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Record of Proceedings

Lake County Technology Committee Meeting - January 30, 2026

Committee Meetings — Friday, January 30, 2026
BodyLake County, Illinois
SessionCommittee Meetings
DateFriday, January 30, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:15:00

Original source
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0:12

Um today is January 30th, 2026, and I call the Lake County Technology Committee to order at 8 30 a.m.

0:19

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.

0:25

This meeting is being recorded via Zoom.

0:28

Will you please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance?

0:32

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:37

And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under data, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

0:47

Can I get a roll call, please?

0:48

Yes.

0:49

Member Altenberg?

0:50

Yeah.

0:51

Vice Jack Hasman.

0:52

She's on her way.

0:54

Chair Clark.

0:55

Here.

0:55

Member Dan Forth.

0:58

Member Frank.

0:59

Member Peterson.

1:01

Member Roberts.

1:03

We have a quorum.

1:05

Chairs or Marks, I just say happy new year to everyone.

1:07

It's our first meeting this year.

1:08

And it's good to see you all here today.

1:10

Staying warm.

1:11

All right.

1:11

And there's no unfinished business.

1:13

Our new business is the consent agenda, item 8.1.

1:15

Can I get a motion and a second?

1:17

Motion by Robert, second by Dan Forth.

1:19

All in favor.

1:20

Aye.

1:21

Any opposed?

1:22

Motion carries.

1:23

That brings us to item 8.2, which is a joint resolution authorizing a contract with CDWG of Vernon Hills, Illinois, in the total amount of 81,379.50 cents for the Microsoft 365 cloud backup project.

1:37

Can I get a motion in a second, please?

1:39

Motion by Altonberg, second by Dan Forth.

1:41

Good morning, CIO Blandy.

1:43

Good morning, Chris Blanding, CIO.

1:45

Eric Carlson, CTO.

1:47

Happy New Year.

1:50

I think I'm running out of time to say happy new year, they say for January.

1:55

Last time.

1:58

Perfect.

1:59

So today, before I'm going to try to give some background on this.

2:03

So this is a cloud backup initiative we're putting forward.

2:09

And this is related to our Microsoft environment.

2:12

So that's email calendar, Teams, OneDrive where people we store files out in the cloud in Microsoft's cloud.

2:22

And this is a um an industry trend to fill this gap here on the backup and recovery of that information.

2:31

Microsoft clearly uh stores the information, but it is about uh restoring it in uh in case there is a breach or deletion, et cetera, by a user.

2:44

We do that on our on-prem systems.

2:47

So we have file storage sitting in our data centers here.

2:51

Um, and that protects us for things like ransomware or breaches.

2:55

If our data were to get uh locked or accessed, we can restore it.

2:59

So this is filling the gap where in the cloud, we can now take that and bring it into our current backup environment.

3:06

So let's say somebody deletes a file, we can go back months to restore it, or in that security situation.

3:14

If we were to be breached, we could restore those files.

3:18

Um this is a one-year contract with the option to renew.

3:24

So we are not locked in.

3:25

That gives us flexibility after a year if we choose to go a different direction or if there's a price increase, et cetera.

3:33

So it's one year with options to renew for several years after that, I believe.

3:40

Um it's basically an expansion of our current system that I've talked about that backs up our on-prem files.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Technology and Innovation█████████████████████████████████████████████75%
Public Engagement████████13%
Federal Funding█████9%
Procedural██3%
Summary of Proceedings

Lake County Technology Committee Meeting - January 30, 2026

The Lake County Technology Committee met on January 30, 2026, at 8:30 AM via Zoom and in person. The meeting covered a Microsoft 365 cloud backup contract, a delayed Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system implementation update, and a comprehensive broadband and digital equity action plan update. Key votes included approval of the backup contract and the consent agenda.

Consent Calendar

  • Motion and second to approve the consent agenda (Item 8.1) passed unanimously (no opposition noted).

