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Record of Proceedings

Cook County Veterans Committee Meeting - September 22, 2026

Board of Commissioners — Tuesday, September 22, 2026
BodyCook County, Illinois
SessionBoard of Commissioners
DateTuesday, September 22, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 13:58

Original source
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0:00

So the hour of 105 having arrived, we'd like to call the Cook County Veterans Committee meeting to order.

0:06

Madam Secretary, can you take the role for veterans?

0:08

Commissioner Aguilar.

0:09

Here.

0:10

Commissioner Britton.

0:12

Commissioner Daly is present.

0:13

Thank you.

0:14

Commissioner Laurie is excused.

0:16

Commissioner Marita is absent.

0:20

Commissioner Stamps is absent.

0:24

Madam Chair is present.

0:27

Ma'am, you do have a quorum in the room.

0:31

Let me revisit those that did not respond.

0:33

Excuse for Commissioner Laurie and absences for Commissioner Marita and Commissioner Stamps.

0:38

There is a quorum.

0:39

Okay, thank you.

0:40

A quorum is present.

0:41

Are there any changes to the agenda?

0:44

I have no changes for your agenda.

0:46

You do have one speaker register for this meeting.

0:49

Thank you.

0:50

Can we call the public speaker?

0:52

Ronald Vulagomez.

0:55

America cares too.

0:57

Ronald, are you here?

0:59

Thank you, sir.

0:59

You may go to the public speaking mic.

1:01

I will remind you of your time and be reminded of our public speaking rules.

1:07

That podium there.

1:10

Oh, whoa, sorry.

1:13

I thought it was three.

1:16

There's a total of three speakers too.

1:18

Yeah, please.

1:20

Um I want to present myself as Sergeant First Class Villa Gomez.

1:24

I'm a retired 30-year veteran from the United States Army.

1:28

I'm here to represent America Cares 2, a nonprofit organization, 5013C.

1:37

I'm presenting myself to the commissioners and making available to them of our opportunity to reach out and extend a helping hand to venture to the veterans and their families.

1:50

We do not want to give a handout.

1:52

We want to give a hand up.

1:55

So I asked the commissioner commissioners to consider our mission as a nonprofit organization to provide us whatever support is can be provided to this organization.

2:11

I've talked with uh Commissioner Aguilar and also Anya.

2:16

Uh Commissioner Anya, I spoke with her as well and several others.

2:21

Uh Mr.

2:22

Britton uh and uh tried to make open hand policy to them, letting them know that we are here located in River Forest, 7627 Lake Street.

2:35

Uh if you'd like to be welcome, you're welcome to come out and see our operation and uh let you show to you to demonstrate to you what we do for helping the veterans and so forth.

2:48

I will uh I will terminate this uh speech as of right now because I have not analysis talk about at this time.

2:57

But uh just addressing America cares to nonprofit organization.

3:01

Thank you.

3:03

Thank you, Chris Gentry is next.

3:05

Chris Gentry Hi everyone, my name is Chris Gentry.

3:13

I'm with Common Defense.

3:15

Um I mostly just want here to as a point of information to kind of raise what's going on when it comes to the VA to those in this community.

3:23

So as we know, there is over 300,000 veterans in Chicagoland uh across uh the two major VA facilities if you count North Chicago to three.

3:31

We've seen over 800 cuts to VA positions uh in Chicagoland alone.

3:35

Um those are overwhelmingly impacting uh positions that were already deemed short.

3:40

So we've seen 48 doctors, we've seen nurses, social workers, psychologists, which has led to an increased number of wait times across the entire system.

3:49

Um so in almost every single district here, we have some level of VA facility.

3:54

Almost every commissioner has at least a VA V outpatient facility.

3:58

Every single VA facility in Chicagoland has experienced significant cuts that have led to an increase in wait time for our veterans, which is leading to lives being lost.

4:08

Um I'm here mostly representing my organization who is trying to advocate for this on the federal level, and I would love the support of commissioners as we try and fight these cuts that are affecting our veterans in our communities.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Veterans Affairs█████████████████████████████████████████████89%
Immigration and Naturalization██████11%
Summary of Proceedings

Cook County Veterans Committee Meeting - September 22, 2026

The Cook County Veterans Committee met on September 22, 2026, at 7:15 PM (the hour of 105 having arrived). The meeting was called to order by the Chair, with a quorum present. Commissioners Aguilar, Britton, Daly, and the Chair were present; Commissioner Laurie was excused; Commissioners Marita and Stamps were absent (though Vice Chair Marita later participated). The agenda included approval of prior meeting minutes, a financial and operational report from the Veterans Assistance Commission of Cook County (VACCC), and public comments. Two members of the public spoke.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Ronald Vulagomez (Sergeant First Class, retired U.S. Army, representing America Cares 2, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in River Forest) expressed support for his organization's mission to provide a "hand up, not a handout" to veterans and their families. He asked the committee to consider providing support to America Cares 2 and invited commissioners to visit their operation at 7627 Lake Street. He noted prior conversations with Commissioners Aguilar and Anya (likely Commissioner Britton).
  • Chris Gentry (representing Common Defense) raised concerns about federal VA cuts affecting Chicagoland. He stated that over 800 VA positions have been cut in the region, including 48 doctors, nurses, social workers, and psychologists, leading to increased wait times and loss of life. He urged commissioners to speak out on the issue and support advocacy efforts. He also mentioned a crisis of military family deportations, tracking 18 military families in Chicago that have been deported or are in the process since this year. He invited veterans to a town hall hosted by VA unions on Saturday at the SEIU headquarters on Halstead.

