OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Finance Committee Hearing on FY26 Budget and Operations with Sheriff Dart – July 22, 2026

Board of Commissioners — Wednesday, July 22, 2026
BodyCook County, Illinois
SessionBoard of Commissioners
DateWednesday, July 22, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:30:45

Transcript — Verbatim
0:03

The Finance Committee of the Cook County Board is what we can.

0:06

We have the office of the sheriff for the Honorable Time of Star.

0:10

Welcome.

0:14

Is it down around?

0:15

Okay.

0:16

Thank you.

0:16

Thank you so much, Mr.

0:17

Chairman.

0:18

Thanks for uh having me here.

0:20

Uh the fiscal 26 budget that we are operating with is 774 million, uh, which was a sixty-four million dollar increase from 25, which is mostly due to salaries.

0:33

Our current spend for 26 is 362 million.

0:38

Um so we're on track to meet our budget.

0:41

Uh as we had said we would be.

0:44

The biggest driver of uh fluctuation there is our overtime.

0:49

Our overtime budget was set at 72 million.

0:53

We're at 60 million already, and we anticipate we're going to exceed that.

0:57

That has been driven primarily by our call-ins.

1:01

At the Department of Corrections, we average 467 officers calling in every day using sick time or FMLA.

1:11

And so that's 467 officers a day that makes it a little tricky at times, so we have to utilize overtime to cover that.

1:18

Um between that and some of the help we gave to the town of Broadview and the state um police um out there, that those were the two big drivers of the overtime that we had.

1:31

But because we slowed down hiring, we feel pretty confident we will meet our budget that we had said we'd meet.

1:38

I'd be happy to answer any questions.

1:43

Sheriff, it's always great to see you and uh just want to say thank you to you, uh Brad, uh Jason, your entire team for uh the good work you do for continuing to uh allow me and my chief of staff to visit.

1:55

Uh we get you you make sure we get in, you make sure we get out.

1:58

Uh but every time I go to uh the jail, I learn a lot.

2:01

And uh so I just want to say thank you.

2:03

I'm still waiting for the helicopter ride, and I'm gonna do that with Commissioner Scott.

2:07

We're committed to do that.

2:08

Oh, absolutely.

2:10

We're committed to do that.

2:11

Give you both parachutes the whole nine yards.

2:13

So in the last year, you know, it's been a dystopic time for all of us.

2:17

And um certainly uh the sheriff's office has been called to probably engage in activities that are different from other activities that you've ever had to engage in.

2:26

Um what have we learned over the course of of the last year?

2:29

What can we do better than what we've done?

2:32

Well, I mean, to your point, uh to your point, a lot of the uh uh issues are driven by factors outside of all of our controls.

2:44

Now that's always been the case in law enforcement because you can't predict crime and things along those lines.

2:50

But now with all of the different um levels of uh intervention from the federal side of things, it complicates things tremendously.

2:58

I mean, obviously, as you folks know it what it's done to your budget and how that's complicated, and good luck anticipating that.

3:07

With us, it's complicated our uh operations at time because for you know, for starters, you know, we had no plan in place to be you know trying to assist the state um at Broadview and help that town out.

3:19

So that was, you know, training people, deploying people, all that.

3:24

Um so I mean, in the areas that you would expect us to be working on and to be in front of, we've been you know doing just that.

3:33

We've been out in front of the issues, we've been anticipating the issues, um, you know, whether it's the jail population, operations of the jail, uh, the uh winding down of EM, the working together with uh Judge Beech, which has been fantastic.

3:48

Those things have all worked pretty seamlessly.

3:50

The parts that get um uh difficult, as they say, is when we get the all of a sudden out of nowhere, we get some uh pivot from the federal government, and then we're scrambling.

4:02

Um I and I don't know how to work around that.

4:07

Um is we've always said we we're really proud of what we do, but at the same time, we're far from perfect.

4:12

So if there's suggestions on things that we can do differently, we'll either do them or at least certainly explore to see if they make sense to do.

4:19

Okay.

4:19

I think that's fair.

4:20

That's a fair request, and I think you can trust this board will do that as is needed.

4:25

Um relative to the EM program, uh are you now the sheriff's uh department?

4:30

Are you completely out of the program?

4:31

How how is that working?

4:32

I wish uh we were down, I and I say that only.

4:36

I I I say that only because one of the things that I anticipated and I had mentioned uh year plus ago was that there would be some people on the EM that would just uh uh linger for lack of a better word.

4:49

So we stopped accepting people well over a year ago, but we're still we we're 168 or seven people on it right now, which really is not a good use of anyone's time.

5:00

We anticipated that.