Discussion Items

8.2 Joint Resolution for Microsoft 365 Cloud Backup Project

  • CIO Chris Blanding and CTO Eric Carlson presented a one-year contract with CDWG of Vernon Hills, IL for $81,379.50 for a Microsoft 365 cloud backup solution. The system will protect email, calendar, Teams, and OneDrive data, allowing recovery from breaches or accidental deletions. The contract includes options to renew annually for up to five years, with a 10% cap on annual price increases. Discussion centered on whether approving the 10% cap effectively signals to the vendor that a hike is pre-approved. The committee addressed concerns that the 10% cap is a maximum, not a guarantee, and that CIO will negotiate. The motion passed unanimously.

9.2 ERP System Implementation Update

  • County Administrator Patrice Sutton and CIO Chris Blanding reported on the delayed ERP system (financial/HR backbone). The project missed its original go-live date due to inadequate configuration and lack of business process re-engineering. A change order with the implementer is being finalized; ARPA funds are expected to cover additional costs. A new governance framework is being developed focusing on collaboration, use cases (e.g., payroll processing), and process-first methodology. The team is targeting a 9/1 go-live with payroll the following month. Committee members praised the collaborative approach and change management efforts.

9.1 Broadband and Digital Equity Action Plan Update

  • Betsy Brandon (Assistant to County Administrator) and Kim Lunt (Digital Equity Coordinator) presented six strategies: support BEAD process (Illinois provisional award still pending NTIA approval), implement dig once policy, pilot public Wi-Fi (IGA with Waukegan approved for downtown corridor), distribute devices (1,021 laptops in 2025; target 979 in 2026), expand Digital Navigator program (70+ learn-to-earn programs, 850 NorthStar users), and form a digital equity coalition (143 participants in 2025). Morgan McDonough reported social media metrics: 106,000 Facebook reach, 751 engagements in December. Funding sustainability after ARPA ends in December 2026 is a key challenge; exploring grants and private foundation options. Committee commended the program's impact.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda (Item 8.1) passed unanimously.
  • Microsoft 365 cloud backup contract (Item 8.2) approved unanimously ($81,379.50, one-year with renewal options up to five years, 10% annual price increase cap).
  • ERP update noted: change order in progress, revised budget with ARPA funds, target go-live date of September 1, 2026 (payroll following month). Further finance committee update scheduled.
  • Broadband update received: Waukegan Wi-Fi pilot advancing; laptop distribution events planned for March, June, October 2026; digital navigator program continuing; coalition meetings scheduled (two virtual, four in-person).
  • Next meeting: February 27, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Um today is January 30th, 2026, and I call the Lake County Technology Committee to order at 8 30 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 via Zoom. Will you please 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, one nation under data, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Can I get a roll call, please? Yes. Member Altenberg? Yeah. Vice Jack Hasman. She's on her way. Chair Clark. Here. Member Dan Forth. Member Frank. Member Peterson. Member Roberts. We have a quorum. Chairs or Marks, I just say happy new year to everyone. It's our first meeting this year. And it's good to see you all here today. Staying warm. All right. And there's no unfinished business. Our new business is the consent agenda, item 8.1. Can I get a motion and a second? Motion by Robert, second by Dan Forth. All in favor. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. That brings us to item 8.2, which is a joint resolution authorizing a contract with CDWG of Vernon Hills, Illinois, in the total amount of 81,379.50 cents for the Microsoft 365 cloud backup project. Can I get a motion in a second, please? Motion by Altonberg, second by Dan Forth. Good morning, CIO Blandy. Good morning, Chris Blanding, CIO. Eric Carlson, CTO. Happy New Year. I think I'm running out of time to say happy new year, they say for January. Last time. Perfect. So today, before I'm going to try to give some background on this. So this is a cloud backup initiative we're putting forward. And this is related to our Microsoft environment. So that's email calendar, Teams, OneDrive where people we store files out in the cloud in Microsoft's cloud. And this is a um an industry trend to fill this gap here on the backup and recovery of that information. Microsoft clearly uh stores the information, but it is about uh restoring it in uh in case there is a breach or deletion, et cetera, by a user. We do that on our on-prem systems. So we have file storage sitting in our data centers here.

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