CHICAGO | The Cook County Board on Wednesday passed a measure requiring special approval for the creation of jobs and salary increases through the end of the fiscal year.
The measure was approved as an addition to a routine ordinance to continue paying necessary expenses until the 2009 budget is passed. President Todd Stroger has not yet introduced his 2009 budget, but a spokesman said the budget proposal is expected to be presented to the board before the end of December.
Commissioner Timothy Schneider, R-Elk Grove Village, who sponsored the amendment, said it would create more "transparency" in the hiring process.
"All this does is make the department heads explain why someone is being hired," he said.
Finance Committee Chairman John Daley, D-Chicago, said that some elected officials have abused hiring policies in the past by justifying new positions by saying they are for health care or public safety -- departments that have to maintain certain staffing levels by law.
"Time and time again, we see these (newspaper) articles (about improper hiring practices), and the county is blamed, so I think this is a good amendment," Daley said.
In a separate measure, the board approved pay increases and $500 bonuses for union administrative and clerical staff. The increases, proponents said, are part of a union contract that was negotiated in 2004 and only serve to bring newer employees' wages on par with those of workers who have been on staff for a longer period of time. The wage increases and bonuses will cost the county about $189,000 this year.
Some commissioners argued against the union wage increases, citing the depressed national economy and the county's own cash crunch, which recently resulted in the board begrudgingly issuing $364 million in bonds to cover operating costs.
But a majority of the commissioners voted for the measure, and it passed after a short discussion.
"The financial problems of this government or any government cannot be put on the backs of the lowest paid employees," said Commissioner Peter Silvestri, R-Chicago. "If the financial problems of the county need to be fixed, it's not by taking $300 away from a $30,000 (per year) employee."
