Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle today announced a reciprocal certification program the two governments have agreed upon, which will create crucial jobs in women- and minority-owned businesses in Chicago and Cook County. The new program will allow small minority- and women-owned businesses to be certified by just one government, and have that certification accepted by both entities.

On Friday, April 6th from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm the Cook County Department of Environmental Control and Calumet Township is sponsoring a free Prescription Drug Take-back program.  This event is a low-cost, high-value opportunity to tackle a critical environmental issue.  The EPA has asked people not to flush old medications, as trace elements have been found in groundwater.  Each year, close to 5,000 tons of pharmaceutical and personal care products enter the waste stream.  Many survive water treatment processes and end up in drinking water.  Medicines

A year ago I called for the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana, and Cook County passed an ordinance to further this effort in areas patrolled by the Sheriff’s Police. But in order to make a real difference, decriminalization needs to extend into the city, as well as the county.

A collaboration of healthcare agencies, including the Cook County Health & Hospitals System, the Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center and other AIDS service organizations throughout the city of Chicago, announced today the launch of a campaign called STEP UP, GET TESTED: ChicaGO for 5K, the first-ever collaborative National HIV Testing Day event series for the city.

Click here for the program's webpage

For the first time since 2002, Cook County has issued its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) within six months of the end of the fiscal year, President Preckwinkle announced today.

President Toni Preckwinkle helped commemorate the lives of 609 indigent persons and unborn babies buried by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office over the past year during an Interfaith Memorial Service hosted by the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple.