Cook County’s Chief Information Officer Named CIO of the Year

Cook County Chief Information Officer Simona Rollinson today was named Nonprofit/Government Chief Information Officer of the Year at the annual ORBIE Awards held in partnership with the CIO Leadership Association. The award honors chief information officers who have demonstrated excellence in technology leadership.

“Simona has led Cook County through several key modernizations that increased efficiencies and improved services for residents,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said. “I am grateful for Simona’s leadership and service to the County.”

Some key transformations led by Rollinson include:

• Employees countywide now clock in daily using biometric timeclocks instead of the County’s antiquated practice of using paper timesheets. The biometric system interfaces with the County’s payroll system, ensuring accountability in employee work schedules.
• The first automatic data transfers between the State’s Attorney, Clerk of the Circuit Court and Sheriff are taking place in the new Integrated Justice System.
• Residents can quickly locate County services on the County’s updated website.
• Any County employee who can use ordinary spreadsheets can now create interactive maps to inform the public or help their department operate more efficiently. 
• County employees are communicating on a secure, cloud-based email system.
• County property owners can file appeals with the Board of Review online.
• The County’s financials, supply chain and payroll will all be managed on a new, integrated Enterprise Resource Planning system.
• County residents and businesses can pay many of their taxes through a secure unified online portal.
• Across the entire County, workflows that depend on sending stacks of paper from agency to agency — with clerks then keying in the redundant information — are being replaced with instant digital data transfers.
• County employees are gaining access to tools to analyze the movement of data across County systems to identify patterns, find savings, streamline the way the County operates and improve services for County residents.

“We are overcoming the historical neglect of information technology at Cook County, which means making technology a priority,” Rollinson said. “Cook County is finally getting off the vintage mainframes or pen-and-paper processes, and I’m very proud of my team for the hard work they put in to reducing costs while meeting our growing needs.”