCC Board Member) handled the application process having received approval for this change from the LWVCC membership at LWVCC’s Annual Meeting in May 2020.
The next and hopefully final step is our registration as a charitable organization with the Office of the Attorney General in Illinois. Our application is pending so we’re almost there, Leaguers!
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Upcoming Event
Saturday, May 1, 2021, 12:30-2 p.m.
LWV-LaGrange Area Annual Legislative Luncheon
Illinois’ new Speaker of the House Chris Welch will discuss issues facing Illinois, including the state's budget and redistricting, in a program offered via Zoom. The event is
free and open to the public, but advance registration is required. To make a reservation and to submit questions in advance for the Speaker, email league@lagrangearealwv.org.
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Two More Things
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LWVCC’s office phone number has a new extension: 312/939-5935 x 127.
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2020-2021 Cook County League Board Members
OFFICERS: President: Cynthia Schilsky, LaGrange Area; Vice-presidents: Jan Goldberg, LaGrange Area; Karin Hribar Arlington Heights; Secretary: Betty Hayford, Evanston; Treasurer: Nancy Clark, Oak Park/River Forest.
Board members: Carolyn Cosentino, Homewood/Flossmoor; Laura Davis, Palatine; Diane Edmundson, Park Ridge; Kathi Graffam, LaGrange Area; Peggy Kell, Oak Park/River Forest; Nancy Marcus, Winnetka/Northfield/Kenilworth; Priscilla Mims, Chicago; Chris Ruys, Chicago.
Local League Representatives (LLR): Mary Anne Benden, Arlington Heights; Ann Bolan, Oak-Park/River Forest; Georgia Gebhardt, Wilmette; Kim Inman, Palatine; Melanie King, Homewood/Flossmoor; Michele Niccolai, LaGrange Area; Dianne Schmidt, Glenview/Glencoe; Chris Slokwik, Palos/Orland.
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League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, political organization whose mission is to encourage informed and active participation in government; to increase understanding of major policy issues, and to influence public policy through education and advocacy. Membership in the League is open to anyone regardless of gender, race, or ethnic group.
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LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF COOK COUNTY
332 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 634
Chicago, IL 60604
312/939-5935 x 127
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