For any citizen who's ever gone to a Cook County Board Meeting, and stood in line only to watch County workers by-pass the line entirely; it's obvious that the County is giving an unfair viewing advantage to its public employees. And on one such occasion, I was actually barred from from viewing entirely; because the room was "filled to capacity." However, County workers were still allowed entrance.
On August 7th, 2010, I sent
the attached email to Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica as one of his 16th District constituents; proposing the following reforms:
1. There should be a publicly posted capacity limit, and a record-keeping system, notwithstanding the 17 Commissioners, State's Attorney, Board President, and specific others who are needed for participation, where entry is given on a "first-come, first serve" basis, and citizens are given preferential treatment when space is under strain.
2. There should be a log, where County employees check in and out of the Board meetings; and those who did not participate in the meeting will be charged with personal time for their attendance.
3. Where there are multiple meetings back-to-back, everyone in the observation spaces should clear out, line up, and compete for limited seats. Those who are already in line for those seats should be allowed in first.
As of today's date, I haven't heard back from Mr. Peraica; despite several phone calls and additional follow-up emails. And if you agree with me, that County workers who are being paid on public time, should be held accountable for that time; then please join me in solidarity in requesting that Mr. Peraica commit to introducing this legislation at the next Meeting of the Board.
