Empowering Inspectors General

The Illinois Constitution dealt Cook County a strange hand. The President of the Cook County Board is elected from the county at large and is designated “chief executive officer of the county.” Yet important Cook county officials—such as the Sheriff, the County Clerk, and the Treasurer—are separately elected. Each of these elected officials is funded with County money, yet what authority does the “chief executive officer” or the County Board, for that matter, have over these separately elected officials?

Good question. Not explicitly answered by the Illinois Constitution. To be answered, in part, however, by a lawsuit in which BPI attorneys are representing the Independent Inspector General (IIG) of Cook County.

The Cook County IIG is charged with investigating such things as waste and fraud in the operation of county offices, including the offices of the elected officials. The ordinance also provides that all county officers are to cooperate with IIG investigations.

Some County officials don’t like that. Though they accept the County’s money, they say they are responsible not to the County but to the people who elected them. So when the IIG launched an investigation of possible wrongdoing in the office of the separately elected Cook County Assessor, cooperation wasn’t forthcoming. A subpoena was served and ignored—and a lawsuit followed. Must the Assessor respond to the subpoena or not?

While BPI achieved a victory in August when a Cook County judge ruled that the Assessor must respond to the subpoena, the Assessor has filed an appeal, and the issue is likely to wind up eventually in the hands of the Illinois Supreme Court. Stay tuned to our blog learn how this hand plays out.

Read more about BPI’s program areas in our latest annual report.

Back To Blog

Stay Informed

Join our newsletter and stay up-to-date with Impact for Equity.

"*" indicates required fields