5:02

So for months now we've been working both with the Chief Judge's office and with the um uh the the new entity that was created for the rest of the state of Illinois.

5:11

I I can't remember the name of it right now that administers uh home monitoring for all the rest of the st the the state.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████50%
Criminal Justice██████████████15%
Budget Equity Analysis█████6%
Immigration and Naturalization█████5%
Public Health████4%
Workforce Development████4%
Technology and Innovation████4%
Community Engagement██2%
Public Transit██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Finance Committee Hearing on FY26 Budget and Operations with Sheriff Dart – July 22, 2026

The Finance Committee of the Cook County Board held a hearing on July 22, 2026, to review the FY26 budget and operations of the Cook County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Dart and his team provided an update on the budget, staffing, overtime, electronic monitoring, immigration enforcement, jail safety, and various programs. Commissioners questioned the Sheriff on a wide range of topics, including courthouse security, ICE interactions, jail deaths, food quality, and technology proposals.

Discussion Items

  • Budget Overview: Sheriff Dart reported that the FY26 operating budget is $774 million, a $64 million increase from FY25, mostly due to salaries. Current spend is $362 million. Overtime budget was set at $72 million, but $60 million has already been spent, driven by an average of 467 correctional officers calling in sick or using FMLA each day. The Sheriff expressed confidence in meeting the budget due to slowed hiring. The proposed FY27 budget is $861 million, largely for pay and benefits.

  • Electronic Monitoring (EM) Program: The Sheriff's office is winding down its EM program, still 168 people remain. Transfer to the Chief Judge's office is slow. The Sheriff noted that legislative changes made his program unworkable; his program was more restrictive and transparent than the Chief Judge's. Commissioner Stamps questioned whether transferring EM to the Chief Judge would be safer, given recent incidents. The Sheriff reiterated that the legislature changed the rules, and he could no longer run the program safely.

  • Individualized Assessments and Discharge Planning: The Sheriff described a goal of providing individualized assessments and strategic evaluations to 98% of the jail population. The program includes deep intake assessments, personalized plans, and discharge planning that continues after release. Sharing of data with external entities is limited by privacy concerns.

  • Immigration Enforcement and Courthouse Safety: Sheriff Dart stated that his office does not honor ICE detainers, but responds to criminal warrants. The House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed data. Since January 2025, there has been an increase in ICE agents at courthouses. The Sheriff's office provides training on distinguishing warrants, First Amendment rights, and interactions with federal agents. The Bridgeview incident on June 17, 2026, was discussed: a person ran through a courthouse exit, pursued by ICE agents. Sheriff's deputies responded, and two officers are under investigation for possible policy violations. The Sheriff emphasized that the office had no prior knowledge of the ICE operation. Commissioner Naya expressed concern about the perception of collaboration and asked for stronger protocols. Commissioner Breeda requested a private briefing after the OPR investigation concludes. Commissioner Scott suggested de-escalation by approaching ICE agents, but the Sheriff noted the chaotic and rapid nature of the incident.

  • Jail Safety and Deaths in Custody: Sheriff Dart reported 233 vacancies, mostly correctional officers. Deaths in custody are mostly natural causes; drug-soaked paper has been a major issue. The Sheriff stated that Narcan is available on every tier and every officer carries it. Overdose deaths dropped from 8 in 2023 to 0 in 2024, with 2 suspected in 2025. The Sheriff defended the use of Narcan by officers rather than inmates, citing concerns about detecting drug use and the ineffectiveness of Narcan on synthetic cannabinoids. Commissioner Vasquez urged making Narcan available to inmates themselves, citing national recommendations. Sheriff Dart expressed openness to exploring options.

  • Food Quality and Commissary: Commissioner Stamps raised concerns about the nutritional value of meals, noting that detainees often rely on commissary. The Sheriff stated that the office has been working with the food provider to ensure menus meet contract requirements. He agreed to provide data on commissary revenue and pricing. Commissioner Stamps emphasized that for an additional $17 million, meals should be more nutritious.

  • Technology Proposals: BriefCam AI video surveillance software was discussed for jail use, primarily to detect movements and save lives. Sheriff Dart stated that facial recognition would be used only in limited circumstances and would be reported to the board. Commissioner Vasquez expressed concerns about the technology's track record and requested the contract before the item comes to committee. The Sheriff agreed to provide the contract and a presentation.

  • Release Times: Sheriff's Chief of Staff Brad Curry outlined improvements to reduce delays in releasing detainees, including scanning documents sooner and starting discharge paperwork immediately after a court hearing. The goal is to have the process ironed out in three to four weeks.

