Cook County Technology and Innovation Committee Meeting - April 15, 2026

The Cook County Technology and Innovation Committee met on April 15, 2026, to discuss and act on several agenda items, including approval of minutes, a contract deferral, and receipt of reports from the Bureau of Technology and elected offices. The meeting featured extensive presentations from multiple county agencies on their technology strategies, major projects, and ongoing challenges with the Tyler Technologies integrated property tax system.

Consent Calendar

• Meeting minutes from March 11, 2026 (Item 26-11-46) were approved by voice vote with all ayes.
• Item 26-08-16, a proposed contract with Safeware Inc. for the Sheriff's Office, was deferred to the May Technology and Innovation Committee meeting by a voice vote.
• The FY2025 Chief Information Security Officer report (Item 26-06-44) was received and filed after a roll call vote: 8 ayes (Commissioners Aguilar, Degnan, McCaskill, Sean Morrison, Scott, Trevor, Vasquez, and Chairman) and 1 absent (Commissioner Miller).
• A bundle of three reports—the 2026 Technology Strategic Report (Item 26-06-45), the Information Technology Projects Report (Item 26-08-37), and the Software, Asset, and Technology Hardware Asset Inventory Report (Item 26-08-38)—was received and filed after a roll call vote: 8 ayes, 1 absent (Commissioner Miller).

Public Comments & Testimony

• George Blake Moore, a resident, criticized the absence of a Tyler Technologies representative, stating it was unacceptable and made the county look non-functional. He urged the committee to better serve the public and noted frustration with the property tax system delays.

Discussion Items

• Bureau of Technology (BOT) Presentation: Chief Information Officer Tom Lynch presented the 2026 strategic plan, highlighting priorities including standardization, AI policy adoption, wide area network expansion, enterprise hybrid cloud strategy, and disaster recovery. Deputy CIO Derek Thomas reported on the Integrated Property Tax System (Tyler Technologies) status, noting significant production defects affecting refunds and distributions to taxing bodies. He stated that the clerk's redemption module is targeted for mid-to-late May but faces risk. Chief Technology Officer Hema Sunderum discussed the identity and access management and generative AI projects.
• Treasurer's Office Presentation: Chief of Staff David Burns reported that the office's focus remains on Tyler system defects, which are preventing bulk refunds to approximately 87,000 Cook County residents and impeding detailed distribution data to taxing districts. He noted 61 open defects in the Tyler system. Commissioners expressed concern about the pace of defect resolution and the absence of Tyler Technologies representatives. Commissioner Degnan requested a workflow analysis and that Tyler be present at future meetings. Commissioner Morrison pressed about refunds owed for months and the risk of second-installment billing delays.
• Assessor's Office Presentation: Chief Information Officer Nathan Bernacki outlined strategic pillars of distinguished service, teamwork culture, and data integrity. The office is fully live on IS World and is working on website enhancements, ADA compliance, and AI governance.
• Board of Review Presentation: Director of IT Adnan Meman described six strategic IT priorities including property tax system integration, PTAP automation, workflow automation, and public transparency initiatives.
• County Clerk's Office Presentation: Director of IT Andrew Bukowski reported on a new in-house unified cashiering platform and other projects.
• Office of the Chief Judge Presentation: Director of Information Services Mike Carroll reported on mainframe migration completion, ADA compliance, eWarrant pilot with the State's Attorney's Office, and a major courtroom AV modernization project expected to be procured soon.
• Sheriff's Office Presentation: Mar Patel, IT representative, highlighted body camera deployment, jail management system enhancements, records management system migration completed that morning, and new contraband detection technology.
• State's Attorney's Office Presentation: Chief Information Officer Darren Ganier presented four priorities: a new juvenile case management system, a laptop refresh (55% complete), an Axon evidence management system go-live June 1, 2026, and collaboration on the eWarrant solution pilot.

Key Outcomes

• Routine approvals and reports received and filed as noted in Consent Calendar.
• The Safeware contract was deferred without discussion.
• No formal decisions were made on the Tyler system issues, but commissioners directed that Tyler Technologies provide a representative at future meetings and that a workflow analysis be documented.
• The committee received all presentations and reports as filed.
• The meeting adjourned at approximately 20:30 following a motion by Commissioner Vasquez.