Health and Community Service Committee Meeting - August 5, 2025
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Health and Community Service Committee Meeting - August 5, 2025
The Health and Community Service Committee met on August 5, 2025, at 8:31 AM. Chair Parak participated electronically due to a qualifying reason. All members except Member Casson were present. The committee approved several resolutions and an ordinance, and conducted an executive session for periodic review of closed session minutes.
Discussion Items
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Workforce Development (8.1): Director Jennifer Sereno presented a joint resolution accepting the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Apprenticeship Expansion Grant 2025 in the amount of $275,000 for the Lake County Workforce Development Department, authorizing an emergency appropriation and increasing headcount by one full-time employee. The grant funds a second apprenticeship navigator focused on the care economy (healthcare, education, social services). Over the past two years, the program has onboarded 19 apprenticeships through social service agencies and worked with Joquegan High School on a paraprofessional apprenticeship program leading to a teaching certificate. The resolution passed unanimously.
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Citizen Participation Plan Revisions (8.2): Community Development Administrator Dominic Strezo presented a resolution approving revisions to the Housing and Community Development Commission citizen participation plan. The revision clarifies the appeals and grievance procedure for non-funding decisions, as recommended by the State's Attorney's Office. The resolution passed unanimously.
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HOME American Rescue Plan Program Allocation Plan Amendment (8.3): Dominic Strezo presented a joint resolution approving the first amendment to the HOME ARP Program Allocation Plan. Due to a HUD miscalculation, an additional $9,044 was awarded. The total HOME ARP funds are approximately $6 million, with none spent yet. The amendment incorporates the additional funding. The resolution passed unanimously.
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Rental Assistance for Asylum Seeker Services (8.4): Dominic Strezo presented a joint resolution accepting an additional $30,000 from the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus for rental assistance for asylum seeker services. The funds will be passed through to partner Mano Amano. The resolution passed unanimously.
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Nuisance Ordinance Amendment (8.5): Director of Environmental Health Larry Mackey presented an ordinance amending Chapter 94 of the Lake County Code of Ordinances (Nuisances and Environment Sanitation, Administrative Adjudication). Changes include: striking minor well and septic violation provisions from the nuisance ordinance (to be enforced under their own ordinances), and adding that allowing animal feces or urine to deposit on another person's property to the extent it causes property damage or loss constitutes a public nuisance. This also covers harboring animals (e.g., feeding wildlife) that cause such nuisance. The provision requires evidence and is intended for extreme cases. The ordinance passed unanimously.
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Medicaid Match Dollars for Health Department Capital Projects (8.6): Director of Finance and Administrative Services Angela Cooper presented a joint resolution authorizing an emergency appropriation of $2,040,635.74 in Medicaid match dollars for fiscal year 2025 for the Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center. The funds are designated for capital and facility improvement projects and are placed in a dedicated fund. The resolution passed unanimously.
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Member Comment – Nursing Inspire Program: Member Cunningham reported attending the graduation ceremony for the Rosalind Franklin University Nursing Inspire program, which has 17 students from under-resourced high schools. The program provides CNA training at CLC and aims to develop the healthcare workforce. Lake County workforce development was recognized for its support over the past three years.
Key Outcomes
- All six resolutions (8.1–8.6) and the ordinance (8.5) were approved unanimously by voice vote.
- The committee entered executive session via roll call vote (motion by Vice Chair Cunningham, second by Member Keneshnick) for the purpose of periodic review of closed session minutes (5 ILCS 120/2).
- After executive session, the committee accepted the State's Attorney's Office recommendations: release 4 of 12 executive session minutes items and keep 8 items confidential. The motion passed unanimously.
- The next regular meeting is scheduled for August 26, 2025.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, good after good morning, everyone. Today is August 5th, 2025. And I am calling the Health and Community Service Committee meeting to order at 831 a.m. In addition to being able to attend in person, remote attendance has been made available to the public via Zoom at the link on the agenda. This meeting is being recorded through Zoom. Per county board rules and the open meetings act, attendance via remote means is permitted for qualifying reasons as long as the majority of committee members are physically present. We've been notified in advance by Chair Parak that he is requesting to participate electronically due to one of the qualifying reasons. A physical quorum is present, so he may be marked as present and is eligible to vote on matters before the committee today. As a reminder to members attending remotely, please ensure your camera is on at all times. Okay. Member Dan Forth, can you join me in the Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. Can we get a roll call, please? Yes. Mr. Altenberg. Here. Member Casson is absent. Member Cunningham. Yeah. Member Dan Forth. Member Kenisnik. Member Maine. Present. Chair Park. Here. Okay, thank you. Um, do we have any addenda to the agenda? No addenda to the agenda. Do we have public comment? No public comments. Okay. No chair's remarks right now. Um, any unfinished business? No unfinished business. Okay. New business. We're going to move to the regular agenda. Uh, we have workforce development today, 8.1. We have a joint resolution accepting the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, apprenticeship expansion grant 2025 and authorizing an emergency appropriation in the amount of 275,000 for the Lake County Workforce Development Department and increasing the head count by one full-time employee. And okay, thank you. And second, second by uh member Knishnek. And we welcome workforce development director, Jennifer Sereno. Good morning. This is a really great opportunity here in Lake County. So this is the third of a five-year grant cycle for apprenticeship expansion. This grant allows us, as it has over the last two years, um, fund a position for an apprenticeship navigator. That role is to work with businesses throughout the county to build out pre-apprenticeship work earn and learn programs as well as apprenticeship programs. Over the last two years, the specialist, the navigator has worked with manufacturers to build out apprenticeship programs to onboard individuals in industrial maintenance, CNC operation, and um some pre-engineering programs, as well as I mentioned last week in the care economy, including education. With this grant, we are able to hire a second specialist that is focused on the care economy.
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