Preckwinkle Releases Latest STAR Report

Continuing her ongoing commitment to fiscal responsibility, transparency and accountability, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle today released the STAR (Set Targets, Achieve Results) Performance Management Report for the 3rd Quarter of Fiscal Year 2011. The report reflects the efforts of Preckwinkle’s administration to strengthen the process of performance management by tracking more data throughout the County and building better, more accurate measurements of that data. The newest report adds more than 30 new measurements and almost 100 new data points. The report also details 87% of all possible data compared to the 2nd Quarter report which only included 75% of possible data. “This is another step towards institutionalizing Performance Management and changing the culture of Cook County government,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. “This latest STAR Report will help inform our budget in a way that previously could not have occurred.” The latest STAR Report includes several key points where the County has been able to streamline operations or improve services by tracking data for each office and working towards a set goal. Notable in these key points are previously outlined energy savings totaling $6.8 million; procurement savings from Strategic Sourcing of about $25 million; increase use of the Sheriff’s Electronic Monitoring Program which drastically lowers costs (average daily cost for monitoring is cited at $64.74 whereas the average daily cost for a detainee at the jail is $142.60, according to a 2010 county industrial engineering study) while promoting re-integration in to the community; and the increase in attendance to the Cook County Forest Preserve District nature centers 11% higher than their target number (311,664 compared to 281,659) through newly implemented outreach programs. One area where the President intends to strengthen her office’s efforts is lowering the population of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC). When comparing the population, currently at 348, to other big cities it is clear that the Cook County criminal justice system is putting more children in jail and this emotional burden for residents is also a financial burden on the County. This is an area that remains a priority for President Preckwinkle and will be addressed as the budget process continues. “By putting this information in the hands of the public, we are hoping to engage residents in their government,” Preckwinkle said. “This information will help us improve services for residents by making our operations more effective and more efficient. One day soon, performance management will be the norm in Cook County.”