  • Vocational Programs and Pay: Several vocational programs exist, some paid and some not. The dog training program and art/music programs are not paid; the building deconstruction program is paid. The Sheriff agreed to provide a breakdown of paid programs and amounts.

  • Lowering Hiring Age: Sheriff Dart championed legislation allowing correctional officers to be hired at age 18, effective January 1, 2027. He outlined a plan with mentoring, additional training, and mental health supports. Commissioner Marita asked for the full plan, especially mental health screenings. The Sheriff committed to sharing it.

  • CTA Deployment and Helicopter: The Sheriff's office has spent $7.5 million on CTA operations, fully reimbursed by NETA. The helicopter has logged 724 hours, with 16% for traffic enforcement, and has generated significant revenue. Data on citations and revenue will be provided.

Key Outcomes

  • Investigations: The OPR investigation into the Bridgeview incident is expected to conclude in two to three weeks. Commissioner Breeda requested a private meeting after the investigation.
  • Data and Reports: The Sheriff agreed to provide the following: breakdown of paid vocational programs and amounts, data on commissary revenue and pricing, full plan for hiring 18-year-olds, contract for BriefCam AI software, metrics on the impact of the lower hiring age, and citations/revenue from the helicopter.
  • Collaboration: Sheriff Dart expressed willingness to work with commissioners on improving protocols for courthouse safety, virtual court appearances, and Narcan access for inmates. Commissioner Vasquez will provide research on alternative technologies.
  • Budget: The FY27 budget request of $861 million will be discussed further with the President's office and budget office.

Meeting Transcript

The Finance Committee of the Cook County Board is what we can. We have the office of the sheriff for the Honorable Time of Star. Welcome. Is it down around? Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. Thanks for uh having me here. Uh the fiscal 26 budget that we are operating with is 774 million, uh, which was a sixty-four million dollar increase from 25, which is mostly due to salaries. Our current spend for 26 is 362 million. Um so we're on track to meet our budget. Uh as we had said we would be. The biggest driver of uh fluctuation there is our overtime. Our overtime budget was set at 72 million. We're at 60 million already, and we anticipate we're going to exceed that. That has been driven primarily by our call-ins. At the Department of Corrections, we average 467 officers calling in every day using sick time or FMLA. And so that's 467 officers a day that makes it a little tricky at times, so we have to utilize overtime to cover that. Um between that and some of the help we gave to the town of Broadview and the state um police um out there, that those were the two big drivers of the overtime that we had. But because we slowed down hiring, we feel pretty confident we will meet our budget that we had said we'd meet. I'd be happy to answer any questions. Sheriff, it's always great to see you and uh just want to say thank you to you, uh Brad, uh Jason, your entire team for uh the good work you do for continuing to uh allow me and my chief of staff to visit. Uh we get you you make sure we get in, you make sure we get out. Uh but every time I go to uh the jail, I learn a lot. And uh so I just want to say thank you. I'm still waiting for the helicopter ride, and I'm gonna do that with Commissioner Scott. We're committed to do that. Oh, absolutely. We're committed to do that. Give you both parachutes the whole nine yards. So in the last year, you know, it's been a dystopic time for all of us. And um certainly uh the sheriff's office has been called to probably engage in activities that are different from other activities that you've ever had to engage in. Um what have we learned over the course of of the last year? What can we do better than what we've done? Well, I mean, to your point, uh to your point, a lot of the uh uh issues are driven by factors outside of all of our controls. Now that's always been the case in law enforcement because you can't predict crime and things along those lines. But now with all of the different um levels of uh intervention from the federal side of things, it complicates things tremendously. I mean, obviously, as you folks know it what it's done to your budget and how that's complicated, and good luck anticipating that. With us, it's complicated our uh operations at time because for you know, for starters, you know, we had no plan in place to be you know trying to assist the state um at Broadview and help that town out. So that was, you know, training people, deploying people, all that. Um so I mean, in the areas that you would expect us to be working on and to be in front of, we've been you know doing just that. We've been out in front of the issues, we've been anticipating the issues, um, you know, whether it's the jail population, operations of the jail, uh, the uh winding down of EM, the working together with uh Judge Beech, which has been fantastic. Those things have all worked pretty seamlessly. The parts that get um uh difficult, as they say, is when we get the all of a sudden out of nowhere, we get some uh pivot from the federal government, and then we're scrambling. Um I and I don't know how to work around that. Um is we've always said we we're really proud of what we do, but at the same time, we're far from perfect. So if there's suggestions on things that we can do differently, we'll either do them or at least certainly explore to see if they make sense to do. Okay. I think that's fair.

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