Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced today that more than 100 volunteers, including Cook County employees, completed major repairs to the homes of two elderly residents in celebration of National Rebuilding Day.

The non-profit agency Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago partnered with the County to fix the two homes, located in south suburban Harvey. Improvements included new flooring, handrails, a front gate, furnace tune-ups, stabilization of a porch, and the replacement of spouts and gutters.

The second in a series of 3 articles on how Cook County Government is embracing the idea of innovative leadership to provide fiscally responsible, improved government services.

The first in a series of 3 articles on how Cook County Government is embracing the idea of innovative leadership to provide fiscally responsible, improved government services.

The County’s “Set Targets, Achieve Results” (STAR) Performance Management program strives to measure, report and manage performance to promote Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s four goals: fiscal responsibility, innovative leadership, transparency and accountability, and improved services.

Cook County officials today announced that 1.6 million second-installment property tax bills will be mailed to residents on time for the second consecutive year.

Property tax bills are expected to arrive in mail boxes around July 1.

The Housing Authority of Cook County (HACC), Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and organizers from KaBOOM! will host a design day for children at HACC developments, John Mackler Homes and Sunrise Apartments on Wednesday, June 19, 2013. Children from the community will put crayon to paper and draw their dream playgrounds, which will ultimately become a reality. Elements from the children's drawings will be incorporated into the final design for the new community playground to be built on Saturday, August 24, 2013, at the development.

The Forest Preserves of Cook County, one of the nation’s oldest and largest preserve systems, launched its centennial anniversary campaign today during a special event at the Chicago Cultural Center. As part of the three-year campaign, a new vision is being set for the continued preservation of the Forest Preserves, as well as initiatives to get more Cook County residents engaged with nature.

“Today the Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the 2014 budget.  Our $3.2 billion spending plan does not raise taxes, fines or fees for Cook County residents and strengthens the County’s finances while making critical investments in our public health and safety systems. The County also plans to make significant technology upgrades to modernize operations and improve services.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Sheriff Tom Dart today dedicated a monument at the south suburban cemetery used by Cook County for the burial of deceased indigents and the remains of unclaimed or unidentified individuals.