Discussion Items

  • Approval of Minutes (Item 26-2381) : The committee approved the minutes from the meeting of April 15, 2026, by voice vote (motion by Vice Chair Marita, seconded by Commissioner Daly).
  • VACCC Fiscal Year 26 Second Quarter Report (Item 26-1948) : Superintendent Soto presented an overview, noting the VACCC provided $361,760.41 in direct financial assistance to 995 veterans, of whom 198 were new to the system. Monthly disbursements average around $120,000. The VACCC recently underwent an audit by RSM (the fifth largest U.S. accounting firm), receiving favorable results with no findings of fraud or misstatement. A new VAC location in Rolling Meadows is nearing completion (awaiting carpeting and painting), expected to open before the end of the calendar year. One vehicle (Ford Bronco Sport) has been received; three more (two Mavericks and a 15-passenger vehicle) are forthcoming.
  • Veteran Service Officer Update : VSO Manager Derek Giffen reported that Justina Barry resigned in May. The remaining VSOs attended the NAC VSO convention in Reno; Ferris Karaji attained accreditation from the Office of General Counsel. Operational activity included over 1,300 total claim actions, resulting in over $600,000 in retroactive sums, over $3 million in Q2, and over $12 million total for claimants represented by the county.
  • Outreach Update : Communications and Outreach Manager Connor Interest reported 116 events completed in Q2 (averaging 2–3 per day), directly assisting 410 veterans and interacting with nearly 1,500. An older intake system assisted 948 veterans with 3,796 individual requests. A new intake system has been finalized to streamline referrals. The next priority is updating the website to ensure seamless service across all platforms.
  • Commissioner Comments : Commissioner Daly thanked staff for outreach and noted the Rolling Meadows opening would be a great improvement. He referenced the public speakers' concerns about federal cuts and expressed support for working with them. Commissioner Marita praised the growth of VACCC services, noting that since joining the board, the veterans budget has quintupled. She acknowledged the federal cuts but highlighted increased local efforts.

Key Outcomes

  • Motion to approve minutes (Item 26-2381) : Approved by voice vote (unanimous).
  • Motion to receive and file the VACCC Q2 report (Item 26-1948) : Approved by voice vote (unanimous).
  • Adjournment : Motion by Vice Chair Marita, seconded by Commissioner Britton; carried by voice vote. The meeting adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

So the hour of 105 having arrived, we'd like to call the Cook County Veterans Committee meeting to order. Madam Secretary, can you take the role for veterans? Commissioner Aguilar. Here. Commissioner Britton. Commissioner Daly is present. Thank you. Commissioner Laurie is excused. Commissioner Marita is absent. Commissioner Stamps is absent. Madam Chair is present. Ma'am, you do have a quorum in the room. Let me revisit those that did not respond. Excuse for Commissioner Laurie and absences for Commissioner Marita and Commissioner Stamps. There is a quorum. Okay, thank you. A quorum is present. Are there any changes to the agenda? I have no changes for your agenda. You do have one speaker register for this meeting. Thank you. Can we call the public speaker? Ronald Vulagomez. America cares too. Ronald, are you here? Thank you, sir. You may go to the public speaking mic. I will remind you of your time and be reminded of our public speaking rules. That podium there. Oh, whoa, sorry. I thought it was three. There's a total of three speakers too. Yeah, please. Um I want to present myself as Sergeant First Class Villa Gomez. I'm a retired 30-year veteran from the United States Army. I'm here to represent America Cares 2, a nonprofit organization, 5013C. I'm presenting myself to the commissioners and making available to them of our opportunity to reach out and extend a helping hand to venture to the veterans and their families. We do not want to give a handout. We want to give a hand up. So I asked the commissioner commissioners to consider our mission as a nonprofit organization to provide us whatever support is can be provided to this organization. I've talked with uh Commissioner Aguilar and also Anya. Uh Commissioner Anya, I spoke with her as well and several others. Uh Mr. Britton uh and uh tried to make open hand policy to them, letting them know that we are here located in River Forest, 7627 Lake Street. Uh if you'd like to be welcome, you're welcome to come out and see our operation and uh let you show to you to demonstrate to you what we do for helping the veterans and so forth. I will uh I will terminate this uh speech as of right now because I have not analysis talk about at this time. But uh just addressing America cares to nonprofit organization. Thank you. Thank you, Chris Gentry is next. Chris Gentry Hi everyone, my name is Chris Gentry.

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