We're ready,

right?

Yep.

Commissioners will continue the uh presentations.

Fiscal year 2027.

We have the uh Inspector General.

Hello.

Hello.

Tourell Pakistan Cook County Inspector General.

It appears that I'm not as popular as the public defender.

No, but they're coming, they'll be coming in.

Thank you for those that did come out.

Good afternoon, Chairman Daly and members of the Finance Committee.

Pursuant to Cook County ordinance, the mission of the Office of the Independent Inspector General is to detect, deter, and prevent public corruption, fraud, waste, mismanagement, unlawful political discrimination, and other forms of misconduct in the operation of Cook County government.

The jurisdiction of the IG includes all offices under the Cook County Board President, the Board of Commissioners, Cook County Health, the Forest Preserves, and the separately elected Cook County officials, such as the Assessor's Office, Treasurer, Clerk, Sheriff, and Board of Review.

Additionally, our office has jurisdiction over other government officials who are appointed by the Cook County Board or the Presidents, such as trustees of local sanitary districts and the Mosquito abatement districts.

This year,

the

IG office completed numerous investigations involving the county's tax system, identifying fraudulent tax exemptions, improper property evaluations, and instances where tax refunds were incorrectly withheld.

Additionally, we completed a review of the property tax system contract.

Our review found a perfect storm of widespread failures that delayed implementation and caused hardships for government agencies and property owners.

Through independent oversight, we helped maintain public confidence in government

and

ensure that taxpayer resources are used wisely and effectively.

Based on our 2026 follow-up report, the sustained reduction

in

claim denials represents potential cost savings of up to $500 million.

I repeat, the sustained reduction in claim denials represents potential cost savings of up to $500 million, demonstrating the long-term value of strong independent oversight in the role the IG office plays in protecting taxpayer resources.

Additionally, we had at least four investigations involving county officials and found issues ranging from inconsistent administrative practices to violations of ethics and political activity rules.

Furthermore, there was a board of review official who refused to cooperate with the with an IG investigation and made false public statements, and another elected official engaged in prohibited political activity on county property.

While one investigation found no intentional misconduct, all resulted in recommendations for clear procedures, improved transparency, and require ethics training to ensure compliance with county rules and maintain public trust.

We also reviewed a matter involving a high-ranking official in the officers under the president.

The investigation found that the office attempted to intimidate staff after a relative was disciplined and that the official refused to cooperate with our investigation in violation of county policy and the IG ordinance.

Further, we completed a review of complaints referred to the Office of Professional Review at the Sheriff's Office.

We identified significant deficiencies in the handling of misconduct investigations.

In response to our findings, the Sheriff's Office disputed our authority to review mismanagement and as such rejected all of our recommendations.

This led us to request a public hearing to address those issues.

Additionally, we also established a dedicated public safety oversight unit in the Office of the Independent Inspector General.

This work is important because independent oversight strengthens community confidence in public safety institutions, and it helps ensure law enforcement can do their jobs effectively, fairly, and with the trust and support of the public.

None of this work can be done without the necessary financial resources.

The IG budget for fiscal year 2026 was $3,537,706.

For its fiscal year 2027 budget, the IG office seeks funding an amount of $4,159,541, an increase of $621,000 in $835.

$621,000 and $835.

Most of which is devoted to salaries and benefits for our staff.

Last year we saw the budgetary floor to ensure our independence, both in appearance and in fact, and to provide this resources necessary to investigate sexual harassment, discrimination, procurement, waste and mismanagement, and public corruption.

Although the amendment establishing that floor was not brought to a vote, we did receive additional staff.

And as demonstrated by our work, we will put those resources to important and effective use.

We have not abandoned that goal of securing a budgetary floor.

However, but adding five new positions now would address our immediate operational needs to serve the county.

A $390,000 difference.

Again, a $390,000 difference on a $10 billion budget is a very small investment, but we'll go extremely far to address corruption, waste, mismanagement, sexual harassment, discrimination claims, and SHACMAN compliance that previously cost the county millions of dollars each year in federal court oversight, which a large portion is now handled by our office, not to mention law enforcement oversight.

Thank you for the opportunity to present the Office of the Independent Inspector General's proposed budget for fiscal year 2027.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you, Trevor.

Commissioner Dagan.

Thank you, Chair.

Um, thank you, Charles, for being here and for the work you do.

You know, as chair of the audit committee, I feel like sometimes people don't appreciate always the work in this space that really gets into the nooks and crannies, but the intent is to find gaps, make the county better, make it healthier, make it um, you know, more streamlined and work the way that the constituents wanted to.

So I deeply recognize that in the work you do, and thank you very much.

Thank