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THE OPPORTUNITY

TOWARDS A BETTER COOK COUNTY A Series of Ideas to Make Cook County Government Work Better for its Residents. CURRENT MISSION: Eliminate the elected office of the Recorder of Deeds and merge its functions with the office of the County Clerk. Towards a Better Cook County. THE OPPORTUNITY.

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THE OPPORTUNITY

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  1. TOWARDS A BETTERCOOK COUNTYA Series of Ideas to Make Cook CountyGovernment Work Better for its Residents CURRENT MISSION: Eliminate the elected office of the Recorder of Deeds and merge its functions with the office of the County Clerk

  2. Towards a Better Cook County THE OPPORTUNITY • Cook County has dozens of independent administrative offices run by separately-elected officials • Positions that are narrowly drawn and administrative in nature provide an excellent opportunity for consolidation with another office • We have an elected Recorder of Deeds for some public record keeping and an elected County Clerk for other public record keeping • Record keeping is an administrative function • 8 of the 10 biggest US counties have a combined Recorder and Clerk office • Merging the functions of the Recorder of Deeds into the Clerk’s office will improve constituent service, reduce political and bureaucratic inefficiency and save taxpayer dollars

  3. SEPARATE OFFICES, OVERLAPPING MISSIONS Budget: $28.7M Staff: 285 employees Mission: Public record keeper and suburban election administrator • Budget: $11.7M • Staff: 206 employees • Mission: Public record keeper • Key office tasks: • Maintain official records of land transactions • Maintain official records of UCC, tax liens and lien releases • Maintain other official records such as military discharge documents • Collect and record transfer taxes • Link land records to GIS data • Key office tasks: • Maintain vital records • Maintain other official records such as business name documentation • Maintain County’s property tax maps and calculate tax rates • Maintain legislative records, ethics filings • Administer elections for County suburbs • Recorders’ record keeping functions align with the Clerk’s Vital Records Bureau • Recorders’ transfer tax functions align with the Clerk’s Tax Services Division Note: This is a summary of each office’s key functions. It is not an exhaustive list of functions by office. Towards a Better Cook County

  4. ONLY 2 OF THE 10 BIGGEST US COUNTIES HAVE SEPARATELY ELECTEDRECORDERS OF DEEDS Towards a Better Cook County

  5. Towards a Better Cook County WHY IS MERGING OFFICES REFORM? Better constituent service Cost savings for taxpayers Less politics in government • Cook County has 29 separately elected officials. Larger Los Angeles County has 8. • 8 of 10 largest counties combine Clerk/Recorder • Centralized record keeping makes the service more user-friendly by increasing ease of navigation • Reduce the number of offices visited for record application and retrieval • Automating and updating of records done by one official • Civic Federation estimates combining offices could save $800K. (Item 31, pg. 154) • In 2003, then-Commissioner Mike Quigley estimated merger could save $600K (Pg. 23) • Based on these calculations (which assumed additional office consolidations) and new analysis we estimate taxpayer savings could approximately One Million Dollars annually Sources: Quigley report, Civic Federation, LA County documentation White Elects To Have Post Be Appointed Chicago Sun-Times January. Lou Ortiz. Pg. 34.   Chicago Sun-Times

  6. Towards a Better Cook County SO HOW DO WE DO IT? “Our government rests in public opinion.” - Abraham Lincoln • Ask the public through a County-wide referendum. • The Cook County Board of Commissioners must approve and adopt a resolution to initiate the submission of this public question. • The public question will be asked at the November 2012 general election. • Approval by a simple majority will allow for the offices of the County Clerk and Recorder of Deeds to be merged before the end of 2015 • We’ve done this before in Cook County... • 1972: A County-wide referendum eliminated the elected Coroner’s Office. • - It became the Office of the Medical Examiner; a position appointed by the President of the Board. Source: (10 ILCS 5/) Election Code; IL Constitution, Art. VII

  7. Towards a Better Cook County WE DID IT BEFORE... IT HAPPENED AGAIN! • On August 16, 1972, the County Board approved a resolution proposing a question referendum be placed in the general election ballot on November 7, 1972, calling for the elimination of the Office of Coroner of Cook County, replacing it with a Medical Examiner • On November 7, 1972, the voters, by an almost 9 to 1 majority, approved the proposition, setting in motion the replacement of an elected office with an appointed one. • On January 13, 2011, in Tazewell County, Illinois, the members of the Board approved a resolution presenting the referendum asking the electorate whether or not to abolish the Recorder of Deeds Office, consolidating it with the County Clerk’s Office • On April 5, 2011, 65.5% of the Tazewell County voters approved the referendum that calls for a consolidation to take place at the expiration of the current Tazewell County Recorder’s term on December 2012. Sources: Cook County Board Journal of Procedures. Records of meetings held in August 16, 1972 and March 4, 1974. Tazwell County Board Records. Resolution approved January 13, 2011  Journal Star, “Tazewell voters abolish recorder of deeds post”. Pekin, IL.April 6, 2011 Chicago Sun-Times

  8. Towards a Better Cook County HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE? October and November, 2011 December 2011 November 6, 2012 December 5, 2012 December, 2015 All functions have been transferred General Election New elected Recorder is sworn in File referendum language with County Clerk Introduction and approval of County Board Resolution Transition team from Clerk’s office works with newly elected Recorder on transfer of duties Inform voters of their choice to vote for merged offices Regular updates are posted for the Public to know transition progress

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