COOK COUNTY — The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office will open its surge center today to expand capacity and ease overcrowding at hospital morgues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The County’s Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security (EMRS) managed planning and is coordinating logistics for the center operations.

The 66,000-square foot refrigerated warehouse will have the capacity to hold more than 2,000 decedents. The facility is located five miles from the Medical Examiner’s Office.

I have been informed that a member of my Executive Protection Detail tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). This member of my detail was last in the Cook County Building and in a vehicle operated by the detail on March 27.

CHICAGO  —  The Forest Preserves of Cook County remain open, but specific locations have been closed that do not allow visitors to follow social distancing and other public health guidelines for COVID-19. Today at a press conference at Dan Ryan Woods in Chicago, the Forest Preserves announced measures to limit crowded conditions at open locations, monitor any sites where visitors are not following social distancing guidelines, and add to the list of closures if necessary.

CHICAGO — In an effort to help businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle today announced an expansive series of measures waiving various County fines, fees and deferring tax collections.

Across Cook County, people are uniting to care for seniors and delivering groceries and medical supplies to friends and neighbors. This public health crisis has impacted all of us.

The people who are detained in the Cook County Jail and the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center are not exempt from this impact either, and we must do what we can to protect this vulnerable population just like we have united to protect our elders and those with preexisting conditions.

As area first responders experience a shortage of potentially life-saving coronavirus supplies, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced the Cook County Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security (EMRS) distributed more than 33,600 N95 masks and an additional 38,800 gloves and gowns for the use of regional first responders immediately.

Cook County Commissioners today approved seven proposals from President Toni Preckwinkle’s Bureau of Economic Development (BED) that will provide tax incentives to businesses in Cook County.

The incentives, designed to promote economic growth, were approved in the following communities: Bedford Park, Bellwood, Homewood, Orland Park, Schaumburg, and South Holland.

CHICAGO — The Cook County Board of Commissioners today approved a balanced and equitable $6.2 billion FY 2020 budget aimed at advancing Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s work on criminal justice reform, public health, infrastructure and economic development without the need to increase existing taxes. The budget approval follows a month of departmental hearings, commissioner questions and public meetings.

The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) today for Invest in Cook projects between the County’s Department of Transportation and Highways (DoTH) and local municipalities. These Invest in Cook initiatives are designed to bolster economic development and quality of life throughout Cook County.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced that the Board of Commissioners approved $58.5 million in funding today for a major road rehabilitation project in the Villages of Wheeling and Buffalo Grove. The County’s Department of Transportation and Highways (DoTH) is spearheading the project designed to boost economic development, build up regional transportation and improve quality of life for area residents.