Another grim milestone was addressed today by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Cook County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Ponni Arunkumar. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office surpassed 10,000 cases handled in 2020 early Monday morning. The Office handled 6,274 cases in all of 2019.

This milestone comes as Cook County is coping with more than 5,000 COVID-19 deaths, 282 suicide deaths, 1,400 opioid-related deaths and close to 600 homicides so far this year.

A Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) will open today in Cook County to help residents recover from recent severe weather. The MARC is designed to allow residents to access disaster related relief services and information.  The MARC brings together representatives from local and state agencies as well as essential support organizations. This unique recovery center is open to all Illinois residents impacted by recent storms.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, U.S. Congressmen Bobby Rush and Sean Casten, and Cook County Commissioner Dennis Deer Discuss the Impact U.S. Postal Service Delays Have on At-Risk Communities

Today, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development and the Housing Authority of Cook County (HACC) announced the application deadline extension for the Cook County COVID-19 Recovery Rental Assistance program. 

Severe storms are headed to Cook County this afternoon. Residents are urged to prepare for high winds, flooding and power outages. Cook County’s Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security offers the following tips to help residents stay safe.

High Winds

The alarming rise in suicides among African American residents in Cook County was addressed today by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Ponni Arunkumar and Cook County Health Director of Behavioral Health Dr. Diane Washington.

President Preckwinkle says the African American community has borne an alarming brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, opioid overdose deaths, surging homicide rates and now - suicides.

Today, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development and the Housing Authority of Cook County (HACC) announced the launch of a $20 million rental assistance program to help suburban Cook County residents experiencing financial insecurity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Funded by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the program pays one to three months of overdue or future rent for income-eligible households. Payments will be made directly to landlords on behalf of tenants up to a total of $4,500.

Today President Preckwinkle announced the publication of public performance dashboards for each department in Offices Under the President. Each dashboard tracks 3 to 5 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that measure a department’s goals and accomplishments. Departments will update the dashboards on a quarterly basis and include open datasets from the Open Data Portal.

Today, Cook County Board President Preckwinkle joined ASIS Entertainment Network and several community-based organizations and street outreach workers to announce $5 million in new funding to reduce violence, during a press conference at the Austin Peoples Action Center.

Today, Cook County announces a partnership with the University of Chicago Office of Civic Engagement to offer seven weeks of curated educational content for the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are excited to offer this unique educational opportunity to residents of Cook County and hope to empower learning during a difficult time when people are at home and looking for something new to do,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, an alum of the University of Chicago.